Archive - The Next Novel

Not a false start, hope for the spring

Apr 20 •

Pond novel, draft two

Hello, friends. Last we talked, I was bouncing between projects, and this week, I landed: I’m doing a revision of the pond novel. I sent the first draft…

Apr 14 •

Hello from the surface. I like having several different projects going, but transitioning from one to another sometimes creates these pockets of time in…

Apr 6 •

March 2024

Notes to a new writer

I am one of those writers who always and only ever wanted to be a writer. Before I could read, I wanted to illustrate picture books. As soon as I…

Mar 31 •

8 more favorite newsletters

You all, the Substacks are good these days. So many writers whose work I admire have joined and are here, just putting out their thoughts on writing and…

Mar 23 •

Revising and reading and writing on the road + three books I've loved this month

Mar 18 •

New morning plan

Friday was the last day of Ungodly Hour Writing Club, which means I need a new morning plan. Keep treating 5:30-6:30am as protected writing time, as if…

Mar 3 •

February 2024

Midwinter recess

I’m a day late with this newsletter because last week was “midwinter recess,” i.e. the week off school that New York kids get in addition to spring…

Feb 26 •

Writing date in Philly

I had this Amtrak credit that was about to expire, so I booked a last-minute, round-trip-in-one-day ticket to Philadelphia. A day to myself to begin a…

Feb 18 •

AWP 24 is in the books

I went to Kansas City to make friends, and I did

Feb 12 •

Winding up for revision

(and packing for AWP)

Feb 4 •

January 2024

The secret's out

My first book will be published by Autofocus Books in 2025, and it's not a novel

Jan 27 •

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