Writer Question: How Do I Cut Text from My Novel and Not Lose My Soul?!
I got a reader question recently, and (coincidentally) was, um, "approached" by a would-be author at a lit party the other night with a very similar question (although he did not word it nearly as nicely as you did, dear anonymous polite reader below). So it seems to me this is on a lot of people's minds lately. Dear Moonie, A newbie (me, unfortunately) is having a bit of an issue with her MS. Cuts need to be made (my darn novel is a porky 130,000 words). But every time I start cutting out my protagonist's funny little comments or thoughts that don't necessarily add to the plot, I feel like I'm betraying and/or losing my beloved character and replacing he

first authors, first books, first agents, first deals--and avoiding first mistakes
Aprilynne Pike posted this excellent essay this weekend, and I strongly recommend all aspiring authors read it. The central point: remember what you're writing for, and don't get caught up in the "must get published" fever that has caused more than one person to make a decision that actually hurts their career in the long run. I've wanted to post something similar myself, but couldn't have done it this well--plus, Aprilynne is uniquely qualified to say it. I hope everyone reads it, and leaves their thoughts if they are so inspired.

argh pet peeve
Dear Agent,Is this novel you're pitching me *really* "luminous"? If it is, I simply don't want to read it. I've had it up to my neck with luminosity.Is the prose "spare" and "elegant"? Or "achingly beautiful," told "with verve and heart"? Is it a "sweeping" saga of "untold passion"? (Wait, what does that even mean?)If you have nothing but cliches to put in your query letter, how am I supposed to know there's anything new or different about your client's book? Wouldn't it be more useful to show me, briefly, how it's special?I'll give your client the benefit of the doubt and read it despite your query letter. But really... luminous?

Gravity's Rainbow Read-Along: Week 7 (p 421-490)
Hi everybody! Time for the weekly Gravity's Rainbow chat. What did everyone think about this week's pages?

for my Wheel of Time friends
This video made me laugh really, really hard.