Alison B. Hart on finding the "side door" into your story, and Rachel Kapelke-Dale and Nicolas DiDomizio break the rules

Alison joins us for this week's Q&A, Rachel shares an essay on (gasp!) defending the prologue, and Nicolas shares two questions to add to your writing toolbox!

Happy Tuesday friends!

As writers intent on honing your craft, you’re likely familiar with Anne Lamott’s bestselling Bird by Bird and the timeless piece of writing advice that inspired the book’s title.* Today we’ve got a fresh spin on wild kingdom-related words of writing wisdom courtesy of April May June July author Alison B. Hart, who shares the best way to “eat an elephant” and other secrets for getting unstuck when the words won’t cooperate. We’ve also got a video from Nicolas DiDomizio, who talks about the two questions he asks himself (and you should, too!) in order to “hit the sweet spot of really good fiction,” as well as an essay by Rachel Kapelke-Dale, author of The Ballerinas, in which she fires a shot over the bow in the latest battle of the ongoing prologue wars!

Also in this issue, we’ve got the return of The Great Beta Reader Match Up and details on how to join Carly’s masterclass “The Author’s Publishing Playbook” (trust us, you won’t want to miss these opportunities).

*But just in case, a quick synopsis: Anne’s brother, who was ten at the time and panicking over a class report on birds he’d procrastinated on for months—which I’m sure none of us can relate to 😉—was near tears the night before it was due, when their father consoled him with the words, “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.” We can’t remember if he finished the report, but we do know Anne grew up to be a successful writer so…we think there’s something to it.