Where is a mentor when you need one?
I received a call from a fellow the other day who wanted me to speak to a gathering of writers. "Do you have a subject in mind?" I asked....
top of page
Search
Stephen Woodfin
Aug 19, 20221 min read
The Guy Across the Hall
Years ago, my wife and I shared space in an old building. It consisted of three rooms: her office, my office, and a receptionist's entry...
19 views0 comments
Stephen Woodfin
Aug 19, 20221 min read
Kill the Casual Observers
Not long ago, I watched a squall blow in off the Gulf of Mexico. Sudden and scary, it appeared out of nowhere and was gone as soon as it...
5 views0 comments
Stephen Woodfin
Jul 2, 20221 min read
Noir Pulp Fiction Never Grows Old
I've always loved pulp fiction, the writing that today people refer to as noir pulp fiction. The genre has a storied history from Dashiel...
10 views0 comments
Stephen Woodfin
Jun 2, 20222 min read
You Have to Put In the Time
My working definition of a book coach is "the person who makes you want to put in the time on your book." To some that may sound like a...
5 views0 comments
Grady Jane Woodfin
Apr 18, 20223 min read
Are Your Bad Habits Holding You Back From Success?
I just finished reading James Clear’s book called Atomic Habit. It promotes the idea that tiny changes can bring forth remarkable...
6 views1 comment
Stephen Woodfin
Apr 12, 20222 min read
Who's to Say?
Anyone who has an interest in the writing business, whether as an author, a book coach, an editor, an agent, or any of the innumerable...
1 view0 comments
Stephen Woodfin
Mar 15, 20221 min read
Is Heaven just another word for nothing left to lose?
For our book club this month we read Mieko Kawakami's Heaven. The story of malicious school bullying endured by two fourteen-year-old...
7 views0 comments
Grady Jane Woodfin
Mar 14, 20222 min read
Your Head Is A Houseboat
I have been a mental health advocate for quite a while now, and I have spent a lot of my time trying to understand my own mind better....
15 views0 comments
Grady Jane Woodfin
Feb 28, 20222 min read
Being Yourself Is Hard
Being yourself is hard. People don’t tell you that growing up. They don’t tell you that being yourself can be almost impossible...
6 views0 comments
Stephen Woodfin
Feb 24, 20221 min read
It Happened on Memorial Drive
I seldom read memoirs, although I do not know how to account for this querk in my reading habits. But Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey...
11 views0 comments
Stephen Woodfin
Feb 17, 20222 min read
Should I Self-Publish My First Book or Seek an Agent?
As I book coach, I often get the question of whether a first-time author should seek an agent or go directly to self-publishing. As is...
8 views0 comments
Stephen Woodfin
Feb 16, 20221 min read
Caste and Race in America
Isabel Wilkerson already has a Pulitzer under her belt for The Warmth of Other Suns. However, in Caste she casts a broader net, exploring...
11 views0 comments
Grady Jane Woodfin
Feb 16, 20224 min read
Creating Space for Black Characters
It is Black History Month, and while black history should be celebrated year-round, I thought what better time to talk about the...
15 views0 comments
Grady Jane Woodfin
Feb 15, 20224 min read
You Should Join a Book Club
If you’d asked me ten years ago where I thought I’d be in life and what I thought I’d be doing, I can almost guarantee that my answer...
25 views0 comments
Stephen Woodfin
Jan 15, 20221 min read
Have You Been to Cloud Cuckoo Land?
I belong to a book club that reads heavy books. I mean, you know, books that weigh a lot. Not really. We do read some books that weigh...
8 views0 comments
Grady Jane Woodfin
Jan 14, 20224 min read
How to Approach Success When You Feel Like a Failure
It can be hard to pick yourself up by your bootstraps and just “do the work.” Take it from me, a millennial. My entire generation has...
23 views0 comments
Grady Jane Woodfin
Jan 3, 20223 min read
New Year Same Us
I’ve always been a fan of ushering in a new year. For many—myself included—it brings a sense of renewed hope. A clean slate. A whole new...
32 views0 comments
Stephen Woodfin
Dec 30, 20212 min read
Who Says How Long Your Novel Should Be?
I like short novels, always have. Take Agatha Christie's suspense books. All of them clocked in at around 55,000 words, and yet they...
7 views0 comments
Stephen Woodfin
Dec 10, 20211 min read
Do You Take Books for Granted?
The more I write myself and the longer I work with other authors, the more I realize how much we take books for granted. It's easy to do...
10 views0 comments
bottom of page