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....
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Stephen Woodfin
- Aug 19, 2022
- 1 min
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...
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Stephen Woodfin
- Aug 19, 2022
- 1 min
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...
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Stephen Woodfin
- Jul 2, 2022
- 1 min
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...
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Stephen Woodfin
- Jun 2, 2022
- 2 min
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...
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Grady Jane Woodfin
- Apr 19, 2022
- 3 min
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...
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Stephen Woodfin
- Apr 12, 2022
- 2 min
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...
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Stephen Woodfin
- Mar 15, 2022
- 1 min
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...
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Grady Jane Woodfin
- Mar 15, 2022
- 2 min
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....
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Grady Jane Woodfin
- Feb 28, 2022
- 2 min
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...
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Stephen Woodfin
- Feb 24, 2022
- 1 min
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...
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Stephen Woodfin
- Feb 17, 2022
- 2 min
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...
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Stephen Woodfin
- Feb 16, 2022
- 1 min
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...
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Grady Jane Woodfin
- Feb 16, 2022
- 4 min
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...
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Grady Jane Woodfin
- Feb 15, 2022
- 4 min
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...
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Stephen Woodfin
- Jan 15, 2022
- 1 min
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...
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Grady Jane Woodfin
- Jan 14, 2022
- 4 min
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...
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Grady Jane Woodfin
- Jan 3, 2022
- 3 min
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...
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Stephen Woodfin
- Dec 30, 2021
- 2 min
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...
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Stephen Woodfin
- Dec 10, 2021
- 1 min
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...
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