How to Write a Novel

Ragdale: The Delights of Having a Room of One’s Own

From the moment I first declared myself a novelist in my twenties, there were doubters. My father, for starters. “You'll never make a living. Why

For the past three years, I've been writing (and rewriting, and tearing my hair out over, and rewriting again) my first work of historical fiction, a

Recently, one of my writing students asked for advice on how she should structure her novel. “I already have fifty pages and I don't know

It's easy to give up on your writing. Whether you're working on a novel, a memoir, a short story, or an article, writing is hard. Not

After my beloved dog Leo died, I entered a thick fog of grief. I felt his absence keenly because he was such an integral part of my life,

As necessary as libraries have always been to me for books and quiet spaces, until recently I never understood that libraries provide

I went on a writing retreat recently. Nothing fancy; this wasn't one of those places where you're in a cabin in the mountains and people

I sent the complete draft of my new novel to my agent in September. When I got her editorial notes some weeks later, there were more things

I am no fiction virgin. I have published six novels to date—one on my own, and five with Penguin Random House. Yet, until recently, I have never felt