ARCHIVE FOR Inspiration

Chances are you're online right now because you're looking for a recipe. Or you're checking directions to the house or apartment or restaurant you're going to tomorrow to eat yourself silly. Admit it: you only made it to Grub's blog today because a) you got the email reminder and clicked out of habit or b) you thought you would bone up on all things publishing so you could better answer those pesky questions from family members around the Thanksgiving fowl, like "How come James Patterson sells so many books but you don't?"

Are your shelves bending under the weight of unread books? Are your files bulging with research for stories yet to be written? Do you have boxes or piles of old notebooks in the corner of every room? Every time you encounter a new anecdote or historical fact, do you say aloud, “I can use that,” as you reach for paper and pen? If so, I can relate. Writers are natural collectors—or hoarders, perhaps

Back when I was an MFA student, my classmate and friend Keith Gessen wrote a fascinating article for The Boston Globe. It was about William Dean Howells and a little bit about Henry James. In 1912, William Dean Howells was declared “the greatest living American writer and novelist.” Ninety years later, he was expelled from "The Norton Anthology of American Literature." How could such a thing happen

There were a million other things to focus on: parenting, work, loading the dishwasher, oh and moving halfway across the country. Grub Street's Launch Lab application deadline came at the worst time. Where in my day of working full time, spending quality time with my son, unpacking boxes, and fighting with the internet company was I going to sit down and fill out the forms? So I didn’t, and I convinced myself that I wouldn’t be missing anything, that it wasn’t worth all the effort