Leon Parenzo

“Neurodivergent” (ND) has been a bit of a buzzword for the past decade, and even more so in the past couple of years. Seems like everyone is “neurodivergent” these days, like we are coming out of the woodwork. Yes and no (a post for another day). I’ve been hesitant to talk about this topic for […]

Book reviews. Every author simultaneously loves them and loathes them. Today’s post, I hope, not only serves as a guide for my fellow authors, but for the book lovers out there as well. Even if you are the kind of person who only reads a book now and again, my goal here is to show […]

Crossroads refers, literally and poetically, to the place where at least two roads (paths, destinies, or decisions) meet. For over 15 years, all of my blogs have been on writing, the craft, publishing, and the writing business. I’ve also posted a lot on basically how to handle this thing called LIFE when one is called […]

Reading should be the cornerstone activity of all those who proclaim they want to be serious writers. I know this might seem like a “No duh” statement, but sadly we live in a world where even the obvious requires unpacking. Believe it or not, I love getting comments for more reasons than my own ego […]

Writers really are a strange breed and just so y’all know? The normal ship sailed without you a long time ago so relax. Your family or friends might not ‘get’ you but your fellow writers do. I love being a writer. It’s a world like no other and it’s interesting how non-writers are simultaneously fascinated […]

“Woobie” is a funny word I recently discovered when researching for this post. Funnily enough, the concept of “woobie” is nothing new. As a Gen-Xer, we called these people “emo” back in my day *waves cane.* This character is also referred to as the “Piti Anti-Villain.” They don’t want to be evil, but life has […]

Anti-villains are a type of character we haven’t discussed before. I’d almost venture to say that—while most of you have heard the term “anti-hero”—you might be a tad stumped on the term “anti-villain.” *does mental gymnastics* *does them too close to curtains* *sets curtains ablaze* Personally, I love learning about and teaching how to write […]

Pitch your ENTIRE novel, series, whatever in ONE sentence. Yes, it CAN be done. It can be done and it MUST be done, especially for those who want to be PAID to write. If you want to make income from your ideas/writing, you must master the pitch. Why? First, a great log-line (pitch) can help […]

Change is part of life. Anything that is living, should be growing (or even healing) which means it changes. Only dead things remain the same. This is true with people as well as industries. Last post, we talked about the darkest moment, what it is and why it is so critical to story. It is […]