A stack of ARCs at the publisher's office. My book is right up on top. The Advance Reader Copies for The Reel Life of Zara Kegg  are officially done. Somewhere in America—possibly in a warehouse the size of Rhode Island—boxes of early, not-quite-final versions of my book are sitting on a pallet, waiting to be shipped to me. This is the stage where the book feels both real and unreal at the same time. Real, because it now exists in physical form. Unreal, because I haven’t actu

I have a new story up today at On the Seawall . This one is for my father who, like the main character in the story, was an agoraphobic. Give it a read, and tell me what you think. https://www.ronslate.com/in-the-walls/

Here is the link to my flash fiction piece, "Sunday Nights."

We’re said to soften as we age, like bananas. Maybe, but don’t let aging soften you in your writing. Remember that a shift of perspective...

Imagine that a creature from another world arrives on Earth, but instead of sleek menace, ray guns, mantids, grays, or otherworldly...

I’ve been revising two novels lately— The Reel Life of Zara Kegg (due out next year from Regal House), and AmericaLand  (currently...

I haven't blogged for a while. Here's why. Right now I’m working on three novels at once. Not in a vague, “ideas in the air” kind of...

Writers can (and often do) spend thousands of dollars on developmental editing. It’s one of the biggest investments you’ll make on the way to publication. But before you fork over that kind of cash, there’s another option worth considering—one that costs nothing but time and attention: learning to be your own developmental editor.   It might sound daunting at first, but here’s the truth: the more you learn to edit your own work at this level, the stronger a writer you become.

Me flying over the mountain near Woodstock VA Writer’s block isn’t real. Let’s just start there. Not in the way people like to talk about...

Those of you who know my approach to craft understand that I see fiction writing as one of the most difficult of all art forms—but it’s...

Keep Pushing Writing isn’t just about talent. Or inspiration. Or some perfect moment when the words come effortlessly. Writing is about...

What's your process? It's a question that gets asked a lot, or some version of it . Whenever I've done public readings, during the Q&A...

I’m a “pantser,” though I don’t like that term. But what does it even mean? That I wear pants? That I favor pants? Champion the wearing...

I had a former student/current friend recently ask me about “person “and how it works in deciding between writing in first-person vs....

This is for #writers, or for anyone interested in the whole process of writing. I want to talk about metaphors/similes. I will use the...

What do Margaret Atwood, Michael Chabon, Joyce Carol Oates, Haruki Murakami, Ian McEwan, J.D. Salinger, and Donna Tartt all have in...

I’ve been going to the West Virginia Writers annual conference for years. Some years I miss, but I’ve probably attended more than a dozen...

Writers often like to talk about their writing spaces, which means, of course, the space where they write, a room with a view, writers’...