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on getting edited
Today I sent my novel off to a dev editor. I’m excited – this is a big step for the book. And I know it will lead to a stronger manuscript… …but I’m also nervous. Getting a major edit can be scary. It may mean big changes. It may mean hearing something I’m not quite…
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on learning from high-powered founders
The most successful founders and CEOs I’ve worked with all share this in common: They know it’s okay to be wrong.➡️ In fact, they encourage it. (I know, this goes against our cultural stereotype. Maybe that’s why I was so struck by it.) Visionaries know that great ideas don’t show up perfectly formed. They often…
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on getting good
Lately I’ve been learning to watercolor. A dear friend of mine recently lost her father, and I want to paint her a mountain range with a Bible verse. I now have ten drafts of the same image, all done along with the same Youtube video for beginners. Progress is slow…but I’m surprised by how good…
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on the richness of chocolate
Last week, my boyfriend came home from the market with what looked like a squash. “Calabaza?” I said. “Cacao,” he said. He chopped it in half. Inside was what looked like giant, brown corn on the cob, covered in slimy white mesh. Into the air fryer it went, and what emerged an hour later was…
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on collaborating
“This is good, but there’s not enough of Story B.” “There’s way too much Story B. It should be all about Story A.” “Have you considered Story C?” These are all real bits of feedback my client has heard from dev editors this past month. All these editors are pros who have worked on multiple…
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on juanita the ice mummy
“And here she is: Juanita, the Inca mummy,” said the tour guide as we circled around the glass case. “Although she wasn’t mummified; she’s been frozen since her death 550 years ago.” This was our third day in Arequipa, Peru, a city surrounded by volcanoes—majestic, silent, constant. Their ice caps float like clouds in the…
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on the author as authority
Last week, I was in a conversation with Red Thread Books’ Sierra Melcher about this idea: the Author as Authority. It’s right there in the word. And yet many authors forget it. But what does it mean exactly? 1. You are the authority over your own book. Not your ghostwriter, editor, or marketing team. It’s…
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Memoir in Miniature
A one-session deep dive into a single meaningful memory Sometimes memory calls to you. A conversation you can still hear.A room you remember exactly.A realization that changed something. It may be faint, with lots of details missing—but you still want to explore it. Maybe you feel like that memory has more to say, but aren’t…
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on being good enough
Tuesday afternoon in 2013, Greenwich Village. A little French cafe where nothing cost less than $19. I was meeting my friend and MFA colleague Brian, so we could talk shop about our novels. “I love my novel’s story,” I said as our Americanos arrived. “I know the idea is solid. But I feel like…I’m not…
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on how to start writing
“…and that’s my memoir idea. I’m so excited,” my friend C. said. “But…how do I start?” Ah, the age-old question. How do you start writing? My friends, here is the answer: ⚔️ First, you must register with the Secret Society of Real Writers. 🧬 This requires giving a DNA sample to see whether you have…
Kimberly Bunker, MFA 