Margaret Duarte

Visionary Fiction

For Writers

Cart Before the Horse

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I don’t claim to be an expert on writing, so take my advice for what it is, an opinion, informed by ten years of practice, with many missteps and occasional victories along the way. What I’ve discovered and want to pass on to you is that during all my years of studying the craft of fiction, I’ve […]

UC Davis Extension Creative Writing Courses

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Note to Reader: Unfortunately, since I wrote this post, the creative writing program through UC Davis Extension is no longer being offered. I’ve done my share of college writing.  I’m a college graduate after all. But when I started writing fiction instead of college essays and term papers, I stepped into a whole new world. Many fiction […]

The White-hot Center of the Unconscious

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The ideal time to write is first thing in the morning, says Robert Olen Butler in his book, From Where You Dream. Why? Because that’s when you’re closest to “The Zone.” “The Zone,” he says, is the white-hot center of the unconscious, the birthplace of art. It’s where the analytic flow of your brain stops and your total […]

Publishers Weekly Review

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On May 3, I received the prize for making it to the quarter-finalists in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. A Publishers Weekly Review. And it didn’t disappoint. Don’t get me wrong.  Part of me hoped for a miracle, that the PW reviewer would say my novel was “best seller” material and that I was the […]

UC Davis Extension Creative Writing Certificate

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I just received my Creative Writing Certificate from UC Davis Extension, which took me back to my post in April, where I said, “I hope it is printed on ivory, premium quality paper and has my name and the name of the creative writing program displayed in impressive type and has the seal of UC Davis Extension embossed on the bottom […]