Notes: Name left out to protect the innocent. “Remember that person I told you about who put her book up on Amazon?” It took a moment for me to figure out who my friend was talking about. We had discussed the self-published book a few nights ago. “Yeah. What’s up?” “She signed with a publisher. […]
Your Story Isn’t The Only Thing To Research Read More »
Yesterday I started writing a post about red flags when submitting to publishers. It was based off of a discussion a friend and I had. I have done my research, and I can speak intelligently about it. But when I sit down to write about it, I can’t seem to push the words through my fingers.
Imposter Syndrome Revisited Read More »
A friend and a fellow writer told me the other day about obtaining Post-Its for use in her plotting process. She suggested that I write down my plotting process, if I had one. I do have one, but it’s hard to pin down and describe. The best way to describe my method is pantsing with
My Writing Process – Do I Even Have One? Read More »
One of my favorite podcasts about the craft of writing is Writing Excuses. Hosted by Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, Brandon Sanderson, and Dan Wells, they live up to their tagline “Fifteen minutes long, because you’re in a hurry, and we’re not that smart.” I disagree with the ‘not that smart’ bit. These people are
Writing Excuses Season Ten Read More »
I went out yesterday for a long scheduled lunch on Saturday with Jennifer Carson and Melissa Snark. The conversation covered a wide range of topics about what was going on in our lives, but funneled into our writing and where we stood on various projects. From there we started discussing Convolution. We will all be
An Educational Lunch Read More »
I’ve discovered one side effect of writing a book that I wasn’t warned about. I’m not reading as much for pleasure as I used to. I do still read. I am reading books on writing. I’m reading books that friends are writing to provide feedback. I’ve read a few books to review. I’m reading blogs
They Didn’t Warn Me About This… Read More »
I’ve noticed something happening slowly and subtly, a new habit creeping into my day-to-day life. Last Wednesday was when I noted it consciously for the first time. This time of year is a dreaded time at work. It is when we have to do the thing that causes the most horror and angst among my
Compulsive Editing Syndrome Read More »
“So I’ve been reading your blog.” Those words, spoken by a coworker, made my heart run cold. A few of the people I work with know that I’m writing a book, although none of them know the exact details of it. A few of those people know that I am blogging about the experience. And
After a few false starts, I’ve gotten working on the fourth draft of the story. I’m finding this time is that things are finally starting to feel right. Or at least, now the first chapter is feeling right. During my first pass through the story, I struggled with where to start it. I had a
In the beginning… and beginning… and beginning… Read More »
I’ve been killing a lot of darlings lately. I first heard the phrase “kill your darlings” in a On Writing by Stephen King. He was quoting William Faulkner, who was paraphrasing a passage from Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch’s On the Art of Writing. It’s a quote that I hear often, and have struggled to grasp the full
I’m feeling like a murderess Read More »
