Stage 1: Catch the spark. This is the most thrilling part that any to-be-author is going to see for quite some time. Where the ideas come from is a bit of a mystery. It begins, I suppose, with an impression or an image that sparks the novelist’s mind in the form of a creative what … More The Process of Writing a Novel: An Unpublished Author’s Edition
I’m a hypocrite, okay? I fully acknowledge that. I, a dedicated writer, am not participating in NaNoWriMo2018 and yet I still have the gall to write about how to get unstuck when knee-deep in first-draft Plot. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve attempted NaNoWriMo before. This is not exactly new territory for me. … More Plot: 4 Ways to Get Unstuck in NaNoWriMo
When I first started revising Dire Fate, I began with a printed manuscript that I read and marked up diligently… until I got about halfway through and realized it wasn’t editing that the manuscript needed but one final revision. Granted, I still pulled from my original draft. In some places, I copied and pasted a … More A Mess of an Editing Process
People in general tend to find themselves more productive during a certain time. Some are vampires and work throughout the night. Some are normal people and work throughout the day. I am a writer, and have left any claims to “normal” far behind me. Are you an early bird or night owl when it comes … More Birds and Owls and Me
We all know what comes with the new year: the dreaded Resolutions, promises we make ourselves until we find how difficult they are to keep. A new favorite author of mine, Leigh Bardugo, suggested that we Begin As We Mean To Go On. That’s exactly what I did on January 1st. But, before getting into … More Welcome 2018!
