I went running with my dad a few weeks ago. Or, more accurately, we did intervals on the nature paths close to his house. I learned two things that day. One, it’s a lot harder to run on an uneven nature path than it is to run on a flat street (my ankle muscles were […]
November 1st…. A Novel Date
For the first year ever, I’m officially doing National November Novel Writing Month. I’m using the system to write 50,000 words (hopefully) in a month and complete a novel that’s been sitting half-done on a shelf for a couple of years. Today I went over all my outlines and character exercises, read all the old […]
Being Brave
It’s a slow Saturday afternoon and I’m sitting here listening to the Blues on internet radio. There are some amazing musicians out there, people who can play a guitar until you’re speechless, sing to break your heart, and surprise you into joy or laughter – or tears. And while some of them have a nice […]
Cool Science
I think I’ve mentioned that I’m secretly a science nerd. Not in the sense that I spend hours standing over beakers and chemical solutions and not in the sense of journeying through the Amazon jungle to identify new species. No, I’m more of the armchair science girl, watching the play-by-plays and predicting what’s going to […]
Bridge & Backstory
I was thinking about backstory this morning, and playing around with a metaphor in my head about holding your cards close to your chest. The cool metaphor, of course, is to compare fiction writing to poker, but I don’t actually know much about it. On the other hand, I was holding bridge cards from the time I was eight.
Saying no, or why bitchy is good
I’m a nice person. This is not normally a bad thing – except when being nice starts distracting me from what I need to accomplish. My first instinct is to help people, to be nice, to chip in… and if the amount of time it will take doesn’t match up to the money it will […]
Painter’s tape, or Structure Like You Mean It
I’m starting to see that writing a novel is a lot like painting a room. Taking a bunch of time to lay down guidelines doesn’t feel very creative. In fact, if you’re impatient (like me), it can seem like a pointless time-suck. But, after having done a few novels from instinct – the same instinct that got my paint everywhere – I’m starting to see that doing it without guidelines turns into a nightmare.
Huge Milestone meets the Importance of Proofreading
The take away (other than the importance of proofreading) is that I got the book done. Really done. And I’m proud of myself with all sincerity for finishing the project I’ve been working on for five years or more. After a lot of sweat and tears, Clean has finally lived up to its potential.
Out of Bed and Dressed: Or, Octopi and a Fictitious Stuffed Animal.
Today’s triumph is that I’m out of bed, dressed, and sitting at the keyboard. I promised myself that I would be the Post Office of writers – you know, rain, snow, sleet, whatever. And last night’s dream involving evil octopi, a family member, and other assorted Crazy won’t stop me.
Reasons to Write
There are 1,939 reasons not to write, but on the other hand only a few very big reasons to sit down and do it. Don’t let the numbers fool you – the big ones outweigh the small ones by a long shot.
