I’ve been writing for a while. I’m currently writing my seventy-second (72) novel. I have some opinions about writing, the process and the craft. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that there’s very little advice about writing that works for every writer. You really, REALLY need to listen to what your own writer brain tells […]
Essay: Bad and Good Writing Advice Read More »
A week ago or so, I wrote a novel in five days. I was away at a writing retreat, so I had nothing to do but write. When I came home, I tried to recreate this writing speed, with mixed success. A couple nights later, I ended up unable to sleep. Writer brain very happily
Outline as Continuum Read More »
One of the pieces of advice that I’ve heard over the years is “Trust the Process.” For me, that also means, “Trust writer brain. She knows what she’s doing.” I still fight with her occasionally when I’m creating and putting a lot of new words down on a page. I don’t know why. She’s always
Trust Writer Brain Read More »
The following is the last chapter from Business for Breakfast, Volume 1: The Beginning Professional Writer. The ebook is available from Amazon, Kobo Books, Barnes & Noble, iBookstore, and the paper version is available from Createspace. However, if you’re like most writers (broke!) I have now posted all twelve chapters here on my blog. Next
Business for Breakfast V1: Chapter Twelve Read More »
The following is a chapter from Business for Breakfast, Volume 1: The Beginning Professional Writer. The ebook is available from Amazon, Kobo Books, Barnes & Noble, iBookstore, and the paper version is available from Createspace. However, if you’re like most writers (broke!) I will also be posting a chapter a week, so you’ll merely have
Business for Breakfast V1: Chapter 10 Read More »
In an ideal world, I’d be able to write and publish an absolutely brilliant novel once a month, every month. At this point, I can’t. I may never be able to. But I have been looking at my individual processes, trying to tweak them and so speed up the entire process, and possibly gain more
More about process… Read More »
One of the posts I read years ago that was very influential for me was by Rachel Aaron, an author, and how she went from writing 2000 words a day to 10,000 words a day. Do I write 10,000 words a day? Oh hell no. Possibly, maybe, I could build up to that kind of
Refining the New Normal Read More »
No, I’m not giving up being a professional writer. Or writing full time. I am having far too much fun, and I haven’t run all the way through my savings yet. (I have two years of income saved…If I’m careful.) When I started this venture, I created a project plan for how long it would
The last couple of weeks I’ve been going through both copy edits as well as first reader comments. Most of the comments are fabulous. I find myself nodding in agreement, or going, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Or just accepting and moving on. However, every once in a while, I run across something that
I’m in the middle of my second draft for Poisoned Pearls. It’s been going well. As expected, I’ve added a bunch of words, even in the sections where I wasn’t adding new scenes (of which I’ve already added two.) I like this novel a whole lot more now that I can step back and look