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Category Archives: Drafts
Soothing the Reader
There is something important to remember and that is that the reader wants you to succeed. The reader of a novel wants nothing more than to forget she is reading. She wants to fall into your fictional world so deeply … Continue reading
Posted in Advice, comfort, Completing a novel, creativity, critique, Decisions, Drafts, emotion, failure, fiction, Uncategorized
Tagged advice, character, details, priorities, process, reader's trance, storytelling
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Obsession
My life, my mood, my days, my sleep – everything goes better when I have an obsession. Not the unhealthy kind. Not the does-he-love-me-why-doesn’t-he-call kind of obsession. Not the I-need-a-new-pocketbook-and-complete-wardrobe-overhaul kind of obsession. Not the I- need-to-pull-my-life-up-by-the-roots-and-start-all-over kind of obsession. … Continue reading
Posted in Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, depression, Drafts, Energy, Exploration, failure, fiction, fun with what we do, Grief, Magic, Passion, Play, Process, Prompts, research, Starting a new work, Uncategorized, work
Tagged character, creative life, grief, holy pact, life of a writer, not writing, research, storytelling
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Weaving a Blue Horse
This weekend I tried to weave an image of a horse on my small lap loom. It had been a long time since I’d tried to shape a horse with yarn across tightly stretched warp, and it wasn’t coming easily. … Continue reading
Posted in creativity, Day by day, Decisions, Drafts, emotion, Energy, Exploration, failure, Gratitude, Materials, Miracles, Revision, Starting over, Story, Uncategorized
Tagged character, creative life, giving up, life of a writer, not writing, process, productivity, writing life
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Letting the Work Breathe
As soon as the contract for Persimmon Wilson was signed I started work on another novel. I knew I had just a slim window of time before the revision edits for Persy arrived in my inbox, and that once that … Continue reading
Posted in Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, Decisions, Drafts, emotion, Energy, Exploration, fiction, Journaling, Magic, Play, Process, Publishing, Reading, research, spaciousness, Starting a new work, Starting over, Story, Uncategorized, vacation, what artists need
Tagged character, creative life, giving up, life of a writer, love, magic, priorities, process, productivity, spaciousness, Starting a new work, storytelling, The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson, working, writing life
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Money, Spaciousness, Deadlines and Bathtubs
For a long time before I had a writing life, I dreamed of one. I dreamed of living by the ocean in a little cottage, taking long walks, reading, eating good food, relaxing, breathing deeply. Or else I dreamed of … Continue reading
Posted in comfort, Comparison, Completing a novel, Day by day, Decisions, depression, Drafts, economics, Exploration, fiction, fun with what we do, procrastination, Publishing, silence, spaciousness, Starting a new work, Uncategorized
Tagged advice, character, creative life, life of a writer, literary world, not writing, priorities, process, productivity, renewal, spaciousness, working, writing life
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What are you working on now?
What are you working on now? There is no escaping this question once you are a published author, but the answer is complicated. For me anyway, which is one reason I don’t like to talk about works in progress. In … Continue reading
Posted in Book tour, comfort, Comparison, Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, Drafts, emotion, Energy, fiction, privacy, Process, Publishing, Self-worth, silence, Story, success, Uncategorized, what artists need
Tagged character, creative life, life of a writer, literary world, praise; accolades; worth; words and value, priorities, process, productivity, self esteem, self-worth, storytelling, success, Voices, working, writing life
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Writing Fiction
Writing fiction is always about relationship, and the first relationship that must be established is between the author and the main character. There’s got to be a certain intimacy in order to proceed. I can’t just write. I don’t just … Continue reading
Posted in Comparison, Competition, Completing a novel, creativity, Day by day, Decisions, Drafts, emotion, Energy, Exploration, failure, fiction, Journaling, Magic, Process, Public appearances, Publishing, Starting a new work, Story, Visibilty, voice, Wildness
Tagged character, creative life, dread, fear, future, life of a writer, priorities, process, productivity, public, working, writing life
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Thick Skin vs. Self Knowledge
I am often asked about the ethics of memoir. Specifically, is it ethical to write about another person? Can I be sued? Should I use real names? My answers are, respectively: Yes and no, maybe, and definitely not. There. Now … Continue reading
Failure
Dear Abby and Karen, Today for some reason, I am thinking about failure. The failure of a book to sell well. The failure of a book to be published. The failure to complete a book. The failure to even write … Continue reading
Posted in Completing a novel, creativity, Drafts, economics, failure, fiction, fun with what we do, positivity; grace; light, Starting a new work, Starting over, success, Uncategorized
Tagged character, creative life, Failure, literary world, productivity, success, working, writing life
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Thick Skin, Tender Heart
Dear Lisa, Last week I received the revision letter for a novel that will be published in 2016. The notes are far more extensive than I expected. As I scrolled through initially I panicked. It seemed too much to absorb, … Continue reading
Posted in Completing a novel, creativity, critique, Day by day, depression, Drafts, editors, Energy, fiction, Play, Process, Publishing, research, Revision, Starting a new work, Story, The Muse, Uncategorized, what artists need
Tagged character, dread, giving up, Jigsaw puzzle, life of a writer, not writing, priorities, research, Starting a new work, The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson, working
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