The Secret Club
I venture to say that for writers, a mystique persists around publishing, as if all the published writers and people in the business were part of a secret club where they shared special handshakes and insider knowledge. I suspect it has something to do with rejections, and the polite but impersonal way editors and agents say no to projects they must decline. Writers outside the circle might well wonder why they can’t get in when the rules of admittance seem so capricious. To make it worse, there’s… Continue reading
Both of Us, Night and Day
I can spend an hour at night laboring over the composition an email or a blog post only to wake up the next morning and find it’s weirdly uppity or just plain pointless. Because of this, I have a hard and fast rule about never sending any emails that might actually matter at night. What’s strange is that I can’t uncoil myself from the snare of writing the insidious late night drafts, even knowing I’m needlessly embroiled. It’s like I’m processing, letting my illogical, instinctual side out… Continue reading
Q. Should I Keep Writing?
A. Yes. You should. I know the first draft is awful, and even as you’re writing it, you can see you’ll have to cut most of it, but go forward anyway. Get to the end.
Q. But why, why? It’s so bad! It doesn’t even make sense.
A. That’s just what first drafts are. They’re painful and ugly. They wander down dead ends and come out smelling like old fish.
Q. I thought I liked my main character, but now,… Continue reading
Still more on bad first drafts because, yeah, they take a while.
So, I was writing along today, minding my own business, when an atrocious scene came spilling out of my fingertips. I kept thinking, No, this is too gross! And Ouch! And I can’t put this in a book for kids! And then I kept writing it anyway.
Who knows if this painful, cruel scene will make it into the second draft, let alone the final? Not me. But it’s there now, where I can squirm at it, and it certainly led to some interesting choices for my… Continue reading
Writing Secret Duds
I need to park my main work-in-progress for a period so that I can return to it with fresh eyes, which puts me in one of my rare lulls where I’m forced to stop thinking about what normally obsesses me. I can’t not write, because I become prickly and discontented if I stop, so instead, I’m kicking around ideas for something else. I’m throwing noodle possibilities together to see how they stick, rereading old favorite books to see why I liked them, daydreaming, staying up late, and nibbling… Continue reading
Shoveling
I like shoveling. I do. I like the rhythmic motions, the steady progress, the beauty of the white-and-blue snow. I like the sounds of the shovel scraping the pavers, and the plop of the snow when a load of it lands elsewhere. I like the frosty particles that float back to coat me when I throw a shovelful high and far.
I like the feeling of working harmoniously together as a family, and letting my mind wander to old memories of snow forts from my childhood.… Continue reading
Ari & Milo, my serial novel, is now up on Wattpad! I drew illustrations to go with each chapter, and best of all, it’s free! Because of problematic themes, this novel is for mature readers age 17+.
Book Trailer for Promised