I finished the first draft of my latest novel this week. While I was tempted to call it a piece of crap, I decided doing so wouldn’t be fair. Instead, I realized it just looks odd because it’s not finished. Kind of like the framing of a house. It doesn’t keep the rain out, and…
Book blurbs. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them. I can honestly say this is my least favorite part of the publication process. Trying to take your latest masterpiece and chisel it down to a couple of sentences that would attract the attention of someone who has no idea what your world is about…
I’ve been doing some final edits on my latest WIP. There was one passage that didn’t feel exactly right, so I started trying different combinations to improve it. After spending a couple of hours, I got it to where I was satisfied, only to realize it was pretty much the same as the original. Anybody…
Had this conversation recently. Sound familiar?
I just finished the first draft of my current work in progress. As is typical for me, I like to become more familiar with the less filled-out characters before heading into the second draft. I usually do a sort of interview with them, where they tell me a little about themselves and fill in some…
My wife is a quilter, and we frequently compare notes on our respective crafts. We’ve found there to be quite the similarity between the two. Recently, I was watching her lay out her quilt’s pattern. She would move entire blocks to different locations to get just the right combination of colors and shapes. It struck…
I’ve been spending a lot of time world-building, outlining, and developing characters for my next novel. It’s easy to get lost in this process, playing with ideas and detailing minutia. But at some point, you have to put the proverbial pen to paper and actually begin crafting. I’ve already written several novels, but it’s still…
Some days you sit down to write, and the words just flow. But other days, it’s a struggle of epic proportions. My brain is lost in swirling mists, and my muse has abandoned me. Then that devil procrastination whispers in my ear, and I am sorely tempted to leave my post. But I fight on,…