Lately, I’ve been into lists. There’s something very solid and matter-of-fact about a list. When I make a list, I feel much less wishy-washy, more like a person who takes charge and gets stuff done. Especially if I get all fancy and have bullets. So here then, is my list of writing-related things that have happened since my days as a Deb: My second novel, ISLAND OF LOST GIRLS, came…
This is my last regularly-scheduled Saturday founder post, and I thought I’d use it to take a look at my life after being a Debutante. I have two more books coming out in spring of 2008: MY TIKI GIRL, for young adults, and ISLAND OF LOST GIRLS, my next novel for adults. My wonder-agent is working on another sale. I’m working on two new books. So Debutante-hood is definitely behind…
For almost a year in the mid-90s, my partner Drea and I lived in Portland, Oregon. It’s an amazing city. We arrived there after a month long cross country odyssey in a VW camper with our pet rat, Felix. We immediately fell in love with Portland and decided to stay. We quickly found the perfect apartment. It was huge, with beautiful wood floors, lots of windows, a great kitchen and…
Lately, I am overwhelmed by other people’s secrets. I’m not even talking real people here. I’m talking characters. With each book I write, it seems like the secrets get more complicated, the webs more intricate and tangled. Which is a good thing. The problem is keeping track of all of them as I go along. For my latest project, I’m trying something new and radical – I’m actually writing an outline. …
I don’t watch much TV. For most of my adult life, I’ve lived beyond the reach of cable or broadcast, in the sticks of Vermont, in a time when your only option if you had to watch Beverly Hills 90210 was a satellite dish that could easily hold a Volkswagen bug. Also… I didn’t care. I was contentedly clueless about whatever sitcom or sexy drama everyone was talking about. Now,…
It’s been almost exactly a year since I was graciously invited to join a little something called The Debutante Ball. I admit, I hesitated. I was worried that I would never get the whole blogging thing (I scarcely knew what a blog was), that I didn’t have the time to commit fully, and that both myself and my book were a bit, well, dark for the rest of the group. …
I have a lot of memories, and I mine them frequently for my fiction writing, and for blog posts on the Ball — but there’s little doubt in my mind that many of them are just plain wrong. I am notorious for not remembering things the way they really were, or for forgetting things altogether. My brother teases me about this when we take little trips down memory lane. To…
I have a terrible habit when writing: I race through endings. I’m not careful about word choice. I leave out all the important details that bring a scene to life. Dialogue is choppy. Once the end is in sight, it’s full speed ahead. Shoot first, ask questions later. I think this happens for two reasons. The first is that I want to be done. I’ve been at it for a…
Middles don’t get much love. Middle of the road suggests lack of commitment, of enthusiasm. Who wants to be the monkey in the middle? Was middle school, or was it not, the most excruciating part of your education? Middle-aged – eh. Middle finger? Not very polite. The very definition of “middling” is “mediocre,” after all. Then there’s midlist. We all know that a respectable midlist book is something to be…
I am good at beginnings. Great even. I don’t hem and haw. I just dive right in, full speed ahead. This is true with just about every other project in my life and is especially obvious when it comes to my writing. And this is why I have the beginnings of nine books in my Word writing file right now. Nine. This does not count the “Book Ideas” folder in…
