As of this post, I’ve written four complete novels, six detailed synopses, and roughly one million poems and short stories. And I’m here to tell you that while first drafts do get easier, they never stop being messy, fickle beasts. In fact, I was just talking a friend about this very subject. My first (trunked) novel was an exercise in meandering. I had no deadlines, no critique partners, and I…
There are a great many people to whom I owe a hefty debt of gratitude for the fact that in just a few months I’ll be able to walk into my local indie and see a piece of my heart on the shelf. Each and every one of those people (Hopefully! Good glory, you would not believe the nightmares!) will be thanked in my acknowledgments. But there are a…
This week, in prep for Halloween, the Debs are writing about their biggest fears about publishing. The quote in the headline comes from Thomas Hardy in his “A Laodicean.” I found it apt for this post. Why? Because I’m a worry-wart. I probably should have added that to my confessions post,. I over-think nearly most every situation, prepping myself for what might come. I recently learned that the term for…
This week we’re writing about protagonists, in terms of conflict and drama. Do we make choices for them? Or let our characters lead the way? As a writer, I’m a mixture of a plotter and a seat-of-my-pants drafter. Considering I write historical fiction (and I don’t want to piss people off who study history…) I try to align with historical fact as much as possible. The beauty with BECOMING BONNIE is not…
I started my professional life in theater, specifically in the David Mamet school-of-thought, and Mamet reminded actors all the time that “character” is defined by what people do. It’s all about action. Throwing up, in my opinion, is a fabulous action. For some reason I love making my characters throw up. I’m not sure what that says about me or them, but there’s something about vomiting that appeals to me. In…
This week the Debs are talking about how they torture their characters, make choices for them, or how their characters lead the way. One of the most wonderful things about writing is how the mind seems to unravel the story from a place hidden deep inside. I can’t tell you how many times I have stopped writing after a few hours and sat back to re-read the words and thought,…
This week’s Deb topic is about Confessions! Each of us are sharing something unknown, something hidden about us, our books or our writing process. Today I am going to confess. All the sins of my past, the wayward thoughts and actions that led me astray. It might not be pretty. Feel free to turn your head away or cover up that smirk. I still managed to spit out a 418…
I am a believer that many things happen for a reason. Not everything. Not, say, death. But many life hiccups have proven to serve a greater purpose for me. Even loss offers up slivers of beauty, togetherness, and understanding that– while not making up for the empty chair at the table– certainly deliver insight and strength. So it’s odd but not totally unexpected that I was initially devastated by what…
Eleanor Brown– Debutante Ball alumni turned bestselling author– is here to visit! I was so wowed by Brown’s first novel, THE WEIRD SISTERS, that I pre-ordered the LIGHT OF PARIS and squealed like my daughter at Disney when it arrived Tuesday. A little background on this thoughtful new release: In 1924, Margie defies her parents and spends an exhilarating summer in Paris – writing in cafés, living on her own, and falling for…
The topic this week is hindsight. My husband and I are debriefers. We extract takeaways from every purchase, major life event, and experience. Try it, fix it, try it, my father used to say, and we do. This leads to increasingly better outcomes, but, we’ve come to see, also means we are hard on ourselves. This past week, on vacation, drinks in hand, we did something new: instead of considering what we could…
