Recently, I was the judge in fiction-writing contest. My job was to review the finalists in the novel first chapter portion of the contest, and select the top four winners. It was fascinating because every entry had a good concept for a story. But. Every entry but one had viewpoint issues (a topic I'll address […]
I spent yesterday afternoon reading a rewrite of a client's novel (at least the first part of it). He has struggled with point of view in the past, and I've nudged him mercilessly on it. So I was thrilled to see that he is mastering it! Reading his manuscript brought to mind some tips on […]
I awoke at 2:45 A last night (this morning, actually). I lay there for a few minutes, wide awake. I tried not to panic about not sleeping. Because, the worst thing about not sleeping is the panic about it. My mind scrolled through what I had to do today and how bad it would be […]
The protagonist in my WIP just morphed. When I started writing her, she was one way and now suddenly she's another. (With the demands of launching my novel, I haven't had the time to actually put these changes into effect, but I've taken lots of notes. And I think about it all the time.) It's […]
No matter what you're writing, memoir, fiction or even web copy, character is everything. You've got to know your character through and through in order to write successfully. This was brought home to me all over again last week, when I spent the week with my daughter and her baby and learned, first hand, what […]
Lately I've been cursed blessed with an abundance of ideas. I've got viable ideas for three mainstream novels and at least six ideas for novels to write in a new genre I'd like to experiment with a bit. As a professional writer, I'm accustomed to juggling projects. I'll often have an ongoing ghostwriting project (just […]
When it comes to fiction writing, lately I've been struggling. First I was totally committed to writing one novel. Oh, but no. Then I decided that I absolutely, positively was in love with a different idea. Until I desperately needed to work on yet a third idea, the best one yet! This has been my […]
Years ago, I asked one of my MFA mentors how to go about rewriting the novel I was then working on. As I recall, she told me to sit down with the manuscript and re-read it. Um, not the most helpful of advice. Yes, it is imperative to reread a manuscript when you are going […]
Please excuse the grandiose title. I couldn't organize my way out of a paper bag. My brain just doesn't think that way, does yours? Because it is my experience that most of us creative types tend to be more towards the wafty, creative, big picture side than the down-to-earth groundedness I associate with being organized. […]
*Note: after you read the review, please scroll down to the end of this post and answer the question I've asked. Thank you, beloved readers. Waking Up in the Land of Glitter by Kathy Cano-Murillo I've followed Kathy Cano-Murillo for quite some time on her crafting blog and lately her writing blog. Why? Because she […]
