Office Hours: Getting a handle on your voice
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In which I give lessons on proper mask wearing, finding your writing voice and getting your 16yo to bring you cookies. Also I say the word ‘distinct’ way too many times.
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Office Hours: Spring Haze
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I’ve had a tough time writing over the last week, but aren’t we all. So this week I’m talking about ways that have worked for me to deal with writer’s block or end of draft ADD. And sometimes you just have to take a break.
Read MoreOffice Hours: What is the True North for your book?
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My weekly tour through what’s going on with my writing, and productivity as well as keeping my family sane through lockdown. This week I’m talking about theme and why it’s important for your story and how it can help productivity.
Read MoreOffice Hours: Plotting, Re-plotting and Artists Setting Boundaries
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In which I talk about how Book 4 is coming along, discuss the whole plotter vs. pantser debate and say a few words about art vulnerability and boundaries.
Read MoreOffice Hours: Corn dogs & Couscous
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In which I talk about productivity, character development, Outlaner, and going a little stir crazy. Pardon the technical issues at the beginning. You can’t see it, but my computer was going a little crazy.
Read MoreI'm Plotting Something
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After I finished drafting the Haverhill project, I decided to get into a plotting frame of mind by reading a book that’s been on my TBR shelf for a while, Save the Cat Writes a Novel. If you’re not familiar with the Save the Cat plot structure, I highly recommend checking it out. It started as a guide for screenwriters to help them develop successful screenplays. The method focuses mainly around something called a Beat Sheet. The idea is that to keep your story moving and following an arc that will keep readers turning pages, you should focus on a set series of story beats.
Read MoreJust getting to work
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Imagine that you are late for work. As usually happens when you're running late, you catch every stoplight between home and your office. There's construction blocking a lane of traffic on one road and a fender bender on another. Then, just as you near the office, you get pulled over because your state inspection sticker expired YESTERDAY. That feeling you have when this happens, that choking frustration that tightens your shoulders and makes you want to scream? That's pretty much the feeling that moms who write fiction feel toward the end of every summer.
Read More10 things I will NOT do when the kids go back to school
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The kids are going back to school and that means that I can get back to a working schedule that I can be happy with. Make no mistake, I adore my children, but as an introvert with a sometimes pathological work ethic, being surrounded by chatty kids and prevented from working can be a bit crazy-making.
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