Posted on November 14, 2022 Leave a Comment
If there is a good reason. During the past couple of weeks, I put a clean copy of Seeds of Power to the side and vowed not to open it again. I edited my query letter and my synopsis, but both need a little more work before I am ready to move forward. I decided […]
Posted on June 13, 2022 Leave a Comment
I wrote a short story. One of my goals this year was to try to write shorter fiction so that I could post a story to my website as a sample of my writing and a way to engage. Or so that I could submit to writing contests or SFF magazines. Writing short fiction is […]
Posted on April 4, 2022 Leave a Comment
I’m kind of on track! What I’ve done during the first three months of the year: BONDS OF MAGIC series: I did my last round of edits on SEEDS OF POWER! I’m consistently submitting LAND OF MONSTERS (the fully drafted sequel to SoP) to my writing group. I’m late but actively working on my agent […]
Posted on February 21, 2022 1 Comment
With honesty and kindness. During this past year, I have privately and publicly reviewed more books than in all the years of my life combined. (And readers/writers have privately reviewed my books!) I’m not an expert, but here is my philosophy/approach to positive and honest reviewing based on my experiences. Early/Beta feedback for a writer: […]
Posted on January 24, 2022 Leave a Comment
Is a good/bad sandwich. I have gushed repeatedly about my amazing beta readers—and they are wonderful—but there’s a flip side to critique. My emotions are not limited to the very real gratitude that I feel and the excitement to make changes. Most creative people would agree that critique is hard. Putting forward our work is […]
Posted on September 6, 2021 Leave a Comment
The writer can play. I have a freshman in high school (that’s nuts) and a third grader that are both back in school. My trusty canine writing assistant and I now have the quiet and focus to edit. But we didn’t at first. I took two days to rest my mind and body after the […]
Posted on August 23, 2021 Leave a Comment
And thankfully a community endeavor as well. My writing group and early readers are awesome. When I am stuck on a project and can’t see a way through, I put it in their hands with questions typed up at the end and wait. And wait and wait. But as I mentioned in my post Appreciate […]
Posted on August 9, 2021 1 Comment
And it’s making me anxious and sad. This spring I submitted draft five or six (I’ve lost count) of my first book to a few friends who had never seen it before and to my writing group. After I slashed words in that book by the thousands (see my post If you think there is […]
Posted on April 5, 2021 1 Comment
I’m not ready. Is it good enough? What if they hate it? Putting your work in front of other people can be scary. Even thinking about letting others read your book can make you want to run screaming or hide under the bed. (Hopefully you don’t hold it tightly while murmuring my precious…) Being nervous […]