Tonight, the film “A Christmas Carol” will be viewed by millions (including me! )as part of their holiday traditions.
But have you actually read the book the film is based on? Read more
Category: Uncategorized
Second Book Syndrome
I’ve been struggling with the second novel of my planned trilogy. I have all the words but it doesn’t feel like it holds together and I have no idea when or how to end it. My two main characters split up and I don’t know how to structurally deal with that. I try to console myself that the middle book of a trilogy is supposed to be the hardest to write.
Here’s my theory on why that is: a common problem with any novel is that the middle can sag. We spend so much time developing a great beginning and the perfect ending that the middle often drags. Magnified into a trilogy, the middle book struggles to compete with the fantastic first book and the final resolution of the third. Like a “middle” child, it can feel neglected, having neither the attention of the first child nor spoiled like the youngest.
This distresses me since I am a middle child. I am personally invested to have my middle book to soar. But here’s the hard truth: I feel like I am failing it. I have read many trilogies where the second book is weak; even with trilogies that I love, I often suffer through the middle book. Their flaws can be many: Read more
Were Your Hands Made for Writing?
There have been times, many times actually, where I’ve doubted my ability to make it in the writing industry–to put something to paper that will resonate with others and cause them think and feel something new.
The truth is, although I’ve been writing since I was a young girl; journalling, crafting stories from any experience and writing letters, essays, scientific articles and recording medical records–I hold no degree in creative writing.
Any yet, there are so many things I have mastered in my life, that I learned with my own two hands–not from school. Read more
Creating The Stew of My Next Novel
Writing a novel is really like putting a puzzle together. Characters, plot, setting, theme, dialogue, emotion. Or perhaps it’s more like cooking a stew.
But how does it all actually come together? After all, it’s not as simple as throwing a bunch of random characters into a pot, adding in some stuff that happens, followed by a setting, a theme, and so forth, and expect it to work. It’s a little — ok, quite a bit — more involved than that. I’m going to explain exactly how I came up with the stew of my December romance release, called “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me”.
Walking Stories
I live along the Bruce Trail. The route passes along the road in front of my house and in the summer and fall, I often see people hiking along it.
While planting tulip bulbs, I spotted a man and woman along the trail. I assumed a young couple. The man was lagging behind, dragging his feet. The woman strode twenty feet in front of him, her boots spitting up the gravel on the road. It has started to rain about thirty minutes previous and she was soaked, her hat blown from her head. He had his hood up, his chin down. They had argued, I guessed, and I began to wonder about their argument – what was it about?
Had the hike been the woman’s idea or the man’s? Had one of them told the other that it was a bad day for a hike, the forecast calling for steady rain although it was still warm for autumn? Or perhaps the rain was a catalyst for a deeper disagreement.
I imagined what this might be.
Your Novel Through the LENS of THEME
The title of this blog was originally, ‘Deadlines be Dammed’, which sounds brash, but that isn’t what I needed to write.
I came across a Writer’s Digest course being offered by Paula Munier, called the Plot Perfect Bootcamp and something in the title called out to me.
Not to mention, I thoroughly enjoy sitting in a lecture room while Paula captivates her audience with her smile, her love of dogs and her bold encouragment to do better.
So, I signed up.
Writers and Failure
Do you sometimes feel like a failure as a writer?
Okay, wait. I probably shouldn’t have phrased that as a question, because every writer has, from time to time, had to deal with feelings of failure. In fact, it’s pretty much like the crazy uncle who keeps showing up to family dinners, whether you’ve invited him or not.
I hear often enough from writers who are struggling to get published say they feel like a failure when they get rejection letter after rejection letter. And that’s to be expected. But I’m also talking about published writers, superstar writers who make six figures, as well as writers who don’t necessarily care if they get published. Read more
5 Tips for… ‘PRESS SEND ALREADY!’
It seems some days, I will never learn from my mistakes.
You would think, from the number of examples I can remember, of my utterly dismal performance, that I would improve, get better, and learn how to re-read my work before submitting.
However, recent events would suggest otherwise. Read more