Well, the book is done, but there’s done and there’s DONE. Right now we’re sitting at Stage #1 Done, where all the scenes have been written but there are a few things that don’t add up, a few characters that could be stronger, and a few major plot points I sorta forgot to mention in…
In Which I Leave my Life’s Work at Barnes & Noble
The other night Mark and I went over to Barnes & Noble so he could indulge his new bridge fetish by browsing through the Games section. We both brought our laptops along so we could hang out and be trendy in the cafe for a while. But it turned out I was more interested in…
The Good Old Days
Becky over at Suburban Matron had a clever post today about “dating herself” — a sort of “remember when” montage about how things used to be. I’ve decided to copy her shamelessly, so here’s how old I am: I used to do research in the World Book encyclopedia. As children, my best friend and I…
Victory is Mine!
I’m done with the book! It currently weighs in at about sixty-five thousand words — a good five thousand below my goal. It’s probably publishable at 65K, but it’s definitely a little light, so I’ll be looking to add those extra five thousand words during editing (that’s about fifteen pages to you civilians). It’s quite…
Just For Kelly
Ok, since Kelly asked for my strawberry salad recipe, here it is. This serves about 4. Salad: 1 (10 oz.) bag of spinach, torn 1 (16 oz.) container of strawberries, sliced Dressing: Store bought raspberry vinaigrette + 1 spoonful raspberry jam How much vinaigrette? I honestly don’t know. Basically, just enough to coat everything. I’m…
Crawling Toward the Finish Line
After about 13 months of work, this book is nearly, very nearly, done. I have three more scenes to write: the climax, and two codas. I think I have material for four to five thousand more words; AKA, 15-18 pages. And those 15-18 pages are KILLING me! For some reason, I’m having the worst time…
A Very Leftover Thanksgiving
So Mark and I were on our own for Thanksgiving. We had a turkey breast in the freezer that we planned to cook up for a small Thanksgiving meal, until Mark made this comment: “Why don’t we skip the meal and just go right to the leftovers?” It was brilliant. While we both enjoy Thanksgiving…
1920s Slang
For my book I’ve done research into a lot of subjects, including 1920’s slang. People in the 20’s, like people of every time period, had their own unique way of making themselves understood. “Horesefeathers!” they might say, or “None of your beeswax!” “That’s the cat’s pajamas!” Fast forward to the 2000’s. (The Aughts? The Zips?…
Bridge Building 101
You know that feeling you get when you sit down at your desk in the morning? That ugh, I don’t want to be here, maybe I should get some cocoa or browse around the interwebs, blah, mornings suck kind of feeling? If you don’t, you’re luckier than me. That’s how I feel pretty much every…
My Character Formula
Characters are arguably the most important part of writing, especially for someone who’s hoping to be a series author. So, naturally, I do a lot of thinking (and analyzing and obsessing) about them. I think I’ve finally arrived at my Grand Unifying Theory of Character. Step One: Two Defining Characteristics. They don’t have to go…