Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
Persistence can be defined as the firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition. It seems that whether you’re an aspiring writer, or one who’s well established, there is always self-doubt. Times when you feel that no one will love your story as much as you and your …
Continue reading “No Pain No Gain: Persistence in Selling Your Manuscript”
Okay, so I know I was being a crybaby about pitching my newest project at my last posting. I shouldn’t be. I’m old enough to handle pain and rejection. I had two babies without so much as a Tylenol. But when it comes to rejection, well, it’s always painful. I’ve talked about the biology of …
Continue reading “Renewed Optimism: Pitching Your Novel”
I feel a little down this week, or maybe I’m just being reflective. Perhaps it’s because the holidays are right around the corner, or because I’ve had a crappy few years filled with injury after injury. Being sidelined on my couch is good for writing but not so hot for the rest of my life. …
Continue reading “Moody Musings: Shopping My Novel. Again.”
This is my final post in this series. My intent has been to make the case for Fiction as Art. To that end I have expressed my thoughts on the definition of art, the search for aesthetic absolutes in fiction writing, the neuroscience of creativity, and finally, mastery of craft. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed …
Continue reading “The Artist as Master: The Fictional Process”
I’m postponing the next installment on my series, Fiction as Art, as we’ve embarked on a Halloween themed week. The Grim Reaper broke into my house on a frigid January night when I was five and stole the body and perhaps the soul of my four-year-old brother. I had no understanding of death at such …
Continue reading “Death: The Highest Stake for a Writer”
This is the next installment in my series on Fiction as Art. The other night, my writing workshop instructor handed out a reading assignment on crafting dialogue. Ho-Hum, I thought, I know how to write dialogue. But buried near the end of this article came a golden little nugget that blew me away. Paraphrasing the …
Continue reading “Imagination and the Unconscious: The Neuroscience of Creativity”
This is the next installment in my series on Fiction as Art. Thanks for all the well-wishes after my shoulder surgery. Typing one-handed is a bitch, however. “Ignorance is bliss,” my mother used to say. It turns out my lack of knowledge about writing was a blessing because nothing stood in the way of my …
Continue reading “The Art of Fiction: Where to Begin?”
I reported last week that I’m taking a writing class, billed as “intermediate level” but after two meetings I’ve concluded that most of the participants are newbies. It’s forced me to reflect on how I wound up as a writer: a former science teacher/administrator who became possessed by the sudden and uncontrollable urge to write …
Continue reading “Fiction as Art: Going Back to the Beginning”
As you know, I recently relocated from New York to Virginia and as is the case when most people move, I was looking for new opportunities to meet people, especially since I miss my evenings at the coffee shop with my old writer group and mostly communicate with them via computer. Luckily, I found this …
Continue reading “Moody Musings…”
I’m in the final stages of polishing my latest manuscript and going through my checklist for those tiny little nits that always manage to slip through. Rather than doing a complete read-through for like the millionth time (which at some point becomes counter-productive because you know it too well), I pick random passages and scrutinize …
Continue reading “Self-Editing Redux: Spot Checking”