Tag Archives: writing a novel

On Writing What You Know

Posted on May 19, 2013 by

“Write what you know” is one of those nebulous pieces of Writing Advice that everyone picks up along the way. It’s something that no one bothers to explain, because it seems such a simple concept–sort of like “show, don’t tell,” … Continue reading →

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Protip: Yoga doesn’t cure writer’s block (which doesn’t really exist anyway)

Posted on March 2, 2013 by

What do werewolves and writer’s block have in common? Neither of them exist. That being said, I have been experiencing technical difficulties with my current project. It’s a good idea, has a solid backstory and setting, and, I think, is … Continue reading →

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Retreat, Hell! or, On the Importance of Having Writer Friends

Posted on January 24, 2013 by

This weekend, I spent four days in a cabin in the woods with four other women, limited internet access, and no phone signal. IT WAS AWESOME. And here’s why I love NaNoWriMo so gosh-darn much: you meet like-minded people. I … Continue reading →

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Getting Back on the [redacted] Horse

Posted on September 4, 2012 by

I got a rejection letter two weeks ago. Yay! Whatever, I get a lot of them. It’s part of the querying process, where you bare your soul and months’ (or years’, or whatever) worth of brain-melting, fingertip-blistering, sleep-depriving, dark-bag-forming, friend-losing, … Continue reading →

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How I Learned to Write a Damn Book

Posted on July 23, 2012 by

A lot of you probably wonder why I fangirl so ridiculously hard on Jim Butcher all the time. A lot of you probably think that I have some kind of crazycatlady crush on the man–or maybe on Harry Dresden. You … Continue reading →

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A letter from Camp NaNoWriMo

Posted on June 22, 2012 by

I have been lax, constant readers, because this month I have been participating in Camp NaNoWriMo. For those of you unfamiliar, National Novel Writing Month (hosted by the Office of Letters and Light) is a program I feel very strongly … Continue reading →

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The Problem with Present Tense (in which I tacitly pimp Chuck Wendig’s BLACKBIRDS)

Posted on June 5, 2012 by

Let’s be clear: I do not encourage new writers to write in the present tense. It is, by and large, not for the faint of heart – and certainly not for the faint of grammar. Present tense works in one … Continue reading →

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The Importance of Synopsizing

Posted on March 28, 2012 by

Writing a synopsis! It’s awful. Especially for those of us on Team Pants (not to be confused with Team Bella), and eschew all manner of plotting, character summaries, chapter outlines, and scene lists. Because really, who wants to do those? … Continue reading →

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The joy [and pain] of beta readers

Posted on February 13, 2012 by

I’m sitting here in a friend’s living room while she reads my manuscript. I’ve voluntarily subjected myself to this, of course, having given comment-making rights on the Google Doc to a half-dozen or more people, to suffer the slings and … Continue reading →

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It’s not me, it’s you.

Posted on January 14, 2012 by

I gave up on a manuscript a few days ago. I was 26,057 words in. This is better than it sounds. This year’s NaNo project turned out better than it had any right to. I wrote 80,000 words in 30 … Continue reading →

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