books
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One thing that doesn’t get talked about much is the wait. Publishing runs on timing all its own. It follows no other schedule known to man, or at least known to me. If you think that waiting in a Dr’s office or ER is long, publishing will completely redefine what waiting really means. It starts…
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In case you missed it, you can find the other three entries here: the beginning, inspiration and outline. Now we’re looking at characters. For me, characters are where the story really comes alive. The better I know my imaginary friends, the better the story works. There’s a lot of advice on how to get to…
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Ah, outlining. How you are so controversial! There are three kinds of authors: The Plotter, The Pantser and The Plantser. Fear not, I will explain these terms. The Plotter: these folks write a dedicated outline, to one degree or another. Some have a rough map of big plot points, like a one page synopsis that…
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So, back in this post, I said I’d boiled down my writing process into three points when drafting a new novel: inspiration, outline, and characters. For me, everything starts with an idea. This can be something from a headline, a day dream, a bit of conversation overheard while waiting in line at the grocery store.…
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Being an author can be an awkward life. There’s so much work that happens long before you can point to an actual book for sale that I’ve considered claiming a career in something more straightforward, like being an international spy or llama psychologist. How do you explain the journey of writing a novel? “Well, I…
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Maybe it’s my anxiety squirrels having a moment, but is there a good way to call up, say, the local police or fire department to ask questions about how to plot a crime? It can be really hard to find accurate information sometimes without sending up some concerning flags. Telling them, “I swear, I’m an…
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The term ‘pantser’ is taken from the expression, ‘flying by the seat of your pants.’ Personally, I think of it more as the Ms. Frizzle approach. “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”… while flying by the seat of your pants. I usually have the last scene in mind, and maybe a snapshot in my head…
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In our family, The Husband and I take turns reading bedtime stories to the Littles, who aren’t as little as they used to be, but are still willing to be read to. Right now, they like old Garfield comics. Since I’ve already read ALL the Captain Underpants books and ALL the spinoffs multiple times, it’s…
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Okay. I know as authors we’re creative. We like to bend the rules upon occasion, be it blending genres, creating different rules of magic, that kind of thing. We’re allowed to make up whatever rules we want in our own sandbox, as long as they’re consistent and make sense. Like, you can’t have your vampire…
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One of the most popular questions agented authors get is HOW. How did you do it? There are a lot of things I could say, to make it sound like some dark, mysterious event. Probably involving some magic, candles, chanting, possibly a deal made with a member of Faerie whose name cannot be mentioned, or…
