Much like the two fictional families in my novel “I Knew Men,” the Fraziers and the Newmans, my own family enjoys hanging out, especially when food is involved. Recently, when I was with my two daughters and a good friend, playing cribbage and sharing a pina colada bowl, our conversation turned to guessing which words… Continue reading My favorite word I love and hate
Tag: writing process
The colorful world that’s now black & white.
On January 6 I returned my first edited review to Newman Springs Publishing. The entire process has progressed from the colorful world of writing to the black & white vastness of editing. It was painful to scrutinize every sentence. I also found the experience to be exhilarating. Line by line, I reviewed the suggestions my… Continue reading The colorful world that’s now black & white.
Am I a serious writer now?
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. Most often it’s been for someone else, whether a homework assignment, newsletter, grant proposal, sales piece, amusing letters from Santa for Facebook friends … I enjoy the parts of any circumstance that involve writing. “Writer” is not a stand out in my resumes, however. It… Continue reading Am I a serious writer now?
“The first draft review can be a bit overwhelming.”
On December 1st, I received the first draft edits of “I Knew Men” for my review. My double-spaced manuscript of 341 pages had been reduced to 170 pages, sized to fit a 6″ by 9″ paperback. I realize that text styling to make things look pretty is coming further down the road, but to see… Continue reading “The first draft review can be a bit overwhelming.”
The Unexpected and Fateful Publisher Search
I remember taking a deep breath when “I Knew Men” counted out to 99,700 words. It was time to pursue the big dream of publishing! Backing up a little, I first dared to look into publishing a few years ago, when I announced at Rotary that I wrote an unpublished novel. For the first time,… Continue reading The Unexpected and Fateful Publisher Search
12 years is a long time to complete a novel — or is it?
In his book, “On Writing,” Stephen King said, “I believe the first draft of a book — even a long one — should take no more than 3 months.” Given that it took me 2 years to complete mine, does it come as a surprise that it took me 12 years to complete the editing… Continue reading 12 years is a long time to complete a novel — or is it?
Cut? But I love this part so much.
So many words! So many words! Turning one novel into two helped to solve my giant word count problem, but I still had a long way to go to get “I Knew Men” into shape if I wanted to pursue publication. There were scenes and experiences that I had thrown my heart into, that I… Continue reading Cut? But I love this part so much.
Whose head is this? The POV lesson
When I received the initial manuscript review of “I Knew Men” from Marg Gilks 12 years ago, I felt both encouraged and discouraged. She gave me confidence about the story itself, but serious editing was needed if I wanted a chance at living the author’s dream. I didn’t have resources to pay for anything beyond… Continue reading Whose head is this? The POV lesson