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I didn't think so, until someone I trusted pointed it out to me in a few different stories I am working on. I've had the greatest fortune to recently find a critique partner that gets me, gets me writing and most importantly, speaks the truth. We're thousands of miles away - she's in New Zealand,…

The Waiting Game

It's been three weeks since I sent out my first five agent queries for Oldsters. After hitting send on those emails, I've put that process out of my mind for now. I left Eddie and his friends at the end of the story and hope that my first attempt at a query letter will garnish some kind…

Handling Multiple Story Arcs

I just finished editing the first draft of my novel Oldsters, and one of the toughest things was making sure I navigated between my five main characters successfully. When I started writing the book, I considered making two of the characters equal protagonists. Over time, however, the story unfolded in such a way that helped…

Call Me An Author!

  I did it...I just finished my first novel, Oldsters. First draft came in at just under 122k, and I can't think of a better way to have celebrated Independence Day! THIS IS HOW IT FEELS! I cannot even think about constructing a worthy post right now - I just had to get this out…

Doing the Leg Work

Speaking of her writing process, author Jacquelyn Mitchard said, “I do a great deal of research. I don’t want anyone to say, ‘That could not have happened.’” I imagine most writers feel this way, but it’s not just about having your facts straight. One of the great things about writing a novel is putting your characters…

One Writing Process Does Not Fit All…

If you’re going the traditional publishing route, and you’re not quite finished with you manuscript, you may think it’s too early to do anything but write. At some point, you may get discouraged and think you’ll never finish the story, let alone go through the necessary editing and re-write stages and then look for an…

Anthologies Away…

So I've talked my critique group into helping me to create and produce an anthology of sorts. I've always thought about submitting stories to anthologies, but I got the idea that it would be a great project for the group - allowing us some relief from our main projects, and for a few of the…

Killing the not so darlings…

Whether the phrase was originally "kill your darlings" or "murder your darlings"; whether it's attributed to Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch or any other number of folks, I am happy to say I've finally embraced this important task of any writer. Editing the first half of my manuscript for Oldsters has not been the chore I envisioned.…

Island Writing

Finally settling into life here on the East Coast of Florida...found a daytime job that lets me concentrate on writing at night and weekends. The only thing missing was people! I'm not someone who needs tons of friends, but I do miss the few people I was close to in St. Pete. In an effort…

The Salt Life

In the process of moving from one coast of Florida to the other, as well as traveling to visit my mother who has just moved into an assisted living facility, I have neglected my blog...so I'm here today to make that right. Hopefully I'll be settled in 100% over on the Atlantic coast within a…