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New Directions?
Starting a blog is easy. Keeping it going is a bit more challenging. The internet is littered with the carcasses of failed and abandoned blogs. I’m sure most bloggers fantasize about hitting the big league and making lots of money at least once in a while. But the vast majority of active blogs aren’t the least…
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Back to Square One
My affection for the people in my writer’s group has come up here several times before. We’re a diverse group with different backgrounds, interests, strengths, and weaknesses. Together we’re a tough bunch of well-informed critics. Besides the formal submission process and the critiques provided at our regular meetings, there’s also a lot of informal sharing.…
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Hurry Up and Wait
The most common advice for new writers is to keep writing. Serious writers devote a few hours to the craft every day. I try, but too often, life gets in the way. Serious writers would say that life getting in the way is just an excuse. If I really wanted to, I’d find the time.…
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The Week in Review
For the past two weeks, I’ve been too busy to blog. I’m still busy, but the bug I picked up at a conference last week in Charlotte has prevented me from running or going to the gym. Consequently, I have a bit more free time. The conference went well–better than I expected. The hotel staff…
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Never Say Never
Things I’ve always said I’d never do have become regular habits over the last year or so. Recently quite a few people–including some of my regular readers–have asked me how I do it. In today’s post, I’m going to attempt to explain. Writing Glass Houses was the beginning of my transformation. I never thought I…
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Aiming High
Because of everything I’ve learned about writing in the year since I finished writing it, revising Glass Houses has been more interesting and less tedious than I expected. Leaving it alone for nearly a year helped, too. Hard to say whether the passage of time or my growth as a writer helped more. Both made…
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More Than Friends
I finished writing Glass Houses about a year ago. After receiving rejections from the agent of my dreams and a publisher that seemed perfect for my book, I knew I needed help. Several friends suggested I check out local groups for writers. A Google search turned up a group right here in Athens. I sent…
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What on Earth Did I Do?
Since the first of the year, I’ve been running like crazy. Seems like there’s never a spare moment to just kick back and relax. Well, that’s not entirely true, but I sure don’t have the kind of downtime I had just a few years ago. Four years ago, we didn’t have any dogs. It’s not…
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Revisions: Round Two
Today I spent a few hours working on revisions to Glass Houses. Having completed line edits, I’m now reading every word from the beginning again, and thinking more about how it all fits together. It’s a complete immersion process–the kind of task that requires focus and concentration. Once I get rolling, revisiting the manuscript is…
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Progress!
I spent the better part of last year writing Addicted, my first novel. For much of that time, a freelance editor was working her magic on my memoir, Glass Houses. Though she sent me her recommendations and suggestions back in November, I decided to finish the novel before turning my attention to revising the memoir.…