October of last year, I mapped out a new novel, beginning, middle, and end. I fast-drafted it during NaNoWriMo in November, hitting 57k words. The word count topped 50k, so technically, I won. But by…
Continue viewing ...The novel I thought I was writing is not the book I need to write
You don’t have to be a virtuoso to make great art, you just have to reach down deep into yourself and pull out the most authentic version of your pain. Don’t forget. It’s possible your…
Continue viewing ...What I learned from the Johnny Cash bio by Hilburn
The current work in progress. A weird, dark fantasy about scapegoating. Draft 0 now weighing in at around 67k words.
Continue viewing ...Novels somewhere in the process of being dreamed up, drafted, or edited
The Johnny Cash song, Man in Black, explained it. Cash sang: I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down, Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town, I wear it for the…
I’ve been thinking about the common metaphors for the writing experience, or at least of novel creation. One is the planner/pantser dichotomy. Either you plot it in advance or make it up as you go.…
I spend so much time in front of a computer, writing and designing, or on the smartphone where I read every interesting book and I can get in ebook format. Online activities take up a…
Continue viewing ...Taking a hands-on break from the digital
Fluffy cream-coated dog riding in the back seat of a Jetta, shakes his ears and sticks his head out the window. Wind flies under him and lifts his ears like wings. They ride higher that…
Continue viewing ...When I see dogs, I imagine them doing stupid things
I’m an intuitive writer. When working on a creative project, I begin with a seed idea and then it grows from there. I can’t tell you what that seed always is. Sometimes it’s a voice…
Continue viewing ...The individual spark from draft 0 through version 20