Posted in Writing, tagged novel writing, creative writing, building believable characters, indie authors on 12 Oct 2017| 1 Comment »
Going back over early notes for this novel, I realized that this project has been rattling around in my head for over a decade.
The first outline I wrote up has a note on the top: Tabled Jan 2004.
Initially, this was very depressing. (more…)
Posted in Seattle, Writing, tagged creative writing, novel writing, Seattle history, writing research on 28 Sep 2017| 3 Comments »
Fish or cut bait. Poop or get off the pot. Split wood or lend someone the axe.
During the run-up to a novel project, there comes a time when I must put down the books and pick up the pen. My problem, though, has usually been knowing when I’ve reached that point, that moment of sufficiency when, though I certainly don’t know everything about the pertinent subjects, I know enough to get started.
Now is that time. (more…)
Posted in Writing, tagged creative writing, novel writing, procrastinating, Writing on 13 Jul 2017| 2 Comments »
Just because I wasn’t writing, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t writing.
I know to some it seems like I’ve been procrastinating, putting off actually breaking through my years-long writer’s block, but it hasn’t been all “Mañana, baby.”
In fact, in the past month, I did a lot of writing. No words written, but a lot of writing, nonetheless.
It began with re-reading one of my older books, and culminated (well, so far) over this past weekend when I had a revelation about my difficulty getting to Page One. (more…)
Posted in Creativity, Writing, tagged creative writing, novel writing, why do i write, writers block on 22 Jun 2017| 3 Comments »
Typing. Deleting. More typing. More deleting. MOAR typing. Delete delete delete. Delete it all. Every last word, comma, and period.
That was yesterday.
I was working on an essay for this blog and … it wasn’t going well. I was working on a topic that had been rolling around in my head for a month. All my arguments and counterarguments were lined up. I even had a catchy title … well, I thought it was a catchy title, until I googled it and found a hundred thousand other uses of it (including one by Garrison Keillor, which I discovered in a moment that was both uplifting and depressing).
Anyway, for hours I wrote and deleted in precisely equal measure, and in the end I was left with the same blank page I’d started with.
At which point I stopped and wondered: why was I having so much trouble?
The answer was obvious: I had no passion for the topic.
Not anymore, anyway.
Oh, when the idea first struck me, I was all fired up and ready to unleash my staggering intellect upon the world. See my reasoning and despair! But now, a month later, things have changed. Not externally. The premise still stands, the argument still works, and I can find no flaw in my logic, but internally … I just don’t care about it anymore.
This is not a bad thing. (more…)
Posted in Writing, tagged high fantasy, hugh jackman, logan, novel writing, ploughman's son, realism in fantasy, The Ploughman Chronicles, wolverine, writers block, x-men on 31 May 2017| 1 Comment »
Last week we screened Logan, the latest movie starring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. (I was on vacation … don’t judge!) You all know I’m not a big fan of comic-book-inspired films, but Jackman has always surprised me with his talent — in comedies, musicals, and dramas alike — and from the trailer, this one looked interesting enough to warrant the rental. As it turned out, it was worth both the time and the money, but more than that, it reminded me of the harshest criticism I’ve ever received on one of my novels.
Back when I still had a New York literary agent, I turned in the manuscript of my new historical fantasy, Ploughman’s Son, in the hopes that we might begin shopping it around to publishers. I’d worked on it for a long time, bringing it from a weird idea to a published short story and then, following months of research into 9th century Brittany, Europe, and medieval life, I’d forged it into a fantasy novel unlike any I’d ever read.
It was historically accurate from a societal, cultural, and political perspective. It depicted the incredibly harsh and violent conditions that most people endured in what we call The Dark Ages. The pantheon and legends it explored were some that I’d never encountered in other fantasy novels. And yet it also included the basics of the genre, tropes that were familiar enough to engage fans of fantasy, but different enough to keep them interested.
My agent read it, and responded with her opinion. (more…)
Posted in Writing, tagged books, creative writing, Delilah Dawson, Fallen Cloud Saga, novel writing, publishing, self-promotion, self-publishing, whimsydark, Writing, writing tips on 14 Apr 2015| 8 Comments »
To be honest, I started this blog because I want your money. That’s not the only reason, but it’s definitely in the mix.
As a writer, I want people (i.e., you) to read my books. I’ve worked hard writing them, I’m proud of them, and I want folks to read them and enjoy them. I think my books are worth something, though, so I (generally) don’t give them away for free, which means readers must part with some of their money.
Ergo, I want your money. (more…)
Posted in Writing, tagged creative writing, genre writing, novel writing, starting a new project, The Wolf Tree on 20 Nov 2014| 11 Comments »
I’ve finished nine novels, but I’ve probably started a hundred.
Not a hundred different ones. Just the same ones, multiple times. And that’s where I am now.
Starting a project is, for me, a difficult transition. There are so many pivots to make–away from research, away from outlines and characters and structural thinking–and so many habits to suppress, that I get locked up, caught in a loop like HAL9000. Each time I start putting words on paper, questions arise, doubts are sown.
It’s hardest when it’s a brand-new project…like The Wolf Tree, the one I’m struggling with now.
Unraveling Time
Desert Wind
Ploughman's Son
Ploughman King
The Year the Cloud Fell
The Spirit of Thunder
Shadow of the Storm
The Cry of the Wind
Beneath a Wounded Sky
Cryptogenesis: A Memoir