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Posts Tagged ‘The Wolf Tree’

A Door in the Wall

Posted in Creativity, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on 20 Feb 2019| 3 Comments »

This past holiday weekend, we broke with our stay-cation tradition and took a little getaway to a lovely place, a re-purposed US Army base on the northern edge of the Olympic Peninsula.

But I don’t want to talk about the place, not right now. Instead, I want to share what we did while we were there. (Don’t worry, it’s SFW.)

Regular readers may have wondered what the hell is happening with my current Work-In-Progress, my dual-timeline novel set in Seattle. And you’ve had good reason to wonder. (more…)

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I’m Sorry, Dave

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , on 20 Nov 2014| 11 Comments »

HAL_9000I’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.

(more…)

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Stoking the Fire

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , on 13 Nov 2013| 2 Comments »

Piazza

Pen has hit paper on The Wolf Tree.

Admittedly, it’s nothing to shout about. I’ve merely written and rewritten the opening line about two dozen times. We talked about opening lines a while back, and the decision I made then was to take more time working the opening line for this book. Well, I’ve been doing that.

Ever worked on a single sentence for three days? (more…)

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Once More, Unto the Breach

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , on 07 Nov 2013| Leave a Comment »

The Wolf Tree

Life has begun (touch wood) to settle. Crises have subsided. Daily dramas have diminished. The weather has turned cold and windy and wet, calming nerves and dampening temperaments.

Now it’s time to get back to work. The Wolf Tree is once more underway.

I’ve had a few days off this week, and First Reader and I have taken long walks in the blustery drear, kicking around ideas like the autumn leaves at our feet. I’ve worked on the timelines for the intertwined stories, settled on names for the major characters, and started to flesh out their personal histories.

(more…)

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Small Details, Big Solution

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 29 Jul 2013| 1 Comment »

Stack of BooksFirst, a welcome to our new subscribers. At some point we popped up over the 200 member mark, which I find pretty cool. So, thanks, all, for your interest.

My free time this weekend was spent backtracking. I’d started my research of Seattle’s history at 1860, heading up the years toward 1874, but it became clear that for my purposes, 1874 Seattle was just too big a town. I want a setting that is rougher, more primitive, and a town that is smaller.

Picking 1874, the backstory for my main “Old Seattle” character included experience in the Civil War, possibly with injuries, certainly with trauma. I wanted a reason for him to immigrate to the West, but also a reason for him to recoil from society and live outside the town. (more…)

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Getting it Right

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on 23 Jul 2013| Leave a Comment »

Stack of Books…and why it matters.

I’m still researching Seattle history for my next book, The Wolf Tree, trudging through Thomas Prosch’s bone-dry but fact-filled Chronological History of Seattle from 1850 to 1897. I’m up to 1871, which is within spitting distance to my target of 1874.

Some people might say this is a bit over-the-top for what is essentially a secondary story line in a mainstream/non-genre novel, and I’ll admit, I do have a tendency to over-research.

But you know what? That’s just tough. Deal with it, peeps. I won’t apologize or change.

Here’s why. (more…)

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Threshing for Facts

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 12 Jul 2013| 1 Comment »

Stack of BooksFor the past few weeks, I’ve been doing research for The Wolf Tree. It’s been an education, in several ways.

Seattle isn’t like New York or San Francisco or London. I don’t have dozens of books to choose from, rows of scholarly tomes filled with history, details, and anecdotes. (more…)

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