I’m editing. Yes, still. And I’m having one of those moments, you know, when you want to smack yourself on the forehead, but instead of saying, “You could’ve had a V8!” you say, “How could you not have known that?!” Backstory. Oh, sure, I had backstory. I knew all about my heroine’s childhood, her parents, how she lost her virginity, and how she lost her true love. She’s 30. That’s up to about 20. I had even less for my hero. See, here’s what got me: the story starts when the action begins. That’s one of those Rules. Notice the capital R? Rules. The RulesRead More →

I’m editing. I have (once again) hit writer’s block and decided this would be the perfect time to edit… or totally rip apart… my first novel. Except, of course, I still don’t feel like writing. So I’m pushing my way through. And feeling like a petulant two-year-old: “But it’s hard!” It’s so scary, looking at something like this again, something I spent years working on, something I was never really sure I would finish. And, it’s finished. Except it needs a lot of work. I’ve learned so much, and I guess that’s good, but it makes it so much easier to see what I didRead More →

I know, in a logical manner, that writer’s block isn’t a real, insurmountable thing. It’s a lot of possible twists, in your work and in your life, that manifests as, “I don’t want to.” Or sometimes, “I can’t. I really, really think maybe… I can’t!” But what it comes down to is your imagination, or maybe your muse, telling you, “This isn’t working for me.” Here’s what I do when uninspiration strikes: 1. Read through it. Read what you’ve already written. Read your notes. Make more notes. It won’t be long before your heroine will say, “You know I’d never do that, right?” Or somethingRead More →