by Mary | Jan 31, 2016 | EPITAPH, Writer Tech
When developing a historical novel, I try to get a sense of what’s going on in the wider world that surrounds my story’s setting. War is always there in the background: impending wars, current wars, wars still haunting the dreams of veterans. But what else...
by Mary | Dec 9, 2015 | Writer Tech
Recently two writers got in touch about acknowledging sources for historical fiction. As one asked, Do I need permission from every website owner, author, newspaper, etc. whose information I incorporate into my story? I’m not a lawyer and if you’re lucky...
by Mary | Nov 13, 2014 | EPITAPH, Writer Tech
Have you ever had that dream where you signed up for a college course and forgot about it until you had to take the final exam? Last night, I had the more mature version. I’d forgotten that I was supposed to give a lecture about new research in cognition. I was...
by Mary | Jul 16, 2014 | Edgar Allan Poe, Natural History of a Novel, What I'm working on now., Writer Tech
The first book I didn’t write was about Jean-Louis Michel. The son of a French soldier and a Haitian slave, he was born in 1775 in what is now Haiti. In 1795, Toussaint Louverture and the black population of the island defeated the French army. Those of mixed...
by Mary | Jun 19, 2014 | Edgar Allan Poe, EPITAPH, What I'm working on now., Writer Tech
I am officially between books. On average, it takes me three years to finish a novel. For 36 months running, I start every day the same way. Two cups of coffee, three newspapers. Into the office, hands on the keyboard. Okay, GO. Eventually, an insane drive for...
by Mary | May 6, 2014 | EPITAPH, The Cure For Anger, What I'm working on now., Writer Tech, WYATT
Some novelists start with an outline. For them, a book is like a sculpture that will be modeled in clay. In the beginning, there’s just a wire armature. They add and add and add until the story is complete and rounded. For others — and I am among them...
