by Mary | Jun 14, 2017 | DOC, Natural History of a Novel, THE SPARROW, Unremembered Lives, Writer Tech
A week ago, I got to the final scene of my work-in-progress. It is complete, which is to say, it’s got a coherent plot with a beginning, a middle, and an end. My elevator pitch for Unremembered Lives is “a Romeo and Juliet story set against the backdrop of...
by Mary | Nov 18, 2016 | An Unremembered Life, Current events, Jane Dystel, What I'm working on now., Writer Tech
While working on each of my previous six novels, I assumed it was either the only or the last story I’d ever write. Even follow-on books like Children of God and Epitaph came as a surprise to me. So I’m amazed to find that I’ve begun to do the...
by Mary | Sep 19, 2016 | Uncategorized
It took me three tries to pass statistics in graduate school, but one thing I learned is that sample size is crucial to discerning patterns. After 6.5 novels, I have finally realized that there is always a chapter that stops me cold. The chapter from hell usually...
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 | 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...
