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...
by Mary | Feb 6, 2014 | Uncategorized
This morning, my friend Susan Petrone posted this on Facebook: Financial advisers always say to “pay yourself first,” i.e., put something into your savings first and then pay your bills. I’m off one day a week and it’s supposed to be my writing...
by Mary | Sep 15, 2013 | DOC, EPITAPH, Writer Tech, WYATT
“Quit teasing us!” That was a message from a reader on my Facebook page this morning. She was kidding (kind of) but many of you seem to enjoy these Natural History of a Novel blogs, so here’s another. I started writing Epitaph in the spring of 2011...
by Mary | Aug 28, 2013 | EPITAPH, What I'm working on now., Writer Tech
It’s not the book. It’s me. I am completely fed up with every single word I’ve written. I am convinced that there is not a single interesting fact or phrase in the entire manuscript. I am bored numb by every character except for the two who appear at...
by Mary | Jul 28, 2013 | Children of God, DOC, EPITAPH, THE SPARROW, What I'm working on now., Writer Tech
As I type this, I’m printing out the complete first draft of Epitaph. Getting all the way to the end of the story was an excuse for a low-key celebration on Friday evening: a margarita and dinner at Applebee’s, not the champagne and four-star restaurant...
by Mary | Jul 12, 2013 | EPITAPH, What I'm working on now., Writer Tech
Well, here I am, writing a blog post when I’m one chapter away from completing the first draft of Epitaph. Why? Because I woke up at 5 AM with an urgent desire to read a biography of William S. Hart. Bill Hart was the silent film-era Western star who befriended...