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Dealing with Ugly Stepchildren and Other Realities of Writing Life
I am currently writing what I consider the worst book I have ever written. But on the other hand, I am writing it. After all, according to Anne Lamott, writers have to give themselves permission to...
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Distracted
There was a time when I used to study for classes in front of the TV, music playing in the background, often while speaking on the phone. I could even do it with other people in the room doing their...
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Review: “Bird by Bird” By Anne Lamott
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. Anchor Books. 237 pages. As a writer, and as a writing teacher, I am always looking for books that teach writing. And there are lots...
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The Price of Being Honest
Every good idea I ever had, I stole from someone else. It’s a truism I made up and recited time and time again over the years to student writers. The idea is that every idea is not original, but is a...
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By the Numbers
The writing project I am currently working on, for a variety of reasons, has been a task of fits and starts. But we will get there. Yesterday I came home early to an empty house. My first inclination...
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Writing Backwards
Some days you eat the bear. Some days the bear eats you. -Unknown For those who have been following this blog for any reasonable amount of time, my latest literary battle goes by the name of Tesla’s...
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Listen to Your Characters
I’m the kind of writer that likes to have a pretty good idea of where my story is going before I sit down to write. My first book wasn’t that way, and I spent two years wandering in the wilderness...
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Tesla’s Ghost: Meet the Family
I’ve been rambling on about my current project, Tesla’s Ghost for quite a while, and I’m pleased to say that I’m coming close to having the first draft completed. It’s not like any story I’ve ever...
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Almost There
Well, yesterday was a godsend. I got an incredible amount of writing done, and at the end of the day I found myself just three chapters away from having my first draft of Tesla’s Ghost completed. Of...
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When It’s Time to Write the Last Chapter
I often tell the story of when I wrote my first book. I finished it, printed off the manuscript, put it in a nice envelope, addressed it, put the proper postage on it, then promptly let it lie on my...
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Finished…for now
Yesterday I put the finishing touches on the last chapter of Tesla’s Ghost. The first draft is complete. Now the work begins. I’ve been down this road too many times to count, so I know that for all...
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On the Cutting Room Floor
Tesla’s Ghost is currently in the editing phase. I’ve finished the first draft–rough draft, or crap draft if you will–and now I’m trying to make my new darling as presentable as possible. When you’re...
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Painting (writing?) as an Art Form
I haven’t been online much this week, and it’s not because I’ve been tied up in the office or in the classroom. I’ve been painting. We have this routine around here that stretches back about 19...
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Wherefore Art Thou, Tesla?
Some of you may be wondering what is happening with my book, Tesla’s Ghost. Some of you may not be wondering at all. Some of you may be wondering who Tesla is. In any case, I just finished my second...
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This is the end….No, THIS is the end!
Tesla’s Ghost is almost ready for my Beta readers. Actually, it would have been ready if real life hadn’t gotten in the way. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. The reality is, I have an ending...
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How to Have an Epiphany
I am a true believer in epiphanies, those precious, rare events when suddenly a great idea seems to come to you out of the blue. I have actually only had a true epiphany come to me a few times in my...
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Storytelling 101: Why It’s All About Worldview
For those who don’t know much about me, I’m a novelist who makes a living as a university professor during daylight hours. I’ve been doing this (the professor part) for 19 years now, and before that I...
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Getting My Research Hat On
Years ago…I mean eons ago, when I was in grade school…I used to change what I was going to do with my life from day to day. One day it would be a fireman, the next an archeologist, the next a soldier....
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Nobody Cares If You Don’t
Back in the early 80s, I wrote my first book. And I almost didn’t write it, simply because I didn’t believe in myself. I did get as far as writing a query letter to three book publishers, telling them...
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Baptism By Immersion
I’ve always wondered about those authors who state that the day after they finish writing a novel they sit down at the keyboard and start typing the next one. It goes hand-in-glove with the idea of...
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