The Joy (Yes, Joy) of Spreadsheets
Last Thursday, I took my annual trip to DC for my day job and spent the day at the office. I always enjoy seeing my coworkers but am equally happy to come back to my solo workstation in my home….
Category: Revision
THIS DRAFT SUCKS
It’s the first afternoon of the Novel Incubator Alumni Writing Retreat in Jackson, NH. From my room up in the eaves, I read over the last chapter of the latest draft of my novel, attach the whole thing to an…
Dharma Buds: Revision Road with Buddha and the Gecko
I have just spent two-and-a-half years revising my novel.* The odds on getting it published feel, well, long. My writer friends (published and in-the-queue) tell horrific tales of editors** who do not buy the manuscript, but offer advice, “What if…
Friday Feast: Shed Your Leaves, Apples, Words, Sentence Diagrams and More
Ah, mid-October. Time of endless apple-picking social media posts, picked over apple pies in workplace kitchens, apple pies and apple butters and assorted apples in jars that you don’t know what to do with so you give them away as…
Tunnel Syndrome
I’ve struggled recently with two different sorts of tunnel syndrome. The first type is affecting the nerves in my elbows and hands. My husband, not a doctor, says it’s carpal tunnel syndrome. Symptoms include numbness, tingling, stiffness and a sensation…
How Novels Are Like Bad Eggs: Learning from Nature’s Mistakes
If you keep chickens and a novelist about the homestead then you know how similar egg laying is to novel writing. In a chicken an egg is formed over a 25-hour period. The yolk is released from the hen’s ovary,…