I cut and tweaked yesterday’s words until the synopsis fit onto five pages, double spaced. It was more about eliminating lines than words, but I wound up with something sort of cohesive. I think. As the synopsis marathon gets under way, we’ll start critiquing each other’s synopses, and then we’ll see if it makes sense…

Another chapter of *False Perceptions* is done, and it only took me an entire week to write the 2400 words! Okay, not really bragging about that part. But I’m glad to be back rolling with this. This chapter is definitely the beginning of the end of the book, so it’s all down hill from here….

I came to the realization yesterday that there is a reason dragons are over-done in fantasy literature. Sure we think they’re cool, but there’s more to it than that. Really, there are only so many mythological beasts that are willing to transport humans, so if the writer is looking for something beyond horses and sailing…

I’m almost halfway through the read-through of Marks of Repentance, aka Shanh’s story. I’m certainly seeing things that need addressing, but all in all I really love this story still. I wrote the first draft from March to July 2005 and wanted nothing more than to keep going and write its sequel. Somehow or other…

I’ve done the read-through of Marks of Repentance and the spell check and all that fun stuff, and discovered one little scene missing, which I’ll write and tuck in within the next couple of days. I’ve promised a few people they could read this version and I’m not sure who. Er…sorry. If it was you,…

Just what I didn’t really need today. Summer of 2008 I wrote like crazy on a novel I was absolutely in love with. I called her Tempest. She was crazy, she was scary, she went in directions I hadn’t been before and wasn’t sure I liked, but at the same time, I believe she was…

Just a short note today on plotting. I’ve got a few novels (seven complete) under my belt, and I’ve tried the whole range of styles from seat-of-the-pants to uber-plotted. This time, I’m trying once again to find a balance. Thanks to Cheryl Wyatt, author of five romance novels published by Steeple Hill (the inspirational arm…

Today’s count was a little shy of my goal at 2232, but the scenes appear to be complete so I’m not sweating it. And besides, I cleared the halfway point!

Isn’t it interesting how ideas floating around in the subconscious of our netherland bump into each other, hang on, and attract more? Yeah, I’m talking about my nano novel which is starting to take some shape. Which is good, because we start writing in just twenty days. So, my mom gets Reader’s Digest and passes…

Caught up in the struggles of writing a novel? Frustrated by the blinking cursor? Fighting with blank pages, soggy plots, or on-strike characters? If you’d like to regain–or, perhaps, find for the first time–your joy in writing, why not learn How to Think Sideways from established novelist and well-loved writing instructor Holly Lisle? She’s taught…

From the journal of Author Elizabeth Bear, They Must Need Bears: On exposition: like everything else in writing, it’s a tension, and a line that you will wobble back and forth over a thousand times while you learn your craft. First you will not explain enough. Then you will overcorrect and explain too much. Then,…

How many stories do you have in progress at any one time? My answer used to be ONE. At least one per stage! And while that is still my preferred number, I’m juggling edits on two projects right now. Here’s the status lowdown: Joy Comes in the Morning–retiring. A trusted friend and I read through…

I’ve entered the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis contest for the past three years, finaling in Speculative Fiction each year. The past two years I’ve also been a category judge. This year’s contest just opened a couple of days ago, with a deadline of March 31st, 2010, 8 a.m. Pacific Time. If you’re thinking of…