We're Not Islands

Why are so many writers connecting with each other through the internet, even though it bites (sometimes hard) into our writing time?

Because we need each other. We love to stay in touch and share our challenges and success stories. The Parisians had their salons, we have our Twitter, our Blogs, our Websites et al.

Here's something special: The fabulous Edith Cohn has posted her first author interview (with author Jo Knowles) on her blog. Check it out here: http://tinyurl.com/q2z8af

I am so grateful for my writing tribe and am thrilled to see it growing!

SCBWI Grant

So last week I got the news that I won the SCBWI Work-In-Progress Grant for a Contemporary Novel. I've spent a week thinking they must have made a mistake. I just read the announcement on the SCBWI website. It must be real, right?

What does winning this grant mean? I'm not sure, but I think it must be REALLY REALLY REALLY good news. My first reaction was disbelief. Then I said, "Yikes, I've gotta get that final revision done."

A day later I said, "Cool. Maybe I could attend the 2010 SCBWI Winter Conference in NY... Yikes. I've gotta get that final revision done."

So basically, what this grant means is that I've got a lot of work to do. A work I love.

Thanks to all of you who helped make this possible.

WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK: Fever 1973 (Laurie Halse Anderson)

Inspiration

What helps me to write everyday?

I love to read.
I love to write.
I love to read what I write, mostly.

What inspires you?

WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK: A Bad Boy can be Good for a Girl (Tanya Lee Stone) Prom (Laurie Halse Anderson) All the Broken Pieces (Ann E.Burg) Kaleidoscope Eyes (Jen Bryant)

First Drafts

This week I started working on a new novel. It's been over a year since I've put fresh ink on paper, so to speak. Each morning I ask, "How do I do this again?".

"One word at a time, until you get at least 250 of them." I answer.

The story is moving along, but I can't seem to turn off the revision/editor part of my brain. I'm not sure I need to turn it off, just maybe turn it down.

What about you? Are your first drafts super rough, or do you edit as you go?

WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK: Loose Threads and Hold Me Tight (Lorie Ann Grover) Very Valentine(Adriana Trigiani)

Aha Moments

Introspection is always my challenge.


The answer was there all the time, but until yesterday morning, I didn't see how to structurally integrate my main character's disturbed inner voices into the story.

Now I know.

The aha moment!

Revising this novel has been like exploring a cave. The deeper I go, the darker it gets. I do see a beam of light ahead, but it's taking an awfully long time to reach it.

Aha moments. One of the many joys of writing.

WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK: The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Muriel Barbery)When You Reach Me (Rebecca Stead)Secret Letters from 0-10 (Susie Morgenstern)

Patience

So many important words in a writer's world start with the letter "p". Here are a few that come to mind:

Passion
Perseverance
Plot
Premise
Proportion
Presence
Protagonist
Publish
Publicity
Poetry
Partial
Paragraph
Publisher
Promote

But the most important and troublesome word in my writer vocabulary is:

PATIENCE

How does a naturally impatient person like me exercise patience? I take the advice of the collective professional wisdom that encourages us writers to KEEP WRITING. Immersing myself in a new project is the best remedy I have found.

What about you? What helps you to be patient?

Do you have more "p" words to add to my list?

WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK: The Dead and the Gone (Susan Beth Pfeffer) The Treasure Map of Boys (E. Lockhart) Red Glass (Laura Resau)

Writing and Computers

What I love about writing on my computer:

#1 The delete button

#2 Instant on-line access to dictionaries, Thesaurus, foreign word translators, search engines, et al.

#3 The Find/Replace option in Microsoft Word

#4 The heat that radiates from my laptop (winter)

What I hate about writing on my computer:

#1 Microsoft Word's mysterious glitch that occasionally makes my days saved work disappear without a trace. Finally found a solution after many stomach-wrenching failures.

#2 Instant on-line access to loads of enticing sites

#3 The grammar/spelling option in Microsoft Word (thank goodness for the ability to disable it)

#4 The heat that radiates from my laptop (summer)

WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK: The Countess Below Stairs (Eva Ibbotson) September Sisters (Jillian Cantor)Every Soul a Star (Wendy Mass)