I am still–and continually–reading Page Fright, which means I have become more obsessed with the process of writing than usual. It also makes me think of how both writers and non-writers fetishize the process, giving birth to the idea that ‘real writers’ write longhand, or only use typewriters; that ‘real writers’ must have certain conditions met–perfect silence, a particular type of… (more…)
Writer: n. Someone living in a constant state of wtf by choice. ~Eric Andrew Satchwill Lately, I’ve been reading Page Fright: Foibles and Fetishes of Famous Writers by Harry Bruce. At one point, he quotes a number of authors talking about the abject terror they feel when they sit down to write, and it got me thinking about my own attitude… (more…)
or Why Am I Wrestling An Octopus Into A Mayonnaise Jar Again? “Writing a novel… is like wrestling an octopus into a mayonnaise jar.” –Attributed to Patti Hill. I think this quote describes the writing process perfectly (thank you @BA_Matthews for bringing it to my attention). It’s not impossible to wrestle an octopus into a mayonnaise jar. They’re squishy and can squeeze… (more…)
We all have our writing routines. Some are more strict than others, some involve a particular setting or music, and some include what we’re reading when we’re not working. Sometimes we need these routines–and sometimes we need to abandon them for something completely different. My routine typically involves listening to no music whatsoever while working, and reading a similar genre… (more…)
Walking into this bookstore is a different experience than walking into pretty much any other bookstore for one very good reason: it isn’t any other bookstore. It isn’t just another of a large chain of stores striving to make every shopping experience absolutely identical. This bookstore has an identity. I’m talking specifically about Shelf Life Books in Calgary, but I’m… (more…)
As you can probably guess, I’m deep in the middle of the editing process on my novel. I’ve been through the whole story at least once–some parts many, many more times than that–and now I’m making all those minor adjustments needed for the story to flow and make sense. Except that there are no minor adjustments. Not really. One of… (more…)
As writers, we tend to be solitary creatures. It’s the nature of our work. Sitting in the dark pounding away at a keyboard for hours upon hours doesn’t really lend itself to rich and varied social life. Add the fact that most ‘normal’ people don’t want to hear how our characters hijacked our story yet again, and it looks like… (more…)
There’s a peculiar thing that happens when I start reading something written by Chuck Wendig… I lose time. An afternoon. A whole day. The latest culprit? Blackbirds. Now, it’s entirely possible that I felt more invested in this book than many of the others I’ve picked up off the shelves. In some second-hand way, I feel that through Twitter posts… (more…)
In a bit of a continuation of my previous post on planning after the fact, I thought I’d share with you one of the things I’m doing to help myself figure out what I’m doing with Fallen Things. It started as a spur-of-the-moment suggestion from my critique group to help me with identifying and writing description: going through a favourite… (more…)
Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, if you’re going to write a book–and want it to make sense–you’re going to have to do some planning at some point. It’s a given that plotters will do the bulk of their planning before ever putting fingertips to keyboard to write their first draft, but what about those of us who just… (more…)