Where are all the mothers of the politicians we have elected? We need them to knock some sense into their boys and girls. I know. You’re going “Huh?” But on May 5th, there was an article about a Minnesota legislator who publicly called Neil Gaiman a “pencil-necked little weasel”. Neil Gaiman’s response on his blog was great, but the topper of the story was that the legislator’s mother, who was […]
As I think about Memorial Day this year, I am reminded that I have a son who was in the Air Force, deployed twice, and came out the other side of his time whole and well-situated to begin his career in the civilian workforce. I also have a brother who is career Air Force, and incredibly successful (as we all knew he would be!), and two nephews just entering their […]
Today I finished mapping the entire main story line (plot) and two subplots from beginning to end. A couple more subplots to map this weekend, then I can review them against each of the pivotal character’s emotional arc and see where changes need to be made, scenes deleted, etc. For those who read the original draft of the first half, one of the characters is officially gone from the story: […]
Today I am making my first pass through my story cards. The goal is to review the main and each sub storyline, match them against the character arcs I just finished, and use that information to help me decide which scenes are fine as is, which ones I need to beef up or trim down, and which I need to delete in service of the story. Before I got my […]
If you read my earlier post, you know I’m in the final stages of the novel, and have a deadline to be finished and ready to pitch the book by August 5th. To keep me motivated (and you informed), I will be chronicling my progress and learnings here. PROBLEM: Draft 1 of Chameleon is fairly plot centric, but there’s the potential to elevate the book and add another level of […]
MOMENT by MOMENT 