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 […]
This week, I made the decision to pitch my thriller novel to agents at the upcoming Willamette Writers Conference in Portland, Oregon. For any other writers out there who don’t know about this conference or the group who puts it on, Willamette Writers has been around since 1965, and this year’s conference is its 42nd. That’s right. 42nd. The group puts on a great conference across a wide range of […]
I could use more of these kind of days. In fact, I would like 30-45 more of them, please, because I’m that close to completing the novel. Today I pulled together the various pieces I’ve been brainstorming about Mandala-Steele, the company our heroine freelanced for before they turned on her and chased her across several continents. For those who don’t write, it’s amazing the amount of detail you have to […]
As a writer, I love the question, “What if…?”. What-if is a question that gives the imagination free rein to create and expand, to ignore rules and logic in favor of a spark of brilliance. I use what-if all the time. The question I hate is “Why?”. Why? you ask? I’m 107,000 words into a thriller novel that is balancing the fence between character driven and plot driven. And in […]
I need to know where my story starts before I can continue. I’m a linear writer, writing in part as an act of discovery, even though these days I have a mental map of where I’m going. Like taking a relaxing road trip, it’s the scenery along the way that captures the fascination, sometimes even more than reaching a destination. Isn’t it the same when when you read (or write) […]
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