Draft 2 of Blizzard, my novel set during the Blizzard of 1888, turned into something of a beast: it was a complete re-write that took very little material from the first draft. I worked almost exclusively on it from mid-January to mid-May. Along the way, I adapted my writing process and learned some new tricks to help […]
Craft
Five Ways To Study Characters
I spent the past two weeks getting reacquainted with the characters for my second historical novel, BLIZZARD (still a working title). After writing the first draft over the summer, I took a break from the book to let things marinate. I’ve decided that much will be changed in the second draft. Most of the characters will retain vestiges of […]
Why Historical Fiction Matters, More Than Ever
Why do you read what you read, and write what you write? I’ve been thinking about this question a lot in 2016. Remember back in January, when I posted about trying to choose between Mr. Fiction and Mr. Nonfiction? And how it took me over eight months of working on a nonfiction project before I […]
7 Things HIMYM Taught Me About Writing
Before we get to today’s post, I just wanted to acknowledge changes to the website. I’m trying out a cleaner look, and slowly transitioning from a straight blog to an author website. You’ll notice a few small visual changes here and there, but for the most part, content on the blog will remain the same. […]
Finishing Draft 1: Then Vs. Now
Last Wednesday, I reached the end of Blizzard, draft 1. (For more details about the book’s plot and characters, return to this post.) I was powerfully reminded of the way I felt when I reached the end of draft 1 of Waist on the auspicious date of 12/12/12. I was exhilarated then; I thought I […]
The Three “P”s of Writing Productivity
I’ve been working on upping my writing productivity this summer. It’s a necessary focus, what with completing draft 1 of my novel, posting fifteen blog posts and two newsletters a month, and managing social media for two websites. If I want to continue on that ambitious path, I need to be super-organized, and I need to […]