Recently I blogged about my favorite high-tech writing tool, Scrivener. Today, though, a bit about the benefits of going low-tech–at least some of the time.
It’s not just me, either. Award-winning author Neal Stephenson describes how writing with an … Read more
Last week I told you to go see an expert instead of cruising the Internet for information. Now I get down off my high horse and tell you about my own research while writing The Knife and the Butterfly … Read more
Moving to Paris for the year might not seem like the most logical way to connect with the characters in my new novel, which (like the first 2) is set in Texas–although this time in 1930s East Texas. But I’ve … Read more
You know how sometimes you fantasize about this perfect tool that will make a really hard job magically more manageable? And how most of the time that fantasy remains, well, just a fantasy?
Well, here’s good news for writer types … Read more
I like a short cut as well as anyone else, but sometimes–especially when it comes to research for writing–the Internet can’t deliver the details you can get from an expert.
The Internet is great for a quick fact check, but … Read more
In a writing workshop, Karen Joy Fowler once told us aspiring writing types that she had encountered many writers she believed were more talented than she was who nevertheless failed to make it into print. (FYI: Karen is an amazing … Read more
So every once and a while my writing group will do a writing exercise together. I think these are great because they produce surprises. Lots of times lazy me writes things that I can use in my current book project … Read more
I do notebooks full of prewriting (zero-drafting in my world) before officially “starting” a novel, but I don’t outline before writing. It just doesn’t work for me.
Outlining does work for me, though, in the middle of a project … Read more
What does my little boy’s bath time have to do with writing?
Let me start by describing Liam’s pre-bath routine: once the bath water is running, Liam grabs this basket of toys he has in the bathroom and starts pitching … Read more
Even when a character’s daily essentials don’t actually make the final cut of the novel, I like to know what he or she carries around. In The Knife and the Butterfly, Azael carries just about everything he’s got (which isn’t … Read more
