I’m writing my sixteenth novel. During National November Writers Month – NaNoWriMo – I’ve been fast drafting this next work of literary wonder. It’s a story I love. A story I believe in. A story I want to capture the hearts and imagination of readers. But will it? No author starts out to write one book better than another. We give a hundred percent to each book. Even if we’re on a tight or short deadline, we give the story all we have for the time allotted. My goal is to write a better book each time. I study the craft. I work on deepening my characters and adding story layers. I take to heart the advice and input of my editor and agent, and readers. I strive so hard […]
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Writers’ Math: Word Count Basics
I’m a writer. I don’t do math. That’s my mantra — and I stuck to it. Until … I ran into two little words: word count. Stay in the writing world long enough, say longer than 24 hours, and you’re gonna run into those two little words too. Word count, like jeans, comes in all shapes and sizes. You’ve got non-fiction word counts for blogs. Magazine articles. E-zines. Devotionals. And then you have word counts for books, both fiction and nonfiction – everything from novellas to self-help to sagas the size of Gone with the Wind (960 pages in paperback). Just what are the basics when it comes to word counts? It depends. Really. It depends on the publisher. But there are some ballpark figures — and that’s what I’m […]
Read the RestAct 2: Jumping back into the suspense!
Yesterday, I addressed Scene Flow, and how in a romance scene, you might decide to develop it a bit more, making it longer. In a suspense, sometimes it’s nice to develop that before you jumpstart the action again. Today, we’re going to jump back into the suspense, drawing that element forward. Just to make sure I’m on the right track, I want to go back to my synopsis. It’s still my roadmap, even though I’ve been taking a few day trips… Luke wants his sister, who is a giant MacKenzie Grace fan to meet her, and the dinner out at the roadhouse seemed to go without a hitch…maybe no one will recognize her. But what Luke doesn’t know is that someone has recognized Kenzie – the reporter from the […]
Read the RestTaking It One Day at a Time
Talking to the lovely and gracious Susie May the other day, we hit on the topic of survival. She’d been exhorting her college son on how to manage his time, get through the rigors of college. “Take it one day at a time,” she said. “Don’t get lost by looking too far into the future.” It hit a chord with me. I remembered reading an article about POWs during Viet Nam. The ones who were hopeful, looking forward to getting out, knowing release would come soon ended up being the ones who did NOT survive. The prisoners who lived just for today, whose only goal was to survive the day, were the ones who endured their years in prison. Some were POWs for seven years. Not a pretty or hopeful […]
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