I recently received an email from an author friend who is being published Fall 2011. She was checking the names and spelling of those people that would appear in the acknowledgment section of her book. I was overwhelmed with this honor and deeply gratified to be on her list. It made me feel as though … Continue reading I would like to thank…
revision
For Shame
So, when I was young and starting out in my writing I fancied myself a poet. I filled notebooks with quasi-confessional prose poems (all very terrible), one of which started out with this line:"If it wasn't for shame, I'd have nothing to wear."I won't bore you with the rest of this overworked, tired metaphor about … Continue reading For Shame
Signs
About this time last week I was contemplating the wonder that is NaNoWriMo. I participated last year for the first time. Though I did not reach the 50,000 word goal, I did get a solid 35K or so in, enough to complete a novella that ultimately became part of my first novel ALIGNED. That novella … Continue reading Signs
Long Time
Oh blog, how I have neglected you! Forgive me for this long absence. I attribute my inability to post to the brain drain associated with the novel revision process. Revision. It is like a vortex sucking away my time, energy and motivation. I know there are people who become energized by this process, who revel … Continue reading Long Time
Acceptance
I've read many blog posts by publishing folks about rejection. Rejection is a hot, juicy topic: dealing with it, decoding it, moving on from it, etc. There are whole sites dedicated to rejection. In some ways, rejection and the tally of these missives are a badge of honor to the aspiring writer. I've had my … Continue reading Acceptance
I’m Finished!
I am thrilled to announce that over the weekend I finished the first draft of my novel RIDING THE BLIND. Right now the word count is 80,055 words. I expect that number to grow during the revision process as I expand on some key scenes. On Saturday my husband and I went to dinner with … Continue reading I’m Finished!
a new way to go crazy, part II
Good news! The slash & burn (s&b) continues with some success. I now have successfully reorganized the original material into the new format (three novellas). I have settled on a new title - THE OBSCURITY OF OTHERS. It comes from this quote:"We should blunt our sharp points,and unravel the complications of things;we should temper our … Continue reading a new way to go crazy, part II
a new way to go crazy, part I
So, as I mentioned in my last post, I am in the middle of revising my first novel. Except the word revising feels too tame a way to describe exactly what I am doing to the manuscript pages. Another writer once referred to her process as "slash and burn" and that feels like an apt … Continue reading a new way to go crazy, part I
Jennifer Marie Donahue 