Taking a break this week from posting a new chapter of the Davies (no worries, I plan to post it soon) to get some thoughts down for myself and maybe for fellow creatives who are in the same mood. It's tough writing my little WIP or editing on other content when it seems like the … Continue reading Tips for the Writer in Interesting Times
Autumn has come to New England and as Anne Shirley said, "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." But I have a slight caveat. Both my youngest child and myself are facing some medical issues that require big, ol' invasive tests. His appointment is next week, mine the week after. … Continue reading October
Today I passed the 50% mark on the new book and that is something to celebrate. For a while there, I thought I was going to scrap this book like I have the other failed starts before it. If you're a regular reader, you know that I was flirting with changing it from 3rd person … Continue reading Halfway Home
I've been reading Stephen King's "On Writing" and I'm more than halfway through. It's giving me ideas. One idea I've been having is down-right ill-advised. Or I’m assuming it is. 42,000 words into this novel I’m seriously considering changing the tense. I have never written in 1st person. In fact, I usually hate it as … Continue reading Tense Times
What is that quote about good intentions? Well, the less said, the better. I went into my July vacation with the very best of intentions. I was going to write 1k words a day and they would be wonderful. Did that happen? Heck, no. But I did read two books, spent time in the sun, … Continue reading Good Intentions
Next weekend marks the start of the vacation I used to set a deadline for myself weeks ago when life wasn't so hard. Today I have to admit, I am nowhere near reaching the finish line. In the last week I have started writing again which is good, but it's too little, too late. At … Continue reading Well, here we are.
Fellow parents will back me up on this, the end of the school year is the ultimate test of both your stamina and time management. So many tasks, performances and deadlines that we long for June with all our might. It's all rush, rush, rush to the last day. The last few weeks I've been … Continue reading Maybe I Need a Deadline
So, you may have noticed that there was no post last week. I let my anxiety get the better of me and I had an entirely unproductive week outside of my day job. My house didn’t get clean, I wrote maybe 1k words, I focused all my energy on getting the necessary stuff done and … Continue reading Week ? Oops.
As a reader of romance, both contemporary and historical, I am completely okay with the use of tropes. What's a trope? It's a commonly used literary theme or motif like 'city girl moves to the country and falls for its native son.' As Ecclesiastes says "There is no new thing under the sun." You could … Continue reading The Trouble With Tropes
November was rough. Actually, it's been a rough Autumn. I utterly failed to do NaNoWriMo, I didn't meet my exercise goals, and I didn't get a job I really wanted. There's no point into relating the trash-fire that is our political system here in the States so let's just move along. I'm not sorry to … Continue reading Snowflakes Welcome Here
Christa MacDonald 