Gather 'round…
Apparently I didn't give a satisfying enough description of the writing conference. I have been told it was a little lacking. Ahem. I could tell you who was there, and what wisdom they expertly imparted, but if you really wanted to know that, you probably already would have visited the website. You still can. Its... Continue Reading →
Yeah. That's pretty much all I can say. Weekend with Your Novel was amazing. Workshops, guest speakers, agents, critique groups. All crammed into 24 exhausting hours. Exhausting, and encouraging, and challenging, and humbling, and did I mention exhausting? I was in bed by 9 both nights. So much for making the most of my time. On... Continue Reading →
A few months ago I spent a weekend at the family cabin and did a lot of reading, mostly on the subject of getting published. On the way home I was resigning myself to the fact that I may have to attend a writers' conference - or seven - if ever I want to see... Continue Reading →
I've read much about how rewriting can become an illness, an unstoppable virus that can take over your life and paralyze you. Until last month, I wondered at these authors, making such heinous claims. I have been writing my novel for over a year without looking back, in true NaNoWriMo form, only rereading when I... Continue Reading →
"Just write. Write whatever comes out on the page. Don't worry about content, grammar, anything. Just write." We've all been told this at some point in our lives. It is not advice given exclusively to writers. If anyone has ever been in charge of our education, we've been told to just get some words on paper.... Continue Reading →
If you've read any books on writing, at least books on writing with the intent of being published, then you know that there are seventy-five million ways to be rejected, a deluge of precise methods we can employ to ensure our work will never see the light of day. Despite our desire to 'just write'... Continue Reading →
You know you've read them before. Maybe you've even written them. That part of the acknowledgements where the author thanks their (husband/children/family/dog/goldfish) for living abandoned lives while they slaved over their book. They come in all different forms, and varying degrees of absurdity. "Thank you to my ever-supportive family, surviving without me these many months... Continue Reading →
I am always surprised by my own reaction to fiction. I, of course, have rather strong preferences on content, and I am sure that I gravitate towards style similar to that with which I, myself, write. But when I pay attention to the little things that make or break a read for me, I see... Continue Reading →
"It has been well said that an author who expects results from a first novel is in a position similar to that of a man who drops a rose petal down the Grand Canyon of Arizona and listens for the echo." P.G. Wodehouse, Cocktail Hour I'm planning all the ways I can make my rose... Continue Reading →
You never know when new adventures will begin. A fortuitous invitation to NaNoWriMo last November proved to be the catalyst that would change life forever in the Ottinger household. Who knew that life could take such unexpected turns, if only we allow our imaginations a little freedom? "Listen to the trees talking in their sleep,"... Continue Reading →
Tales From the Nexus 