By now, most people who read writing blogs and attend writing workshops have heard about the split between planners and pantsers. Planners are, obviously, writers who like to plan out their work before they write. Pantsers are writers who like to work by the seat of their pants, making things up as they go along. […]
I just finished a draft of a novel where the heroine has a nine-month-old son, and I feel a little like W.C. Fields–“Never work with children or animals.” Actually, I have lots of animals in my books and they’ve never caused me any trouble. If they’re not needed in a scene you can send them […]
I actually enjoy doing revisions more than doing the first draft—it’s less work! I’m a planner, which means I try to work out as much of the plot in advance as I can rather than waiting for inspiration to strike (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t—I find my muse takes vacations at the least appropriate […]
Normally, I’m a very disciplined writer. Honest. But over the past month, it’s gotten harder and harder to keep myself on the page. Life keeps getting in the way. I mean to get my quota of pages done, but then I think, I’ll just check the blogosphere, see what’s going on with the election, maybe […]
It may seem insane to be working on sequels to a book that hasn’t been published yet, but that’s where I am right now. When I was writing Venus, I didn’t think of sequels–I was too caught up in the story. But when I got to the end, I felt bereft! I couldn’t spend any […]
