Writing
Update on books!
THE HIDEAWAYI received my editorial letter in mid-June with a deadline of July 29–two days from now. But I returned it to my editor Karli about a week ago! Her letter was lovely, truly. It was four pages of comments, kind praise, suggestions, and questions. I was incredibly relieved because I’ve heard of huge editorial…
Read MoreThe Friday 5: Books, Josh Ritter (again), and scrambled eggs
1. As I’ve said above in my “About” section (#9 to be specific), I am generally a bad scrambled egg maker. As my husband likes to say, I tend to leave about whole egg stuck to the bottom of the skillet, and when I’m only cooking two eggs, that’s a problem. Enter The Green Pan.…
Read MoreThe Friday 5: book news, difficult middles, and waiting for summer
1. In The Hideaway news: I finally turned in the manuscript to my editor! It has been sitting on a flashdrive untouched since last summer when I began talks with HarperCollins/Thomas Nelson, and I’ve been dying to send it off to get the process started. Unfortunately, it’ll still be a couple of months before I get…
Read MoreWhy I Write
I went to the Hoover Library Southern Voices festival a couple weekends ago and heard a bunch of authors talk about their books, their writing processes, and their paths to publication. It’s always such a boost to be in a room full of other people who understand how hard it is to write–to say what…
Read MoreFriday 5: Books, Pizza, & Gloria Steinem
1. Hoover Library’s Southern Voices book/writing festival is this weekend. It’s a dream for writers and book lovers. I’m excited about all the authors, because even if I’m not familiar with their books, they are always great speakers who talk about their books and writing processes in ways that interest and engage both writers…
Read MoreNeither plotter not pantser be
I realize that I run the risk of offending and/or alienating some readers by what I’m about to say, but I’m feeling strongly about it today, so I’m just going to go ahead and say it. I think outlines, especially rigid ones, can hurt the writing process instead of help it. There. I said it.…
Read MoreTempering my Excitement (aka Good Things are in the Works!)
When I was pregnant with my first daughter Kate, I refused to register for baby things until I absolutely had to. I waited until I had a baby shower coming up, when I knew friends and family would want to buy us things we needed. I’m not sure I ever said it out loud to…
Read MoreOn dejection and preserving the light
I’m writing to admit something. I am in the middle of a significant writing slump. Although slump probably isn’t the right word. It’s a writing brick wall–but not writer’s block persay, because I’m not writing much. You’d have to be writing to be blocked. Maybe it’s more writer’s dejection. You see, I got The Hideaway…
Read MorePut it to bed (better late than never)
I’ve started querying again. But the difference is, this time around, I’m not running to the phone every time my email dings and I’m not waiting with suspended breath for those responses to come in. The first time around was exhilarating. When I got my first request for a full, I ran into the bathroom…
Read More“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor…”
I’ve just spent a whole precious hour of early morning writing time typing a few words and deleting them. Type, delete. Type, delete. Nothing is coming out the way I want it to. These days, it seems the only time I can get any clarity on what I want to write about is when I’m…
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