I’ve met so many writers who don’t outline. They say, “If I knew what was going to happen, I wouldn’t care enough to write the story.” Those words always make me feel odd and out of place, for I am not that way. I outline. My outlines are twenty pages long. Even before I outline,… Continue reading In Defence of Outlines
Category: authors
Always Someone’s Story
I'm halfway through scene-by-scene revisions on my novel. (These are the big revisions; I'll still have cutting and polishing after I'm done—it never ends). Saturday morning, I reread the revised 140 pages and grew depressed because the first few pages were dull, dull, dull. It gets good—it gets REALLY good—but it takes a while. A cover letter… Continue reading Always Someone’s Story
Stone by Stone
I am slowly but surely building a novel from my messy draft. Some days I only have time to edit a few pages - slim progress on what seems like an impossibly large job. But even pyramids were built stone by stone, so surely I can finish a book the same way. There are writers for whom editing is not such a huge… Continue reading Stone by Stone
Good News
First, my plane did not crash. (Make that planes, five of them, and not a single one crashed. What luck!) So I am back at home, alive, perfectly able to edit my draft novel/monstrosity before anyone reads it. But after two weeks vacation, I really don't feel like it. We're having a mild spell in central Canada, the days are getting longer… Continue reading Good News
Illustrations and other Surprises
I opened an email last week to find a message from my editor at Kids Can Press with a file attachment showing the revised roughs of my first picture book. What a treat! I can't include a picture here, of course. You'll have to wait for the finished book - now scheduled for release in Spring… Continue reading Illustrations and other Surprises
