authors, writing

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

authors, books, writing

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

authors, books, writing

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

writing

Writing vs. Editing

On Monday, I finished the first draft of my new novel for the 10+ age group. (No time to blog with that on my plate.) As I was writing the last scenes, I brimmed with excitement, tears, sighs, joy, wonder, etc. The words, "I love it!" kept bubbling out of me, often accompanied by sniffles and smiles. My… Continue reading Writing vs. Editing

authors, books, writing

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