novel « Awalkabout’s Weblog

Posts Tagged ‘novel’

2 Nov

Off and running!

Posted by awalkabout in life, parenthood, walkabout, writing. Tagged: Great American Novel, NaNoWriMo, novel, vampire, writing. 5 Comments

Of all the corpses I’d seen in six years as a news reporter, Lily Kimball’s hit me the hardest.
This is the opening line of my 2009 NaNovel–like it?
Yes, National Novel Writing Month is ON! Sign-ups are still being taken on site, so if you’ve got a novel in you that you’ve always wanted to get [...]

16 Oct

Moving ahead, pen/keyboard in hand

Posted by awalkabout in divorce, life, walkabout, writing. Tagged: Lawson, Lyons, NaNoWriMo, novel, vampire, writer, writing. 6 Comments

Halfway through October, and I’ve finished a first draft of my newest novel manuscript, a women’s fiction story about a downsized lawyer who meets a younger man dying of cancer and how they change each other’s lives. It’s about the longest first draft I’ve ever had at more than 75,000 words. I’m very pleased with [...]

17 Jun

Montana musings

Posted by awalkabout in Asperger's, autism, divorce, life, parenthood, walkabout, writing. Tagged: barbecue, carousel, map, Montana, novel, respite, vacation. 6 Comments

Although we’d originally intended to hit Missoula Sunday night, after all the fun and frivolity (shame on us!)of yesterday it didn’t happen. So we limped into Billings about midnight and took up the road again on Monday.
Little Miss oohed and aahed about the Rocky Mountains, as did we all. Surrounded by one of the most [...]

18 Sep

That time of year…again!

Posted by awalkabout in life, sci-fi, walkabout, writing. Tagged: 30 days, agent, Chord, Chris Baty, Great American Novel, manuscript, NaNoWriMo, novel, writer. 8 Comments

That Chris Baty email in my inbox leaves no doubt–NaNoWriMo is almost here!
Each year the folks at NaNo take down the site for a week or so just before new signups, to clean up and clear out the forums. Then October is a steady run of everyone getting their engines ready to roll for November.
For [...]

6 Sep

For love or money?

Posted by awalkabout in life, sci-fi, walkabout, writing. Tagged: Cup of Comfort, fiction, Firefox, novel, paycheck, publishing, storyteller, writer, writing. 10 Comments

Thirty-five years ago, I received my first check for a piece of writing. The Peru Tribune paid me five bucks for a sweet little piece about my grandmother’s Indiana farm. It was hokey as hell. But they printed it. And they paid me.
That’s the big dream of a lot of writers–to be able to earn [...]

17 Apr

Am I a writer yet??

Posted by awalkabout in humor, life, sci-fi, walkabout, writing. Tagged: article, author, Firefox, gadgets, Internet, Mary Sue, novel, publish, self-promotion, tech writer. 6 Comments

While I participate in the writer’s soap opera As The Nervous Stomach Turns, waiting to hear back from agents and editors about my novel manuscripts, I alternate between dark bouts of never wanting to pick up a word processor again and the juicy buzz of hot flowing prose.
My husband is so pleased, because unfortunately he [...]

13 Apr

The write stuff

Posted by awalkabout in divorce, life, walkabout, writing. Tagged: agent, author, blog, conference, editor, manuscript, meet and greet, novel, Oates, Pennwriters, story, workshop, writer. 5 Comments

Next month, I’m going to the Pennwriters’ annual Writing Conference. It’s a fairly big deal, some 450 writers, editors and others, our keynote speaker being Joyce Carol Oates, and agents and editors falling out the cracks to find their Next Big Thing.
Of course, I’ve signed up to pitch an editor, attend the critique sessions for [...]

6 Mar

Why do we write?

Posted by awalkabout in humor, life, writing. Tagged: agent, blogosphere, character, editor, English major, literature, novel, plot, publishing, writer. 9 Comments

Some people write for themselves. Their journals or dark poetry or rants help clear their heads and remind themselves where they’ve been.
Some people write because it’s a job. They’re technical writers or copy writers, and they churn out words in response to demand to advertise or explain the topic of the day.
Some people write because [...]