writer « Awalkabout’s Weblog

Posts Tagged ‘writer’

27 Nov

Winner! 75,437 words, baby!

Posted by awalkabout in life, writing. Tagged: NaNoWriMo, novel, publish, writer. 3 Comments

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 [...]

1 Sep

Writers aren’t old dogs

Posted by awalkabout in life, parenthood, sci-fi, travel, walkabout, writing. Tagged: Connolly, editor, Esaias, filk, Juno Books, Klages, manuscript, NaNoWriMo, Pennwriters, Seton Hill, Star Trek, Waggoner, writer, YA. 2 Comments

Learning is about more than simply acquiring new knowledge and insights; it is also crucial to unlearn old knowledge that has outlived its relevance. Thus, forgetting is probably at least as important as learning.
–Gary Ryan Blair ( Mind Munchies: A Delicious Assortment of Brain Snacks!)
I spent the weekend at Context 22, a science fiction/horror/fantasy [...]

30 Dec

Writers’ book giveaway

Posted by awalkabout in life, walkabout, writing. Tagged: advice, book, giveaway, New Year, tools, writer. 11 Comments

One of the most common pieces of advice given to writers is “Write!” Another is “Read!”
I’m currently reading Save the Cat, by Blake Snyder, which is a book aimed at screenwriters, but applies to fiction writers in general. It’s interesting to see the techniques screenwriters use to create their characters and scenes without any words [...]

30 Nov

Writing does a body good

Posted by awalkabout in divorce, humor, life, parenthood, sci-fi, walkabout, writing. Tagged: booksigning, green, lifestyle, military family, milk, porn, publishing, visualization, writer. 10 Comments

I have a sign on my computer that reads: “Getting published: it’s just like milk, except without the milk part.”
(Anyone who recognizes that reference, leave a comment. I mean it.)
If that reference means that getting published is heady, frothy, nutritious, wonderful, refreshing, and ultimately, just what your mother wants for you– well then I’m in!
In [...]

3 Nov

Oh no! NaNo!

Posted by awalkabout in life, parenthood, sci-fi, writing. Tagged: author, Chris Baty, contest, Ivory Madison, NaNoWriMo, prize, publishing, Red Room, writer. 1 Comment

So the madness is spreading across the country and around the world. People (140,000 of them!!) have embarked on the adventure of a lifetime (sometimes for the second, fifth or even tenth time!) as they endeavour to create a novel of 50,000 words in the 30 days of November. National Novel Writing Month, in the [...]

14 Oct

Waiting, Take Two

Posted by awalkabout in autism, life, parenthood, walkabout. Tagged: auditory processing, Barber Center, evaluation, family, holiday visit, NaNoWriMo, office, publish, remodeling, therapy, TSS, writer. 5 Comments

Everything is in flux again, which of course means Momma is not a happy camper.
Most urgent is the impending office move, and the resulting house chaos as we clean and sort and put away things that have taken up that space previously for years. The new window is lovely! The new walls also smooth and [...]

9 Oct

No place like home

Posted by awalkabout in humor, life, parenthood, sci-fi, walkabout, writing. Tagged: construction, debate, destruction, elves, fantasy, Keebler, staycation, visit, writer. 8 Comments

I’m being evicted. By my husband.
The Cabana Boy has decreed that I shall take my laptop and some things and take myself hence from these premises–for the weekend.
The laptop is because I’m heavy into editing my urban fantasy. The things are because my sister is a good conservationist and keeps her thermostat low so I [...]