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Month: August 2013

Question for Writers: How Do You Keep Your Novel Off the Backburner?

Question for Writers: How Do You Keep Your Novel Off the Backburner?

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I have a confession to make. Are you sitting? Here goes… I am not a full-time writer. There. I said it. Is everyone okay? Perhaps someday I will be a full-time writer, but in the meantime I’m a full-time communications director at a university. And I also teach an online course at another university, raise two attention-craving cats, make time for a relationship, serve on a non-profit board of directors and maintain some semblance of a social life whenever possible….

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Letting Your Manuscript Rest

Letting Your Manuscript Rest

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You’ve all heard it before, the old adage that says writing is rewriting. It keeps playing over and over in my head as I trudge through another polish of Blades of Grass. But, to be honest, I'm struggling a little this week. As my last post discussed, I’m now rewriting the manuscript based on my agent’s feedback, but my writing sessions the past few days have consisted of staring at the screen in frustration. I know I should just let…

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Listening to Your Agent

Listening to Your Agent

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Regular readers of this blog (hi Mom!) have followed the journey of Blades of Grass since it began last fall with NaNoWriMo. In a nutshell for you latecomers, I churned out 50K words, chucked them all and started over in March. Along the way, I had my wonderful agent, Stephen Fraser, checking in with knowledge and advice. Upon my urging, Steve gave me an end of summer soft deadline for getting him a manuscript to review. I translated that into…

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Foul Language in YA Fiction

Foul Language in YA Fiction

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I recently finished reading a terrific novel that was partially told from the point of view of a teenager. The story was gripping, the characters carefully drawn and fully realized. The book kept me turning the page. But one thing struck me: the minimalist use of swear words. Or cursing. Or, as we always said back home, cussin’. A few four-letter words were peppered here and there to give the book a hint of grit, but overall the language stayed…

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