Lily’s Contract

*throws confetti* This is the last installment! It's been 52 weeks! An entire year! I wrote the first draft of a novel by writing 500-800 words a week. You can do this, too. The draft needs a lot of work. Revising. Editing. Layering. But the bones are mapped out for me whenever I decide to … Continue reading Lily’s Contract

Catching Up

Penultimate - the last but one This is the penultimate post in my experiment with writing an entire first draft in public. I read on the twitters today that whistling in a theater is considered good luck because sailors were often employed as stagehands. They whistled to communicate, and their whistles kept the actors safe … Continue reading Catching Up

Old Friends

For most of the story installments, I've been able to cut the scene where it counts. Not so this time, so know that I know, and I'm sorry. This one lands with a clunk rather than a bell chime. First drafts are wild and unwieldy. The added restriction of trying to make each entry bite-sized … Continue reading Old Friends

Make It Rain

This is week 50, and I've got 51 & most of 52 written. I'm not happy about the dangly bits at the end of the story, and I'm having trouble bringing that last scene to a satisfying conclusion. That's the hazard of a first draft where I can't go back and tweak the past to … Continue reading Make It Rain

Let Your Fish Get Big

When I took up writing again after my diagnosis, my goal was like a goldfish. It was little and messy and cute, and I was drawn to it by an impulse. I wanted to be published. I wanted my name chiseled into the stone of literature. That sounds big, but it wasn't. I just wanted … Continue reading Let Your Fish Get Big

Boundaries

Just a reminder, this is a first draft in public. It's rough and ugly, but it's me telling myself (and you) the story. It's me sitting down every week and typing out a scene. The magic happens in editing and revising. Thanks for reading along! Boundaries Lights flared illuminating the steps and a portion of … Continue reading Boundaries

“Good Enough”

You ever hike and get to the point on an uphill section where you are bent practically to your toes, using your arms to push your thighs, just so you can take one more step? You can't even look up to find the next bend because if you do, you'll fall over and never get … Continue reading “Good Enough”

Trickster

Last week, we left our intrepid writer feeling overwhelmed and standing in a virtual rubble-pile of her own edit-making. This week, I have conquered the hardest part. I've begun to rebuild. I'm now up to Chapter Three in the revision process, and while wary and suspicious, I am hopeful. You've all seen the cairns when … Continue reading Trickster

Some Rules

I'm in an uncomfortable spot many writers will recognize. I can see the thin spots in my plot and character development for Ferals & Blights, and in trying to strengthen those areas, I've found more weak points. This manuscript now feels like a house of cards. My job is to fix that, and today it … Continue reading Some Rules

S.E. Carson – writer & advocate

S.E. Carson is writing a fictionalized memoir of her journey battling an eating disorder who she has named Not-Alice. The story works on discovering who someone is without their disorder, finding the voice that's been buried, and learning to trust the sound of it. In Carson's own words: "I explore the incredibly complex and manipulative … Continue reading S.E. Carson – writer & advocate