So, time for a confession. I am the most inefficient writer on the planet. At least, I think so. I love to write. I love to hand write my stories. That means, I must type everything up later and my rough draft takes twice as long to finish. Likewise, I love to edit with paper in hand, rather than reading from a computer screen. Thus, it takes twice as long to revise a chapter. I know that a full-time writer probably wouldn’t have the time to do things this way, but its a habit I’m trying to break. With my critique partners, we do all our correspondence and editing via...
The journey of revision
I was planning on writing a blog about another Arabian horse legend, but I thought I would let you all know where I am with my novel, In Dawn’s Shadows. This week, I am currently suffering the worst case of writers block. I hate it. Thanks to my fabulous critique partners (you know you are!) the novel has undergone many changes and improvements. Most writers will tell you no story is ever finished; there could always be one more edit, revision or tweak. Well, with In Dawn’s Shadows, it desperately needed the closer look and adjustment. Because I started this story as a freshman in high school, the manuscript has...
What I’m Reading – Water for Elephants
There are certain books, where once you start reading, it consumes your mind and it’s hard to get anything else done (like housework, writing, work…all that sort of stuff.) “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen (Algonquin Paperbacks) is one of those books. This novel follows ninety-three-(or ninety-one)-year-old Jacob Jankowski in an assisted-living community as he remembers his life at age twenty three. He was a veterinary student when tragedy strikes and turns his world on its head. He ends up on the rails with a travelling circus in 1931 and his story takes the reader through the dark, troubling secrets of the times. “Water for Elephants” is not inspirational fiction,...
Part II: Interview with Sarah Sundin
Here is part two of my interview with Sarah Sundin. As noted in one of the comments to part one, you are big on accuracy. Why do you think accuracy so important in historical fiction? Because inaccuracy totally bugs me. I’ll never forget a Little House on the Prairie episode where someone gave Laura a peanut butter sandwich. I had just read a biography about George Washington Carver and I knew peanut butter hadn’t been invented at that time. Things like that pull an informed reader out of the story-world you’ve worked hard immersing them in. However, the more I research, the more I realize I don’t know. Despite my...
Interview with Sarah Sundin
Sarah Sundin Sarah Sundin is a speaker and writer whose first novel, A Distant Melody, is set to be released in January 2010 by Revell. She has just submitted her second book and was kind enough to answer my questions. For more information, visit her website. What town do you reside in? Antioch, California. Yep, the Antioch made infamous by the Jaycee Dugard kidnapping. Honestly, it’s a nice, family-oriented suburb that still has a small-town feel. When did you first start writing? January 6, 2000. How’s that for exact? Growing up, I always made up stories, but I knew they weren’t any good. In 2000—after college, pharmacy school, and three...