I read a lot growing up. As I was “the weird, poor kid”, it often felt like my only reprieve from the constant assault of my peers was the escape I found in stories. But they weren’t just hiding places for me, they were where I could make discoveries about myself, form opinions about the broader world around me, and get the one thing I was lacking more often than not: hope. It’s probably not surprising then that I love Alexandre Dumas’ THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. It’s one of the few books I’ve read more than once. I discovered it in high school, maybe my sophomore year. There’s so much to love about that book; it wasn’t simply about […]
Read moreCategory: Irreverent Muse
Tunnel Vision
There are times when multi-tasking just isn’t the right answer. A perfect example of this is my revision work on Mik Murdoch, Boy Superhero. I have several projects on the go; some are writing and some are editing. And then there is Mik which is forthcoming (arguably editing, but a whole lot more, too). I want Mik Murdoch to be the best it can be. I want to justify all of the work my publisher and editor are putting into the book too. Therefore, when it came time to make the suggested revisions, I put all of my other projects away, rather than try to do bits of several everyday. It was really the only way I could get into […]
Read moreWriting Advice
For those of you who have read my blog posts in the past, you will probably notice that I rarely, if ever, give writing advice. There are a few reasons for this: the way I write and what works for me may not work for you (the actual action of writing); I know what looks right on the page. I have a pretty decent grasp of grammar and language, however, I am NOT a grammatician nor am I a professor of English to speak as an authority on sentence structure; I am not an expert on the reader’s marketplace. I have a good understanding of what is selling now (easily enough found) and I have some opinions on what might sell down-the-road, but […]
Read moreBeat but not Beaten
I have this tendency to overcommitt myself. Now, if I didn’t care about actually fulfilling my commitments, it wouldn’t be much of a problem. That is not the case, however. When I say I’m going to do something, I do it and try to do it well. That in itself is not a character flaw (as far as I know), but it does tend to wear me down over time. Take Scouts, for example. I love being a Scout leader, but about this time every year I start to get cranky. The craziness of the troop and the lost days and nights every month make me wonder if I really want to do it again next year and please, please, […]
Read more