writing Archives - Irreverent Muse

Trying to do too much in the story

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Michell

I’ve been working on Mik Murdoch 5 and I have realized I’ve been trying to do too much in the story. I always insert little tidbits here and there in the sequels to tie them back to the previous books. That isn’t a bad plan as it provides continuity. Where I am coming up against it is I now see I’m getting carried away, especially since there are now four books in the series. If I reference events from every one of them, I won’t have time for the story in book 5. That isn’t to say I won’t be giving subtle nods to what has come before. There are plot lines I’ve started in prior books that are still […]

The Importance of Networking

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Michell

The Importance of Networking I’ve talked about networking many times in the past; why it is important and necessary. At When Words Collide I was reminded once again of how critical it is to a writer to network. It all began with one of the keynote speeches. Sam Morgan, a literary agent, talked about how he got into his current career. He went from one connection to the next to the next until he had gone from unemployed college graduate to literary agent. He said he didn’t even know what a literary agent was until he got the job. His talk made it sound like he bounced from one person to the next like a ping pong ball. If you […]

Don’t Submit To Your Editor Too Soon (or Mistakes were made)

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Michell

Mistakes Were Made I made a mistake. I admit it. Nothing Earth shattering, mind you. Just something that has slowed my own process. What was it you ask? I submitted my draft of Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie Masters too soon. My editor was eager to see it (who can blame him) and I sent it before I’d had any chance to fix the problems I knew were there. Why is that a Mistake? I wrote SotA: ZM fast. Maybe faster than usual. Because I forced myself to write every day to meet my self-imposed deadline, I had some sections that were less than stellar. They weren’t completely thought out or they were filler to my thought process. That being the […]

How Am I Doing In December After NaNoWriMo?

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Michell

I know that solid, well-defined goals drive me forward. They give me a sense of urgency that is hard to ignore. I should have created solid, well-defined goals for December after my wildly successful November. Alas, I didn’t do that and my writing, while consistent, has suffered a little. My plan (note, I didn’t say “goal”) for December was to finish one book (needed about 6,000 words to do that) edit two books (one of them my NaNo novel) and continue work on a third. I did finish the one book. I have continued to work on the third book (so far adding about 6,000 words to it) and I’ve set myself up to edit one of the two. Not […]

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