A Novel, a Novella, and a Taco

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This week I made progress on my new novel outline (#3 in the series) and started a novella while I tried not to think about what all the beta readers are thinking about Recovery House. All the books say you’re supposed to take a break after you finish a draft so you can come back…… Continue reading A Novel, a Novella, and a Taco

Writing With Robots

Five has been one of my favorite numbers since childhood, and it seems to have a special resonance in my writing, too, since I tend to need five drafts to get a story put together right. Hopefully that will change soon because it takes forever to write five drafts of a novel. Regardless, the important…… Continue reading Writing With Robots

And Now, Draft Two

After a couple of false starts on Recovery House: Draft Two, I decided to take a few days (weeks) and research ways that other authors approach second drafting. Almost every article I read said to reverse outline! I decided to do this on notecards with colored pens and various sticky notes because I love office…… Continue reading And Now, Draft Two

Risk Management, OCD, & Poetry

Risk Management has been out for 17 days now! I’m trying to focus on publicity stuff and my progress with the second draft of Recovery House (the second book in the SUD Chronicles!) and my poetry, rather than obsessively checking the Amazon book sale rankings obsessively. Those numbers supposedly don’t give helpful information, anyway. Speaking…… Continue reading Risk Management, OCD, & Poetry

On Planning, Themes, & Truth

In the lead-up to November 1, I’m thinking a lot about my next novel and planning for National Novel Writing Month (NaNo). The one in queue for publication (as soon as I finish the synopsis and submit it) has a strong focus on behavioral health and chemical dependency, and I’ve decided to make substance use…… Continue reading On Planning, Themes, & Truth