While I was standing in 40 degree shade (104 F), eating rose-water and pistachio baklava in a small town on the Albanian coast during August, I thought of you. I did, honestly. OK, a significant part of my conscious mind was on the fig ice-cream to follow, but I can multi-task. I thought of you […]
Rambles in Albania Read More »
I’m not talking about what we can’t see that’s right in front of us. About when we are tired and over-worked. Our mind is on a different course and we just don’t see the missing comma, the grocer’s apostrophe, or the homonym. I’m talking about being emotionally involved in our writing. About being so close
Essential in cricket, land ownership and relationships. Not so noticeable in the books we read. But knowing what is in, and what is out, is how you write a good book. Writing a book is not about pouring everything you know onto the page. It’s about telling your reader what they need to know. That
Being in the flow of writing is wonderful. The words rush to our fingertips, barely able to keep up as our brain hurls instructions. That’s why the first draft must never be the last. Book deals and writers’ reputations have been lost when an unedited manuscript has been sent out into the world. Some writers
My daughter just came in from the garden, her hands covered with mud, and told me she’d been “chitting” the seed potatoes. “Chitting?” I said and ran not for a towel but to my Oxford English. Chit (n) an impudent or arrogant young woman. Definitely not my daughter. ORIGIN late Middle English, whelp, cub, kitten.
I began to write a nonfiction book last November with enthusiasm. I knew what I wanted to write and exactly who I was writing for. It’s so niche, my book, I could tell you the names of the people who will glance at the cover. And then, over the winter, I lost my writing confidence.
Publishers are busy people. We know that, because more often than not, they don’t have time to tell us, writers all, how much they loved our book idea. That publishers and agents are muzzled by having to deal with – I kid you not – thousands of submissions a month is not the only factor
‘Rejection’ does not mean ‘Failure’ Read More »
Even 200 words a day will move your book on in a way that 0 words a day won’t. But you (and only you) know when you want to move your book on.
Snails don’t stay in one place Read More »
Specialized vocabulary. Used appropriately, it will enrich your writing. In writing my current murder mystery, I’m galloping to the stable door and home but in the editing process, I’ve found it necessary to introduce a new twist. The new scene needs horses. It’s half a century since I rode (Devon farm tracks on borrowed field
The International Language of Horse Read More »
Tim Cahill in Sense of Place, a collection of interviews with travel writers put together by Michael Shapiro, said this: Whether you are writing, or preparing a journey to a new country, it helps to have a good idea of what your quest is. 🌍 What are you going to try to do?🌍 What are
What’s your Quest? Read More »