The mothers in my novel are terrible. A couple characters have good moms, but they're not in this story. Part of me wonders why it is these women are so awful. Then again, part of me believes they fit the story, even though someone may accuse me of blaming moms or mom-hating or some such …
Author: mapelba
I'm a writer, artist, teacher, mother, wife, daughter, friend, coffee addict... What else? A success, a failure, a mess, a fan, a hater of housework, a lover of dogs, a liberal, an obsessive, and a bunch of other things that probably would never occur to me. I reveal myself in more ways in my writings and art than in any list of adjectives. And whoever you are, I hope most of all that you are a reader.
Drink of the Gods and Great Women
When I was a girl, I believed my grandmother and my mom were the most amazing and brilliant people in the universe. Even when my own mother faltered or failed, when she didn't, perhaps, mother very well, no one could compare. My mom told me that I should rebel, that I should talk back and …
The Rewrite Chronicles
Okay, I've gone with the plot change I've been obsessing over, and now I've got to cut out, oh, five chapters. That's right. Gone, baby, gone. The surviving chapters will need such a serious rewrite that it makes most of the comments made by my one reader, well, beside the point. I paid good money …
The Rewrite Chronicles
If it takes such a long time to edit, you'd think the end product would be perfect--or damn near close. This is not the case. I've spent an inordinate amount of time just trying to arrange characters in a room--and never mind getting a character out of a room. If more than two characters are …
Sue, Ignore, or Invite to Dinner?
So, if you become a famous author and make more money than you can make sense of, and one of your fans gets carried away a writes books about your fictional universe, would you sue or shrug? (This question, by the way, is inspired by the case in London between JK Rowling and a fan.)
Badgering–The Visualization Edition
Hey fellow writers! Tonight I've got some free time. Real time without the kid or the husband. Wow. Think of all the things I could do to avoid writing! Organize my closet studio. Vacuum. Laundry. Go to the bookstore. Make phone calls. Write emails! So many good ways to avoid writing. After all, most of …
There You Have It
"The advice 'write only what you know' increases the likelihood that you will know the same things forever." --Dennis A. Mahoney
The Rewrite Chronicles
This evening I glanced over two chapters that needed work and as I wondered how I was going to clarify things and all that, I realized I just didn't need them. And like that--ZAP--they were gone! Wahoo! Ten pages of rewrites done. Ha-ha. (Okay, it wasn't really zap because I didn't delete it. Since I'm …
Finding Karma
Most of us probably use the word karma to flippantly and inaccurately, but what a great word it is and what a great day it has been. I went to the Austin Fine Arts Festival today, and I happened to see an artist I'd met before--Stephanie Strange. Two years ago I'd bought a picture from …
Badgering–The Demon vs. Deity Edition
I don't know about you, but sometimes I just get sick and tired of what I'm writing. Two things are possible--either the novel really is bad and the writing gods and goddesses are hitting me over the head with quit-now stick (it is a very big stick and takes several deities to lift it). Or …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 