Trying to get through the last chapter and pull it all together is just plain hard. If I could capture that feeling of NaNo and just write without worrying...that's what I love about NaNo--I'm not figuring out the plot; I'm discovering the plot. A very different thing.
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.
the dead tell no tales
It may be bad luck to speak of the dead, but let's dare fate--these writers do. In The Independent ten writers talk about the novels that have never seen publication and surely never will. I almost can't stand to read the article since it brings to mind my novels lying still in their graves, I …
Ways to Kill a Writer
Sometimes the infamous writer's block comes plummeting out of the sky and lands right in my path. Other times the problem is the writer's bully club that comes up from behind and whacks me over the head. The writer gods know I dig my way through the block, even if it means blood from under …
Catching a Meme Fairy.
Okay, I'm not really making waves, but I liked the title. But I did catch a meme fairy over at A Guy's Moleskin Notebook, and so I'm shaking it off here. In the shaking-off process, the fairy may have changed the questions--just a bit--but I think I'd like to treat these meme fairies like minor …
the sound of silence
The only thing worse than a sharing your work with your friends and having them hate it, is sharing your work with your friends and having them say nothing at all.
Me-Time Is All in My Head
There is this phrase floating around--me-time. Hasn't it floated your way? Haven't you said, "I need some me-time?" or some variation on that at some point or another since you reached adulthood? Well, I tell you who doesn't say it--children and men. Okay, maybe men do say it. To be honest, my experience with men …
The School Yard Is Full of Imaginary Friends
My ever-wonderful friend Kathryn memed me the other day (one of these day's I'm going to master blog lingo) with Five Things in My Fridge. I was wondering what pictures I could take without looking like the dietary-challenged or a bad mother, when it hit me--my characters need a few memes tossed their way. Well, …
Continue reading The School Yard Is Full of Imaginary Friends
Book Burning Alternative
Okay, I would never in a million lifetimes plus one burn a book without a death threat being involved, but sometimes those shelves get a little crowded. I bet your books would rather be part of a castle, too, than part of a dust collection. Dust bunnies aren't nearly as fun as four-year-olds, and they …
The Amazing List
I've got this amazing list of things I can do to avoid writing the last chapter of this novel. The first thing on the list is write this post. The next thing is pick up a tag and run with it. The third thing is make... Oh, hell. There's nothing amazing about procrastination or avoidance.
not self-obsessed every minute of the day
The writing life often becomes the self-involved life. Writers spend lots of time alone in their own heads and awash in insecurity. Writers keep everything they scribble on, every conversation they overhear, every interesting bit they observe--they keep everything that serves the writing and disregard the rest. I for one have ignored my family, my …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 