At 17 I put away my dream to be an artist. Art turned from dream to hobby. Sometimes people mistook me for an artist--usually because I wore a scarf or long earrings or too many bracelets. I don't know. What do people mean when they say, "You look like an artist." I figured they meant, …
Category: publication
Just Give Me My Poisoned Apple Already
I wouldn't literally eat a poisoned apple, but metaphorically I think I already have. The evil queen in disguise is my own psyche, and the apple is seeds of doubt fleshed out with insecurity, neurosis, and fear. Hard to believe anyone takes a bite of that. How long has it been since an agent asked …
Belief
Have you ever seen something--a garden gate perhaps, a picture hanging on a cafe wall, an odd, unexpected object in an odd and expected place--that made you stop and look again. That stirred your heart, maybe your gut, a place deep within? I love connecting with a picture, a story, a random object. Imagine if …
The Plague
I'm going to move into my house, set up my work space, and presto! Magic will happen. I'll finish all my art projects and start preparing for my next show. I'll finally know how to write that synopsis. I'll be brilliant. I'll get published. Right? This house business has pushed and shoved over so many …
Plum Art
A few years ago when I was asked to have my first art show in a coffee shop, I thought I'd go along with that crazy idea, and that would be that. I'd be able to say I'd had a show. A few years later and I'm Head of Art for Youth Tube at Plum …
Chronicles of Ink and Paper
One agent suggested my novel was young adult. This surprised me because I wasn't trying to write a young adult novel. The main character is a teenager though. But I never thought I was writing for teens. Writing for teens...that's a minefield. Well, it can be. Adults are allowed to read anything without much of …
The Writer’s Map
My writing career is not going anywhere in as much as I've no books published and agents aren't even walking down my street, much less knocking down my door to invite me out. But of all the books written in the world, only a certain number can hit the shelves. Probably what I need to …
The Dreaded “A” Question
I hate the "A" question. So, I read a blog post by my friend JES regarding the "A" word--as in What is your novel About? An agent is currently looking at my first novel, and this "A" question is on my mind. My first novel is about a difficult subject...a conversation stopper subject. Now let's …
Still Thinking about Hitler
Okay, I'm not exactly thinking about Hitler. But the last post discussed the idea of killing in a time traveling sense, which meant if-this-then-this thinking. Writers do this kind of thinking all the time. If I have my character go here instead of there or say that instead of this... And if you've written the …
I’m deluded and that’s okay. (I angst all night and I worry all day.)
On those American Idol tryouts you see those people who believe they can sing. They sing their best with all their dreams flung about for the world to see and then are told how awful they are. And they are awful. Perhaps you've laughed at their self-delusion. Perhaps you've cringed. Actually, I've never watched the …
Continue reading I’m deluded and that’s okay. (I angst all night and I worry all day.)
Marta Bacon 