plotting

Starting a Novel

Got a novel in your head? Here’s how to get it out.

We went to see “Up in the Air” tonight. George Clooney is still hot. But the story? Not so much. (***SPOILER ALERT***) There’s a scene where George Clooney’s character is called on to counsel his sister’s groom-to-be, who’s suffering from cold feet at his wedding. Clooney’s character is hardly the person you’d pick for the job; […]

The End of the World

The End of the World as John Cusack Knows It Scrape and I went to see 2012 tonight. I’d seen the reviews, so I knew the dialogue would be stilted, the scenarios absurd, and the acting less than Oscar quality–but I also knew the special effects would be tons of fun. No disappointment there. Tsunamis! Massive earthquakes! […]

Time Passages

One of the hardest things about writing a novel is keeping track of time. Not just keeping track of the time you spend lost in your imaginary world–although that’s a problem too. When you’re in the zone, a day passes in a blink. No, it’s the time passing in your novel that’s hard to keep […]

Day One

Today I started a new book-typed “Chapter One” and just kept on going. Nothing compares to the feeling you get when your story begins to fly out from under your fingers and the novel’s voice finds its rhythm. That hot surge of creativity feels a lot like…well, never mind. I’ll save that for the love […]

Realizations

We went to see The Proposal tonight, with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. I’m a sucker for romantic comedies, so I was excited to see it. The comedy part was great, but I felt like there was something missing in the romance. When the characters finally came together, it somehow didn’t seem believable. What was missing […]

Real Characters

I don’t know where characters come from. It should be obvious. I make them up, right? But it’s not that simple. If I make them up, why do they spring to life fully formed? Why do I so often feel their actions are out of my control? And why do they seem so dang alive? It’s […]

Killing Scenes

It’s far too easy for writers to fall in love with their own words. You can become so besotted with a scene that youre determined to wedge it into the story somewhere. But some scenes deserve to die. Some scenes do nothing but provide a forum for a bit of humor or a telling detail that […]