Wednesday Wisdom for Writers and Those Who Love Them

"When you give up a bit of work don't (unless it is hopelessly bad) throw it away. Put it in a drawer. It may come in useful later. Much of my best work, or what I think my best, is the re-writing of things begun and abandoned years earlier." —C.S. Lewis




I have a full drawer of cuts from my current manuscript. Characters with interesting stories that just didn't fit this one. Maybe, like C.S. Lewis, I'll find a place for them in the future.



It's all better with friends.

UPCOMING APPEARANCES

Hey, everyone. By listing places where I'll be signing books in the next few weeks I'm hoping a) maybe you'll see an event and time that works for you and b) I can feel more organized!


Saturday, October 31: Author Tea from 1-4 at a private home in Aurora. (If you'd like to go, let me know how to get the details to you.)

Friday, November 6: Colorado Country Christmas from 3-6 at Denver Mart.

Saturday, November 7: Colorado Country Christmas from 12-2 at Denver Mart.

Sunday, November 8: Colorado Country Christmas from 12-1:30 at Denver Mart.

Saturday, December 12: Colorado Authors' Christmas Book Fair from 9-3 at Boulder County Fairgrounds.




One of my favorite things is connecting with my readers, so I really hope to see you at one of these events.




It's all better with friends.

Wednesday Wisdom for Writers and Those Who Love Them

"I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by." —Douglas Adams



It feels as if I've been working on this book for five years. Can I just say I'm happy that no contract was involved?
Sheesh.



It's all better with friends.

Wednesday Wisdom for Writers and Those Who Love Them

"On the other hand, I was very much interested in the way people behaved, the human dance, how they seemed to move around each other. I wanted to play around with that."
—Octavia Butler



Good stories become great stories when people you care about are involved. For me, it's more about the characters than the plot (which, btw, better stand up).



It's all better with friends.

Wednesday Wisdom for Writers and Those Who Love Them

"I try to leave out the parts that people skip." —Elmore Leonard


I recently read a book that has received a lot of attention. While I love words and enjoy squeezing every one of them for full impact, I found myself skimming paragraphs. Finally, a little more than half-way through, I skipped to the end.

Have you ever done that?



It's all better with friends.