Recently, I've been analyzing several books that are in first person, present tense. And I think it's rubbing off on me. My draft is currently in first person, past tense. It is what comes naturally to me in writing. But this weekend, I tried a revision of a scene in present tense. It seemed more immediate and the novel does take place in a specific amount of time plus there is an element of time running out that may be enhanced with present tense. As an example, here's a snippet from the … [Read more...]
National Day of Writing
October 20, 2009 Read Comments
I just found out that today is the National Day of Writing. What is it? "Writing is a daily practice for millions of Americans, but few notice how integral writing has become to daily life in the 21st century. To draw attention to the remarkable variety of writing we engage in and help make writers from all walks of life aware of their craft, NCTE has established October 20, 2009 as the National Day on Writing." I think it's a wonderful idea. Although, everyday is a writing day for me. … [Read more...]
The Book Not the Author
October 19, 2009 Read Comments
I recently read a blog post on Cynsations, An Open Love Note to Debut Authors About Hurtful Online Reviews. My published writer friends have told me that it's really useless to read bad reviews---especially those that are scathing or get personal. And above all other things, it's even more useless to reply to the bad online reviews. In the end, when all is said and done, it's usually the author who turns out looking bad. But it always amazes me how some book reviews tend to go off on a … [Read more...]
MG Love
October 16, 2009 Leave a Comment
When I went to the library last weekend, I checked out a lot of middle-grade books that I've been wanting to read. Middle-grade novels were actually my first love when I first started writing. The age range of 9-12 were magical years for me and it's no surprise that this genre is what I first gravitated to when I started writing. The novel that snagged me an agent was a middle-grade. In a way, it may be good to read some middle-grade novels while I'm revising this YA paranormal. It's very … [Read more...]
