The short story blog is now a wild toddler! *blows dust off blog* I know, I know. It's been almost a full year since I last blogged. I don't know how time passed so quickly, but this year has been ... eventful, to say the least. From forest fires to a certain deadly pandemic making… Continue reading Happy 4th Anniversary, Muses!
Bring it on, 2020.
As this decade begins, I'm staring the present right in the figurative eye before it, too, becomes another memory. Happy New Year, one and all!
Do we have hope or do we have expectations? (Yes, there’s a difference.)
Hope is the thing with feathers, said Emily Dickinson. But it's also the thing that will bring us joy. Expectation is the thing with demands, and it's what stands in the way of our happiness. #mytwocentsworth #happiness #joy #hope
Day 407 – Write Where You Are.
There are two points here.
The first is, literally, write where you are.
You don’t need a magic desk, or a sea view, or the sound of migrating Elk – to be honest I don’t even know if Elk migrate, but you get the point I’m sure.
Write in a notebook, write on your phone, write on your arm.
Keep your brain on its creative channel and don’t switch over to see what is on the other side.
I’m still learning this lesson.
The second point is, write where you are. Write from your thoughts, your experiences, the voices of the characters standing next to you.
Sometimes the people reading you will love it. Sometimes they won’t.
It’s like your favourite band. You don’t like every album they’ve ever made. Well not the same anyway.
You have preferred albums. This one blew your mind. That one made you wonder is…
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So much new Asian-lit in my TBR, I’m loving it
Confession: When I was a teenage writer still trying to find my voice, I tried to mimic the way Western - mostly American - authors wrote. I adopted their voice, their narrative style and characters' mannerisms and speech.
But those didn't sit right. The stories I wrote weren't rooted in my reality, my country or my neighbourhood. They didn't feature the people I interacted with daily. They were textbook characters created in the likeness of those from my favourite authors' books. They even had Western last names. They went to high school (not secondary school, as we call it here), and they talked like the American teenagers I saw in movies.
Why?
Because I thought that if I wrote a story from my perspective, no one would be able to relate to it, much less want to read it. I thought that if I created a world based on my reality, my narrow slice of life in this little corner of the world, I would isolate readers from the rest of the world. I thought the Western reality was the only relevant one.Â
Making time to write … and other (near) impossible things
Juggling a demanding day job, two manuscript edits, and a new novel means some things fall by the wayside, and unfortunately this blog is one of those things. I have only two and a half hours of free time between dinnertime and bedtime to do everything I want to do, so something's gotta give. But… Continue reading Making time to write … and other (near) impossible things
The 5 Stages of Finishing a Novel
This whole journey been far too long, with far too many starts and stops along the way, topped with a lethal mix of self-doubt and despair at ever finishing, and more rewrites than I bothered to count.
But hey, IT'S FINALLY DONE!!!
*cue celebratory dance around cauldron*
Best of Blog: Round Up!
Too valuable a resource not to share. How’s the writing going, everyone? 🙂
I spent 5+ years on this blog and I haven’t posted in awhile, but I wanted to share a great round up of some of my top posts throughout the years.
I think I’ve made this place a good launch pad for authors’ careers answering questions about all aspects of the writing and publishing arenas.
Let me know which articles were most helpful to you!
THE CRAFT
Top Tips for Writing / Editing:
On characters 30 questions to ask your main character.
On comparison to other writers 6 Tips on why writers shouldn’t (but might) compare themselves to others, and why they shouldn’t (what they should do).
On category and genre. Infographic: Do You Know The Difference Between Literary, Upmarket and Commercial Fiction? Helping writers understand the difference between these three categories so that they can market and sell (or query) their book better.
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Why Newt Scamander is my new fictional crush
Some love for #NewtScamander please? Kind, just, compassionate, and loyal, possibly the best #Hufflepuff out there (although Cedric Diggory comes a close second).
#FantasticBeasts #HarryPotter #fictionalcrush #EddieRedmayne
Writer Spotlight: Carrie Callaghan
“Write because you love it, and nourish that love with reading. If you don’t love the process of writing, then the grinding rejections and the demoralizing bad reviews and the empty years of non-recognition will eat you up. But if you love the writing, and you’re putting words onto paper because you can’t imagine another way to live, then what happens afterwards won’t be as important. Not everyone needs to write. Everyone does need to find a way to live that’s satisfying and healthy. I can’t promise that everyone who wants to get published will. But I can promise that if you’re enjoying the experience of writing, you’ll be happier doing the work — and that certainly increases the chances of getting published. More importantly, it increases your chances of living a good life!”
I love this piece of writing advice from Carrie. Her debut historical novel, A Light of Her Own, has been published! And we got the honour of interviewing her for our blog! (https://museinpocketpeninhand.wordpress.com/2018/11/13/writer-spotlight-carrie-callaghan/)
Thanks again and congrats, Carrie!
Hello readers and welcome to another edition of our series, Writer Spotlight. This month we’re featuring historical fiction author and Pitch Wars mentor Carrie Callaghan. Her first novel, A Light of Her Own, which is set in 17th-century Holland, comes out today (yes, today!). We’re thrilled to feature her in our spotlight, and we hope you enjoy our interview with her.
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, and how long you’ve been writing
Hi! I’m a writer living outside of Washington, DC, and I focus on literary-ish historical fiction. I’ve been cobbling together the time to research and write for the past fifteen years. I have a day job, two young children, a spouse, and all the normal adult responsibilities that I mostly try to brush off in favor of reading and writing.
2. Tell us about your publishing journey and about your debut
My debut, A Light of Her Own…
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the writes of passage 