Posts about writing and publishing.
image courtesy of Daniel Villeneuve via Dreamstime In Defense of Prologues A funny thing happened to me. I’d been reading and rereading literary agent Kristin Nelson’s blog about prologues in which she denigrates the vast majority of them. Read it here. I’ll let you in on a secret: I LOVE prologues. Not only that, my novel Moonlight Dancer begins with one. And this is why, like a dog worrying its wound, I keep returning to Ms. Nelson’s blog. Let’s go…
When Disaster Strikes—How Writers Can Safeguard their Work Part Two Hi, Everyone. Today we sit down for a chat with author and gallant work-saver, Dan O’Connor. Our discussion will focus on what writers can do to preserve their work before that devastating earthquake (or hurricane or tornado or toddler) hits. Welcome, Dan! We’ll start right in with questions. Q: Can you give an overview of your writing backup systems? A: My manuscript first goes to an external hard drive that…
When Disaster Strikes—How Writers Can Safeguard their Work Part One Earthquake. Japan, 2011. New Zealand, 2011. Haiti, 2010. Floods in Australia. Red mud in Hungary. Hurricane Karl in Veracruz. After disasters such as these, we mourn the lost lives, the terrible injuries, the environmental harm. But art was lost as well. In the Pacific Northwest we face earthquakes, fires, and landslides. Other parts of the world endure floods, sand storms, tsunamis, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Assuming we survive whatever disaster befalls,…
Barrack Obama isn’t black enough. You’ve heard that, right? Amy Tan isn’t Chinese enough. Maxine Hong Kingston ditto. Chang-rae Lee isn’t Korean enough. Picture me, a writer exploring Korean characters and culture, biting my nails. I can trace four ancestral lines. No doubt my lineage contains the requisite number of horse thieves, courtesans, peasants, warriors and whiners. One line snakes back as far as 1000 CE (thanks for your research, Carolyn and Randy). I am that nondescript blend of Scottish,…
Pen in Her Hand? What’s with the name? This blog’s title is inspired by my favorite quote from the novel Persuasion. Jane Austen’s heroine rejects the claim that history and literature prove women are weak. She insists that historically men wrote those same books as “…the pen has been in their hands.” Go, Jane! Not that I claim any more than a gender connection to Austen, but I take up my pen (literally in that I’m one of the few…