I’ve received my first Emmett Wilson writing project rejection letter! I’m not broken up about it; actually, it is a relief of sorts. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I wasn’t completely happy with the story, because I felt like I was forcing Emmett and a story about his […]
The review of the first draft is finished. It’s a five-chapter mess, not counting the bibliography and notes section. It is a relief to have gotten through a complete first draft. But, no lie, the real work begins with the second draft. I’m not sure when I’ll have a final […]
Good news — the first complete draft of Emmett Wilson’s book is done. Is it in publishable condition? No. It needs a clear-headed, objective edit, which I’ll start in three or four days. I find I do my best paring-down of copy after I’ve set it aside for awhile. I’d […]
Here’s a thoughtful piece I read today, courtesy of The Writer’s Circle, about why negative feedback should be regarded as constructive criticism. Rejection is a part of any professional or creative undertaking. How we respond to it makes a difference in the lesson we learn from it — and all […]
He gets it. Exactly. Need more coffee.
Last Thursday, as I was driving around in D.C., I was listening to The Diane Rehm Show on WAMU. It was a rebroadcast of an interview she conducted with E.L. Doctorow (one of my favorite writers) who had recently died. The subject was Doctorow’s book, “Homer and Langley.” Doctorow’s book […]
I haven’t posted all that often this month; just a lot going on in and around the writing cave. I’ve been writing a lot on the book. It feels like I’m making progress, but it is really going S-L-O-W-L-Y. The writing process that has always worked for me is to […]
Now comes the hard part. It’s writing time. I took a break for a few days, and I’m finding it hard to get started today. I don’t think of myself as a natural procrastinator, but some days I just don’t feel like it. The pencils feel like they weigh 50,000 […]
This is one of the best — and most accurate — descriptions of what the writing life is all about.
I’d love to be able to tell you that writing Emmett’s story is something that feels natural, easy, and fun 100 percent of the time. I wish that were the case. But the reality is that writing is a lot of work. Creating something that hasn’t existed before out of […]
Tell my story. 