Tag Archives: Novel

Book Buzz: The Girl Who Never Read Noam Chomsky

April 1, 2019 11:07 am ,
Book Buzz: The Girl Who Never Read Noam Chomsky

Back in the olden days of browsing bookstore shelves, did you ever pick up a book because of its quirky title? I’m pretty sure I would have selected “The Girl Who Never Read Noam Chomsky” because, well, I did read Noam Chomsky.

As it turns out, the novel is a bit quirky. Also funny, tender, and deeply moving.

Book Buzz: The Girl Who Never Read Noam Chomsky

The Girl Who Never Read Noam Chomsky

If the name doesn’t ring a bell, don’t be embarrassed. I was a Linguistics major in college, and Noam Chomsky was pretty much the Linguistics god. Literally, he is known as the Father of Modern Linguistics. Chomsky was present in just about every Linguistics class I took.

But not everyone knows Chomsky’s work, and I love that author Jana Casale infuses her protagonist Leda with the aspiration to read his work. Why? A cute boy in a coffee shop was reading it. That Leda buys a Chomsky book and keeps it but never reads it is quirky and in Leda’s case, authentic.

We see Leda mature over the years, starting with her experiences in college, finding disillusionment with most women she befriends and the men she dates, but finally finding love. With some misgivings, she gives up her MFA plans to follow John across the country when he accepts a job with Google, an ill-fated journey it turns out.

Leda is the Everywoman who is our friend and conscience. Fiercely true to herself, a keen observer of her own shortcomings and her place in the universe, she finds validation upon becoming a mother. The motherhood parts are sweet and sentimental. I loved when Leda’s three year-old daughter Annabelle is all about Barbie and Leda feels compelled to gently prod her towards a more PC toy.

Another favorite part was Leda’s foray into trying on bathing suits with an annoying salesperson hovering outside her door, who calls her Lisa instead of Leda:

“‘Looking for something special?’ a sales associate with an excited face said.

‘Oh no, just looking.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘No, I’m good for now, thanks.’

‘Okay, well my name is Karen; let me know if you need anything.’

Leave me alone, Karen, I’ll kill you, so help me god, she thought.

The poignant parts, too, are beautifully written. Leda’s despair at teenage Annabelle’s angst. Her pangs of sorrow when her mother dies. The changes in her marriage over the years.

“The Girl Who Never Read Noam Chomsky” is smart and beautiful and such an engaging read.

I loved it.

One of my lucky readers will receive a copy of “The Girl Who Never Read Noam Chomsky.” Please leave a comment on the Books is Wonderful Facebook page and a winner will be randomly selected. US addresses only, please.

I received a copy of “The Girl Who Never Read Noam Chomsky” from Vintage Books for an honest review, which is the only kind of review I write.

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Book Buzz: Good Neighbors

July 5, 2018 10:26 am ,

We think we know our friends and neighbors. We chat on the street while our kids ride bikes. Or get together for coffee and gossip. The men slap each other’s backs and talk sports. But what goes on behind closed doors, after pleasantries have been shared and doors locked up for the night, is often unknown. This is the premise of Good Neighbors, a taut and emotion-packed novel about neighborhood dynamics and parenting styles and how we pretend to be something we’re not.

Book Buzz: Good Neighbors

Good Neighbors

Author Joanne Serling hints at the drama to unfold with the title of the prologue, What We Thought We Knew. Nicole, the narrator, is married with two children and lives in an upscale suburb. She treasures the close friendships she and her husband have with the families in three nearby homes.

The four couples are inseparable, spending time together at dinner parties and Halloween get-togethers and casual barbecues. They even take vacations together along with their small children. How lucky they were, Nicole thought, to be this close, like families, really better than families that come with sticky and unresolvable tensions.

Paige and Gene Edwards, the family next door, are the epitome of classiness and success. Nicole admires Paige as a fashion and design guru, always beautifully dressed, with the most perfect home. Nicole aspires to be as put together as Paige.

When Paige and Gene announce they are adopting a four-year old child from Russia, Nicole and the other women are privately shocked by this development and wonder why the couple has gone the adoption route. Nonetheless, Nicole happily welcomes little Winnie to their social constellation and tries to get to know her by inviting her over to play with her children. Winnie speaks no English and is shy but charming, and Nicole warms up to her right away.

Life seems to go along perfectly. Until cracks in the Edwards fortress begin to reveal otherwise.

Something is disturbingly wrong. Nicole is unnerved by several incidents in which Winnie seems distressed or hurt. Is it Paige’s parenting skills? Paige becomes reclusive, withdrawing for days or even weeks, only to reappear nonchalantly, as if everything was normal. But then she speaks openly about Winnie’s special needs and how hard it has been for the family to cope with.

Nicole feels an uneasiness that she tries to suppress. They are good neighbors, after all. Should she keep up the appearance of being a supportive friend? Or intervene, as her instincts are telling her to?

As the tension builds, you feel Nicole’s mounting dread, and your heart begins to thump along with hers.

Truly a stunning debut novel, Good Neighbors might make you question your own response if you suspected malfeasance. Would you say something? Or would you turn your head the other way?

A commentary on modern society as well as a very engaging page turner, Good Neighbors is a thought-provoking examination of social mores and personal insecurities. Serling has a unique writing style, liberally employing sentence fragments and exclamation points that might be a reflection of the narrator’s lifestyle as a busy, distracted mom and a worried neighbor, not to mention the object of aggravation by her resentful mother and alcoholic adult sister whose phone calls she hates to pick up.

 

I received a copy of Good Neighbors from Hachette for an honest review,
which is the only kind of review I write.

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Book Buzz: Tin Man

May 21, 2018 4:54 am ,

There is so much to savor in Tin Man, Sarah Winman’s wistful novel about three people who defy the constraints of conventional love.

Book Buzz: Tin Man

Author Sarah Winman tells this tender story in just about 200 pages. It is a slim volume, chock full of emotion.

Tin Man

The novel opens with Ellis’ mother winning a painting in a raffle: a reproduction of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. To her dictatorial husband’s consternation, she accepts the painting instead of a bottle of whisky as an alternative, and defiantly hangs it in their living room. To her, it is a cherished work of art, something that inspires her in her bleak existence. To him, it is a waste of wall space. It is also a symbol of the discord in their marriage.

Twelve year-old Ellis has a penchant for art, and his mother encourages him to follow his passion. Upon her untimely death, however, Ellis’ father forbids him to continue his studies and insists that he learn a trade.

The first half of Tin Man is told through the point of view of the now 46 year-old Ellis, who works the night shift at a car repair shop. He is a widower living a solitary existence, and dwells on memories of those he loved.

We learn about the brief teenage love affair with best friend Michael that left Ellis filled with remorse and in denial about his sexuality. When the story fast forwards about ten years, Ellis and Michael are still close friends, drifting in and out of each other’s life, but then Ellis meets Annie, falls in love, and gets married. Michael not only accepts this with grace, but comes to love Annie as a friend as well. The trio becomes inseparable until Michael abruptly leaves one day with Ellis and Annie wondering what happened.

The second half of the novel is told from Michael’s perspective, and we learn why he has disappeared. He too is lonely and has suffered loss. He faithfully cares for his AIDS-stricken lover and grieves when he is gone. After years of self-reflection, he returns to London to reunite with his friends.

Tin Man is a gentle and heart-tugging story that is just about perfect in its execution. The story jumps back and forth through different time periods and we gradually put the pieces of the puzzle together. Winman writes in an understated way that is so effective in this story. She validates each character with compassion and understanding, without being overly sentimental.

Just as Wildflowers is a treasured piece of art, so is this lovely little novel that will shatter your heart and then repair it, over and over again.

 

One of my lucky readers will receive a copy of Tin Man. Please leave a comment on the Books is Wonderful Facebook page and a winner will be randomly selected. US addresses only, please.

 

I received a copy of Tin Man from Putman for an honest review, which is the only kind of review I write.

 

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Book Buzz: Everything Here is Beautiful

January 16, 2018 8:11 am ,
Book Buzz: Everything Here is Beautiful

A beautiful read, is how I would describe  Everything Here is Beautiful, the achingly touching story of two sisters and their complicated love for each other.Book Buzz: Everything Here is BeautifulWritten by Mira T. Lee, Everything Here is Beautiful delivers a powerful punch with its foray into the mind of a woman with mental illness, and the toll her disability takes on the ones who love her most.

Everything Here is Beautiful

Miranda and Lucia are Chinese-American sisters whose relationship is tested when they become young adults. After their single mother dies, Lucia, the younger sister, begins to hear voices and is ultimately diagnosed with mental illness. Miranda, the older, more conventional sister, feels a responsibility to monitor her sister’s activity even though they are separated by many miles.

Miranda knows that Lucia’s life is on a precipice because of her illness, and she despairs when she sees Lucia making what she things are the wrong choices: leaving her much older but stable boyfriend, going off her meds, getting pregnant. Miranda knows she must walk on eggshells around her brilliant but erratic sister. If she crosses the line and is perceived as being too pushy, Lucia will rebel, and ultimately withdraw.

As children, Lucia saw Miranda as her role model and protector. Now, she both loves her and resents her for interfering in her life. But Miranda perseveres, convinced that without her sisterly protection Lucia’s life will spiral out of control.

The characters are so unique and compelling, characters I am still thinking about, from impulsive Lucia whom you just want to hug and steadfast Miranda, the big sister everyone wants to have, to Yonah, the Russian Jewish amputee who owns a health food store and comes in and out of Lucia’s life, and Manny, the young Latino who is swept away by Lucia’s charms and only becomes aware of her illness after their baby daughter is born.

The minor characters, as well, are fascinating: Manny’s mother and extended family in Ecuador, the patients and staff at the mental hospital where Lucia is kept for several weeks, even the pediatrician whose name is Vera Wang.

With the narrative switching from one character to the next, we see the struggles through their individual lenses which adds depth to the story and gives us a clearer picture of the impact of Lucia’s illness. Lucia’s description of what she calls the serpents, or voices, taking over her life is particularly heartbreaking. Her narrative succeeds in explaining why she acted strangely, why her actions were perceived as crazy but made perfect sense to her.

As with other books I’ve loved, I had to slow down at the end because I didn’t want it to end. That’s how much I adored it. And the ending … well, it was perfection. Total perfection.

 

One of my lucky readers will receive a copy of Everything Here is Beautiful. Please click on the Books is Wonderful Facebook page and leave a comment there. A winner will be randomly selected. US addresses only, please.

 

I received a copy of Everything Here is Beautiful from Pamela Dorman Books/Viking for an honest review, which is the only kind of review I write.

 

 

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What Ever Happened to Your Novel?

January 2, 2018 8:21 am ,

What Ever Happened to Your Novel?“How’s the novel coming along?”

“When will your novel be published?”

“Do you have an agent?”

My Novel Still Lives, Contrary to What You May Think

When you announce that you are writing a novel (which I did three years ago), these questions are typical of what you can expect. Friends and family members figure after all this time you must certainly be finished writing it. What would take so long?

The truth of the matter is … my truth, anyway … writing a novel is wayyyy harder than you think, and takes wayyyy longer than you could have imagined. I can’t emphasize wayyy strongly enough.

My WIP (work in progress) has had its fits and starts over the years. I successfully wrote the first draft for NaNoWriMo in 2014. I blogged about writing my second draft. I blogged about rewrites. I blogged about losing my momentum. Too much blogging and not enough writing, probably.

And then it was 2017.

2017 was a bad year for almost everything, including my novel, because I was consumed with outrage about the presidential election and chose to channel that anger through writing a newsletter for activists as well as dark humor pieces that I seldom shared but made me feel better.

It was cathartic for me, and I’m in a different place now. Still angry, still resisting, but giving myself permission to include some pre-Trump normalcy in my life.

2018 will be the Year of My Novel.

Here’s why. I am working with an amazing editor/mentor who really gets me, gets my story, and is motivating me with her questions and advice. We talk regularly on the phone. She is my sounding board and my cheerleader, and her collaboration has made a world of difference.

Also, I needed the time to take a fresh look at what I had written. Some of it was good and salvageable, but there were big changes that needed to be made, and the novel is so much better for making them. I’m excited about it again.

Now. About agents and publishers. When you write fiction, your piece must be in its final and complete form before said agent or publisher will even look at it. I’ve spoken with agents about my novel — the elevator pitch — who encouraged me to send them the manuscript when it’s done, and I will do so.

That said, here’s the truth. This is an awesomely competitive field. Very, very talented writers have works that have not been published. Fate may smile, or not. Rejection is a given in this line of work.

For context, did you realize these popular authors received multiple rejections for their novels? Talk about dispiriting! But also motivating for us writers to keep on trying.

HERMAN MELVILLE

Melville’s masterpiece, Moby-Dick, was turned down by multiple publishers, some of whom had creative suggestions for the author. Peter J. Bentley of Bentley & Son Publishing House wrote: “First, we must ask, does it have to be a whale? While this is a rather delightful, if somewhat esoteric, plot device, we recommend an antagonist with a more popular visage among the younger readers. For instance, could not the Captain be struggling with a depravity towards young, perhaps voluptuous, maidens?

 

 F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

“You’d have a decent book if you’d get rid of that Gatsby character.”

 Lord of the Flies by William Golding was rejected 20 times before it was published.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell was rejected 38 times before it was published.

Carrie by Stephen King was rejected 30 times before it was published.

One rejection letter read: “We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.”

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig was rejected 121 times before it was published.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was rejected 12 times and J. K. Rowling was told “not to quit her day job.”

There is no shame in rejection. There is shame in not trying.

Check back with me in December. If my novel isn’t done, I owe you a dollar.

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Book Buzz: The Space Between Sisters

June 23, 2016 10:55 am ,

The ingredients for a pleasurable summer read are all found in The Space Between Sisters, Mary McNear’s latest novel in her Butternut Lake series.

Book Buzz; The Space Between Sisters

Take a scenic and charming lake community, add in two sisters and two eligible bachelors, combine with the allure of summertime, sprinkle in a bit of nostalgia and a few secrets, finish off with a dash of whimsy with a cat named Sasquatch, and voila.

The Space Between Sisters

Poppy and Win have the same parents but couldn’t be more different. Now adults, Poppy is impetuous and flighty and Win, a widow, is organized and steady. They haven’t lived together in 13 years, but one day Poppy appears on the doorstep of the Win’s lakeside cottage in Butternut Lake — jobless, out of money, and having nowhere to go.

The cottage, once owned by their grandparents, had been their summertime destination when they were children. The sisters both have fond memories of idyllic summers spent in Butternut Lake. When the grandparents died, Win — the more responsible sister– inherits the cottage, and she decides to live there year-round.

Poppy and Win were close as children, relying on each other perhaps more than most siblings do. Their household was chaotic. The parents were negligent and for large chunks of time the girls were on their own, even at a young age. They yearned for a stable home environment but the parents were unable to provide it.

Now adults, the love is still there. But it’s complicated.

Living together for the first time in many years, the sisters still love each other but find new tensions in their relationship. Win is frustrated with Poppy’s lack of initiative and her messiness. Poppy is irritated by Win’s OCD type of organization. At the same time, they are trying to reframe their broken lives: Win, reeling from the death of her husband, and Poppy, struggling with a painful secret she has been harboring for years.

But the bonds of sisterhood prove more durable than the adversity each has faced. Poppy and Win realize they are both ready to find closure with the past. Willing to move on, to accept what is and put it behind them, they find strength in the ties that bind them. In doing so, they find that they have much more in common than they once thought.

This is a breezy, easy read that definitely meets the requirements for a great beach book (even if you’re not at the beach). And if you haven’t read the three prior books in the Butternut Lake series, no worries. The Space Between Sisters is fine as a standalone.

One of my lucky readers will receive a copy of The Space Between Sisters. Please leave a comment below and enter the giveaway.

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I received a copy of The Space Between Sisters from William Morrow for an honest review, which is the only kind of review I write.

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Writing a Book Made Simpler in 1-2-3

June 13, 2016 12:36 pm ,

This book writing stuff. It’s really hard.

My novel has been a work in progress for a good year and a half, and I wish I could say it was almost done. I realized, however, during three days of writing workshops at the Philadelphia Writers Conference that I have much to do before calling it a day.

Book writing isn’t just the writing.

A key part is the planning, the structuring. There are mechanics to novel writing that can not be ignored. Each character, for example, must have a story arc comprised of the situation, the spark and the conclusion. A character must have a goal and obstacles that must be overcome to reach that goal. And once that is established, the character’s arc must intersect with the other characters’ arcs.

Dialogue needs a context and a subtext. Dialogue must be authentic but not mundane. It can be reported or condensed, and it needs to propel the action.

I could have done this differently.

There is another way, a better way, that writer and editor Stuart Horwitz presents in his new book, Finish Your Book in Three Drafts: How to Write a Book, Revise a Book, and Complete a Book While You Still Love it, the third book in his Book Architecture Trilogy.

Writing: Finish Your Book in Three Drafts

Horwitz is the founder and principal of Book Architecture, a firm of independent editors based in Providence, RI (www.bookarchitecture.com) whose clients have reached the bestseller list in both fiction and nonfiction.

I was fortunate to meet Horwitz at last year’s Philadelphia Writers Conference, and his keynote was one of the highlights for me, so much so that I approached him after his presentation to tell him how much I enjoyed it. Not only is Horwitz a smart guy, he is down to earth and has a great sense of humor. As a writer, he totally gets the frustrations we writers experience with endless revisions. He’s been there himself.

Finish Your Book in Three Drafts gives writers, fiction and non-fiction alike, a practical way to get through the revision process with minimal consternation. Horwitz proposes that a book can be completed in three drafts:

  • The messy draft: which is all about getting it down.
  • The method draft: which is all about making sense.
  • The polished draft: which is all about making it good.

“I think about the people who don’t publish their books, and too often it’s not because they lack the writing skills. It’s because they got lost along the way. One draft isn’t going to cut it, but neither is twenty,” Horwitz says. “All you need is three drafts, and the tools to know where you are in the process.”

What’s more, Finish Your Book in Three Drafts is interactive. The book is nicknamed “3D” because it contains nine stop-motion videos that bring the concepts to life through the use of action figures, and nine PDFs for when you want more detailed information and instructions about topics such as “How to Find Your Theme,” “The Five Definitions of Scene,” and “How to Construct Your Book Proposal.”

Finish Your Book in Three Drafts is available in both print and digital editions from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Indiebound.

I’m taking a look at my novel through a different lens now, and it is so worth the extra time.

 

I received a copy of Finish Your Book in Three Drafts for an honest review,
which is the only kind of review I write.

 

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Get Me Rewrite! Starting the Third Draft

March 7, 2016 9:27 am ,

Get Me Rewrite! Starting the Third Draft

I am writing a novel.

These five words have become my mantra, something I repeat silently to convince myself it is real. Not a dream, not a figment of my imagination. Not something I began and never finished.

This time I am getting ‘er done.

By putting it out there I am also making myself accountable. When “How is the book coming along?” is asked I don’t have to flounder around for a lame excuse.

It’s coming. I’m getting there. It’s moving forward.

“So after the second draft,” a friend asked me the other day, “your book is pretty much done, right?”

If only. But not by a long shot.

Get me rewrite.

Last fall I attended BinderCon, a writing conference for women. Among the many valuable sessions was a panel of four freelance editors, each of whom had worked in publishing for years. I was impressed with their knowledge and approach to helping writers make their book the best it can be. So after the conference I contacted one of them and I am working with her now.

I submitted my second draft to her and waited anxiously for feedback. Would she love it? Hate it? Biting fingernails, chewing the inside of my mouth, binge snacking: I engaged in every nervous habit I could think of.

Well, we had a phone call last week to discuss the book. There was good news and bad news.

Good news: she liked the story, thought the characters were well drawn, enjoyed the historical setting of the novel, and thought it would ultimately fare well with readers.

Bad news: a major rewrite is necessary.

Good news again: The rewrite is going to make it SO much better.

Before this feedback, I was having trouble seeing the forest for the trees. I was too close to the content. It was impossible for me to be objective.

With a few brushstrokes of her vision, she gave me clarity that I was unable to find on my own.  As I rewrite the second draft, I will:

  • Take a swipe at the number of characters. There were too many. “Beyond four or five major characters,” the editor told me, “people start getting confused. And it is really hard to make their voices unique.”
  • Narrow the time frame. The expanse was too wide, too Belva Plain. Instead of 50 or so years, now it will be five. And that’s enough.
  • Focus on the motivations of the characters. This has to be credible.
  • Intensify the drama. Make the precipice higher. This will make the reader want to keep turning the pages.
  • Be careful with the historical events. This is not a history lesson. Make the events part of the narrative but only in the context of their impact on the characters.
  • In each chapter, define where we are in time, what is going on with the family, and what significant event takes place that propels the story forward

These simple suggestions will eliminate many of the problems I had with the plot line and the development of the main characters. Instead of feeling angst, I feel a huge sense of relief – and excitement.

I will be deleting a huge chunk of my work, maybe even 50%. Perhaps some of it will return in another novel another time. A sequel, perhaps. Doesn’t that sound nice?

Onward.

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The Second Draft: A Debut Novelist’s Journey

February 15, 2016 12:06 pm ,

The Second Draft: A Debut Novelist's Journey

When we last heard from our hapless heroine, she was tied to the railroad tracks, screaming for help as the black locomotive chug chugged toward her. Where is that damn hero on the white horse, she despairs.

Whoops, wrong story.

Or is it?

My real life scenario isn’t quite as dramatic, but there are certain similarities. Restrained sitting in front of my computer screen, I scream (silently) to my creative Muse, Inspire me! Rescue me from the agony of an unfinished manuscript!

The hero on a white horse? My imagination jumping into the saddle.

Whoever said writing a novel was easy … wait. No one said writing a novel was easy.

To recap,

  • I waited until age 60 to get serious about writing a novel.
  • I wrote 50,000 words during NaNoWriMo in November 2014.
  • I submitted a first draft to a developmental editor in March 2015.
  • Working off the editor’s notes, I revised and edited, revised and edited.
  • I submitted a second draft (75,000 words) to my editor last week.

Hallelujah! The second draft is out the door. What have I learned?

Just to be clear, this is how the process is going for me. Every writer has his or her own style so I can’t speak for everyone, obviously.

A second draft is better than a first draft, but it’s not as good as a third draft.

My manuscript still needs work. If I had done more prep, perhaps it would be further along.  I would venture a guess that most writers start out with an outline. It makes sense to have a road map and a reasonably good understanding of your plot, your characters, and all the other elements in a novel.

But I am not an outliner. Never have been. So my process evolved differently. I had a basic premise of a story in my head and just sat down and wrote.  Without an outline, that road map was about as effective as my car’s faulty GPS. There were unexpected twists and turns, roadblocks and potholes. There were also dark tunnels that led me into the light.

Also, I heard voices.

You’ve heard writers say their characters speak to them?

They do. Mine did. They told me about their likes and dislikes, the way they walked, their desires. I let them take the lead and show me the way. So what I came up with was not exactly what I thought I would.

Experts tell you to not edit and write simultaneously. For the first draft, you should let your words flow unchecked. You finish the draft and let it marinate for a while. Then you come back to it with fresh eyes, better able to critique it.

As I soldiered on through my second draft, the things I focused on the most were:

Making sure each character had a distinct, unique voice. Was the point of view clear? Did the dialogue ring true?

Showing, not telling. SO important.

Justifying why each sentence should be there and trimming the excess.

Eliminating cliches and metaphors, of which there are way too many in this blog post.

So, what comes next?

Hopefully, hopefully the mistakes in the second draft will be fixed and the next draft can focus on fine tuning. When it’s in its final form I will share it with several beta readers for feedback. Revise and edit, revise and edit.

And I’ll be a little bit closer to freeing myself from the ropes on the train tracks.

 

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When Your Work in Progress is Not Making Progress

September 29, 2015 11:12 am ,

I got used to the incessant drone of crickets around here.

Not the ones chirping outside our bedroom window. Those I like.

No, it’s the crickets inside my head that bedeviled me. The crickets that invaded the space where my writing inspiration should be.

When Your Work in Progress Is Not Making Progress

Writing a novel has been a lifelong dream, one that has eluded me thus far. Ten months ago I participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and banged out 50,000 words of my novel. It was actually a stress-free, even pleasant experience. I let my creativity flow and I sat back and watched what happened.

The outcome surprised me. My characters, with flaws and desires I hadn’t predicted, made choices I hadn’t foreseen. Major characters switched places with minor characters. My setting evolved from blurry to crystal clear, vivid and colorful, the way Oz looked when Dorothy’s house plunked down in it.

I felt like I was on the sidelines observing the action in a lively football game.

I kept at it, several hours a day. In the end, I proudly tacked the NaNoWriMo certificate of completion on my office wall. I did it! It would be smooth sailing now.

On a roll of self-confidence, I didn’t let the momentum subside. I continued to work on the draft, writing more chapters, editing, and finally in March, submitting the work in progress to a developmental editor. I wanted a professional to take an overview of what I had done so far.

Nervous to hear her say I would never be a writer get her feedback, I was relieved to get thoughtful, helpful notes of ways to improve my story.  She pointed out where the holes were, alerted me to inconsistencies in the timeline and, since I am writing historical fiction, suggested ways to give the reader a fuller context of the time period.

Charged with energy, I dove into the second draft, certain that 2015 would be my year. The year I finally finished the novel.

That’s what I thought.

Welp. It’s not happening.

Why? Well, life kind of got in the way. My son got married. My daughter got engaged. My dog got sick.

Maybe I should not have let these interruptions derail me, but I did. I was distracted. I couldn’t get back into my novel.

Chagrined, I started to feel like a failure. Would this novel never get completed? I had come so far, done so much work. Invested so much love in this project.

I sat myself down and did some soul searching. Some DIY psycho therapy. I resisted the inclination to slip into self-doubt. What could I do to get back on track if I couldn’t muster the energy to work on my draft?

I did three things.

  1. I gave myself a pep talk. Instead of my normal refrain — I can’t, I won’t, I’ll never — I told that inner voice to shut the hell up. I gave myself permission to extend my deadline. It’s my deadline, no one else’s.
  2. I continued to write, blogging at least once a week on topics of interest to me. This gave my writing muscles a regular workout.
  3. I kept reading. The hours that were not spent writing were devoted to the stack of books next to my bed. There’s nothing quite like reading brilliant writing to inspire your own.

The upshot?

I’m back. The juices are once again flowing, the wheels are turning. I’m happy to say that my work in progress is again progressing.

And I’ve kicked those crickets out of my head.

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