Maine

Earlier this week I arrived back in Missouri after a blissful week in Maine.  From ME to MO.  What a difference a letter makes. I wrote a lot, read a lot, climbed a few mountains, and ate an awful lot of delicious fresh seafood.  My cottage was on a secluded cove near Acadia National Park. It was a one-room wooden …

Finding Time to Write, Part 3 – Prevarication/Getting Started

So, to business. If for no other reason than in a doubtless doomed attempt to impress you all, let’s start with a quote from the mercurial French writer, Jules Renard, writing in his journal: “A fly alighting on the sheet of white paper was excuse enough to give himself the right to be idle.  He did not write, for fear of …

Finding Time to Write, Part 1

A couple of years ago I was asked to give a talk to the Mid-Missouri Writers’ Guild about how to find time to write.  I suppose I was quite well qualified to waffle on about this, since – at the time – I was running my own law firm, overseeing operations of the largest outside water park in mid-Missouri (both …

Death Becomes Me

For all those of you who are contemplating writing a multi-generation saga for your next novel, a word of warning for you. All of my previous books have taken place over a relatively short time period.  One of the things I wanted to do with my new novel was to expand that rather tired palette (to mix artistic metaphors) and …

Writing for My Life

Look, I know. This is supposed to be a light-hearted blog.  I’m supposed to serve up wry, self-deprecating posts about me and my writing.  I’m meant to be developing, God help me, a brand, in the hope that you’ll all go out and read my novel when it comes out next year. But light-hearted is a bit tricky right now. Earlier …

Hot Desk

There was once an episode of Friends when Ross (I think) both bought an apothecary’s cabinet, or some such, from Pottery Barn, and then pretended that he’d picked it up in an auction somewhere.  He was too ashamed to admit where he’d really bought it from (he was, of course, found out, because someone else had bought the same thing.) …

Writer’s Toy

This is my new writer’s toy.  I believe it’s called a “lapdesk”.  It’s a desk that sits on your lap. Hence, “lapdesk.” Stop me if I’m going too quickly for you. Look.  It even has its very own light.  All mod cons, you see. My wife bought this for me yesterday.  Now, rather than sitting at my desk all day, …

The Promise of an Empty Page

As I approach the end of the re-write for the Book With No Name, I find myself thinking more and more about my next effort. While the manuscript for the new novel was out in the real world, looking for a home, I had several months to flesh out my thoughts for the next one.  The original kernel of the …

A Place to Write

When it comes to writing, I am a creature of habit. I need my routine; equally important, for me anyway, is where I write.  I know people who can dash off stuff in trains, waiting rooms, and especially in coffee shops.  This always baffles me.  Perhaps I’m just too nosy, or feckless, but I am unable to concentrate on what I’m …

Reaching the End

As I approach the end of this epic rewrite, I am faced with mixed emotions. I will be relieved when the work is done, and I can turn my attention to other stories which have been waiting patiently for me.  But with that comes the knowledge that this particular effort is almost finished, and with that knowledge comes a degree of …