One Paragraph, Three Drafts
I write many, many drafts as I work on a book. Recently, someone on Facebook asked writers to share different drafts of a single paragraph. I thought this would be an interesting exercise for me to share with you, my blog readers. I want to give credit to the Facebooker who suggested this, but I don’t…
Read MoreSneak Peek at Breaking the Silence Cover
Breaking the Silence will be reissued in December, and I thought you might like a sneak peek at the cover my publisher is working on for it. There’s a lot going on in this story, as there usually is in my books: a mute little girl, an old woman with…
Read MoreNaming Characters and Coffee Shops
Someone on Facebook recently asked me when I planned to auction off another character name, which made me realize that I forgot to auction one off for my work-in-progress, The Lies We Told. Life got a little crazy during this book! It’s too late now, unfortunately, but I will definitely remember for the next book. Meanwhile,…
Read MoreWhat are You So Afraid Of?
In the past twenty plus years of writing fiction, I’ve had plenty of time to ponder why I write about particular topics and revisit particular themes. I grew up a fearful person, something I’ll post about at greater length one of these days. I think I’ve conquered most of my fears (with the exception of…
Read MoreDiane McCrone (aka Little Zan)
I’ve wanted to write this post for a long time. Some of you might find it macabre and weird. Others will totally understand. Either reaction is just fine. I’m one of those people who hates to lose touch with old friends. I Google people I cared about from my past. I ‘friend’ people I went…
Read MoreThe Backtrack List
Since my novels usually involve twists and turns, readers often ask me if I think all those plot points in advance. The answer is: I wish. What usually happens is that, despite my carefully plotted outlines, new ideas come to me once I really get into the writing. Sometimes it feels as though the characters are…
Read MoreSneak Peek of Summer's Child's Cover
It’s very early–the reissue of Summer’s Child won’t be out until April 2010–but I can’t resist sharing the cover that’s in the works. I love it and hope you all do, too.
Read MoreLady Alice is Quite a Lady Alice
When I work on a manuscript, I take shortcuts. For example, one of my characters in my work-in-progress is named Rebecca, so I have my Word software set so that when I type “reb”, it actually types Rebecca. The same with my character Dorothea. I type “doro” and Word types Dorothea. (On a side note: my…
Read MoreRevising Fiction and the Challenge of Alternating Points of View
How would you like to face this mess every day? I’m in the revision process (on a page like this, the “rewriting process” is a more accurate term.) Every day, I go through a few chapters and scribble all over them, as you can see here. Then I start typing the changes into the document.…
Read MoreVacations, Beach Books, and a Summertime Contest
I love having a new book out in time for summer! My readers and friends have been sending me pictures of themselves reading my books on the beach, and nothing could make me happier. I write for many reasons (I don’t think I could stop, for one), but my primary reason is to entertain, so I…
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