I’ve just turned in my new draft of Illuminate so I wanted to participate in Beautiful People as my reward! The character I’ll be talking about this time is my darling romantic interest, Luc. Sweet child. What is Beautiful People? Beautiful People is a blog meme hosted by Sky @ Further Up and Further In and Cait @ Paper Fury. Every month, they post ten questions to help writers get to know their characters better. How do I join? Just jump in! Snag the September questions, post them on your blog, and come back to add your link! I also recommend checking out the posts...
A little bit ago, I participated in A Novel Idea’s prompt for story blurbs. It was a lot of fun and I got some great responses (shout out to my Tumblr folk and brambleberrycottage for chiming in!), so I’m doing it again: this time, with excerpts! Here’s the Novel Idea prompt for this week: This week, share a favorite quote from your novel: whether it’s one sentence long, a paragraph, or even a whole chapter. It can be from your current novel or one that you’re finished with. Writing can be filled with self-doubt, but this week, take the time...
Back in January, I shared my SMART goals for 2016. These are basically poorly-disguised New Year’s resolutions. I wanted to take a moment mid-year to look back at what I said then, and see how I’m doing. And because Accountability, I’m sharing it with you! A refresher: SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. How I’m Doing with My SMART Goals: Writing: Illuminate I wanted to finish two rounds of Illuminate revisions and have everything set to go by Fall 2016 at the very latest. Mid-year, I’m just about done with my “final” edits, and the book is...
When I first began writing my YA fantasy novel, Illuminate, all I knew about the story was that it needed to include illuminated manuscripts. The problem: I only had a scattering of knowledge about illumination. In this entry, the first of a series about my research adventures, I’m going to talk about the places I went, the books I read, and some of the weird things I learned. Hopefully this will be entertaining and educational–and perhaps help another young writer on their way! Research Trips: The Places I Went Living in England during my master’s opened a lot of opportunities...
Click the pictures to see them full-size (and read the full blurbs). I’m taking a quick break from the Q&A series to participate in A Novel Idea. Yes, I’m talking about my own projects quite a lot here lately – mostly because that’s what my life currently revolves around! The Eleventh Trade is back with my agent now, and I’m busily editing away at Illuminate (and having entirely too much fun rediscovering the story after a nine month break). Here’s the Novel Idea prompt for this week: What would the back cover of your novel say? Try to make it...
Before we kick off the Q&A series, I wanted to do an exercise in Beautiful People! And since I’m back in revisions for Illuminate while my agent evaluates The Eleventh Trade, the character I’ll be talking about is Perl. I need to refresh my memory. What is Beautiful People? Beautiful People is a blog meme hosted by Sky @ Further Up and Further In and Cait @ Paper Fury. Every month, they post ten questions to help writers get to know their characters better. I haven’t done it before, but I’ve wanted to for a while now! (Mostly to share pretty pictures. Shhh.) How do...
It’s been a bit quiet here. Why, you ask? Because I have been up to my ears in writing deadlines! Once upon a time, my agent Amber Caraveo asked me to send her information on my other projects. Among other things, I sent her the synopsis and first few chapters of (what was then called) The Great Tanboor Trade. She loved it… like, a lot. Like, she sort of wondered if it should be my debut level of a lot. After having a 24-hour panic attack/identity crisis (“Me? Writing middle grade contemporary? MEE??”), I agreed to do a speed-draft of...
Scrivener metadata is one of my favorite not-so-secret tricks when it comes to drafting and revising. I’ve seen some posts about the metadata options Scrivener offers, but none of them use it the way I do, so I thought I’d add to the noise. For a person who likes to be crazy-levels of organized, this is a lifesaver on both ends of the writing process. But even if you don’t consider yourself borderline fiendishly obsessed with lists and colors, there are ways to adapt my insanity to the flexibility your methods (or lack thereof) require. (This post contains affiliate links,...
Good writers are experts in many things – most of them eccentric, odd, and (let’s admit it) kind of awesome. One of my writer friends is an expert on life aboard ships. Another knows a bizarre amount about animal biology and physics. As writers, we normally gravitate toward subjects we’re interested in. When I started Illuminate, I knew I wanted it to include illuminated manuscripts because I love looking at old books. Though I had some basic knowledge from my medieval literature classes and from exhibits in museums, I didn’t know much beyond the word “vellum” when it came to the...
As a writer, I collect so much information I often find myself dreaming of an organized library archive. I’m constantly processing nuggets for my current projects – which can include anything from body disposal in 14th century Venetian quarantines to the household traditions of Afghan families to the most popular aiming techniques in Mongolian archery – while also on a constant stream of pirates, economics, star lore, and whatever other thing I’ve recently read about. What I’m trying to say is, there’s a lot in my head. The reality is, I’m not going to remember it all. Especially if it...
