September 6, 2016: Online book launch of The Spawning Grounds

Christina Foster

Christina Foster

Crossroad Magdalenes
#88
#88
Emily De Angelis said:
Life, health, work...what helps is involving myself in the writerly life and connecting to other writers. Sometimes it is social connection, sometimes workshops or writers' camps (like the one in Providence Bay) or even organized writers' groups and associations. To finish it, to keep working on it, means you have to keep thinking about it. All these things keep me thinking about my current project and help me to keep working on it.
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We're down with that comment. We find collaborating with other musicians, authors, each other, etc. helps us to kindle the fires of inspiration!
 
Dianne Joyce

Dianne Joyce

Removing Obstacles
#90
#90
Well I love the magic an mystery of it all. Gripping, decisive, and probably one of those scenes that will stay in my mind for a long, long time Gail. Thanks to Mitch for being part of your creative process and his wonderful photographic eye. Wow, what a great idea this is and to be able to share in it. The best.

Now if I could only get back to my own writing, which I seem to have let go of for various reasons.
 
Gail Anderson-Dargatz

Gail Anderson-Dargatz

Moderator
Staff member
#97
#97
June Hutton said:
Just jumping in here . . . what stops me from finishing the book project is often something to do with the 100-page mark. I hit it, and think, done, what else is there to say? Lots of course, but for a while, I'm stumped.
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That's the old, write the novel in chronological order issue. I coach the writers I work with to throw that idea out the window and just write scenes, as units, in no particular order. And/or just write the key scenes in the novel: mid point, climax. Just to see what's there. Then, play from there. Learning to think of your manuscript as a magical jigsaw puzzle, where you can shift around the pieces over and over and in many different ways, is very freeing. Keeps the momentum up.
 
Gail Anderson-Dargatz

Gail Anderson-Dargatz

Moderator
Staff member
#98
#98
This one also makes or breaks a project: does the idea for the novel have enough emotional resonance for the author? A novel takes such a long time to write. We need that emotional connection to the subject matter to carry us past those times when we feel like giving up. We also need to recognize that all of us do feel like giving up on a project, likely many times during the process of writing it. So, do you care enough about the project? Is the idea for the novel big enough, for you?
 
Leanne Beattie

Leanne Beattie

Member
#100
#100
Gail Anderson-Dargatz said:
That's the old, write the novel in chronological order issue. I coach the writers I work with to throw that idea out the window and just write scenes, as units, in no particular order. And/or just write the key scenes in the novel: mid point, climax. Just to see what's there. Then, play from there. Learning to think of your manuscript as a magical jigsaw puzzle, where you can shift around the pieces over and over and in many different ways, is very freeing. Keeps the momentum up.
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That's how I have to write or the fear of completing "a novel", that big, scary thing, stops me dead.
 
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