As Nanowrimo approaches in a little under 24 hours-eek! - here are some last-minute tips that I’d like to offer my fellow Wrimos in anticipation of The Big Day.

♥ Write from the heart. And by that, I don't mean unleash a messy, tear-stained, heart-wrenching sob story onto the unsuspecting blank pages of your word processor. (Although you can ( Read more... )

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In case of a writer's emergency, please remain calm and consult the reminders below ( Read more... )

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In my quest to find reference photos for Welham Hall, I came across this set on Flickr regarding a Fanhams Hall located in Hertfordshire, which I found to be very inspiring. While the set has plenty of contemporary photos of the place, I am more interested in the ones dating back to the 1940s, because I imagine Oliver's alternate reality to have ( Read more... )

It was Martha who saw the lake first. It was Katherine who noticed the sign on the cottage, and it was Mark who caught the turtle, and it was Jane who made the wish. But it was Martha who saw the lake first. The others didn't see it until at least ten seconds later. Or, as Katherine put it, at long last when all hope was despaired of, the weary, ( Read more... )

"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live."
- Henry David Thoreau

I like to remind myself now and then that, while writing is wonderful, there is life after Nanowrimo. ;)

"If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, you must be the one to write it."

- Toni Morrison

"The secret to being a writer is that you have to write. It's not enough to think about writing or to study literature or plan a future life as an author. You really have to lock yourself away, alone, and get to work."

- Augusten Burroughs