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    Birth of a Novel by the contributors to the blog
    Birth of a Novel by the contributors to the blog
    Birth of a Novel by the contributors to the blog
    Ebook71 pages53 minutes

    Birth of a Novel by the contributors to the blog

    By Sharen Ford

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    About this ebook

    We met in early 2007 in a class optimistically entitled Write Your Novel in Nine Months. Our instructor, Jonathan Maberry, himself an astonishingly prolific author as well as an excellent teacher, inspired us all to hope that, if we followed his techniques, we would each have a completed first draft by the end of the class. The fact that none of us achieved that goal within the allotted time frame is no reflection on Jonathan, and we would heartily recommend his courses to any aspiring writer.

    We all did finish our novels, and it's doubtful we could have done that without Jonathan who showed us how to turn our vague ideas into the solid outlines that eventually became polished manuscripts. It's also doubtful that we could have done it without each other.

    Although we were all still far from our dreams of publication when the class came to an end, we realized we were very much emotionally invested in each other's work. The thought of walking away from these nascent stories without seeing them through to completion seemed unacceptable. So, determined to help one another throughout the gestation period, we formed our own critique group, and now proudly regard each other not only as the creator of our own individual books, but as the "midwives" for three others.

    Via our blog, we continue to share our thoughts on writing not only with each other, but also, to our delight, with readers and fellow writers around the world. We hope they will enjoy, and perhaps be inspired by, this small collection of our musings on the joys and struggles of birthing a novel.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSharen Ford
    Release dateOct 12, 2012
    ISBN9781301586189
    Birth of a Novel by the contributors to the blog
    Author

    Sharen Ford

    Four women writers who contribute to the Birth of a Novel blog: Sandra Carey Cody Sharen Ford Gretchen Haertsch Marielena Zuniga

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      Book preview

      Birth of a Novel by the contributors to the blog - Sharen Ford

      BIRTH OF A NOVEL

      Thoughts on the sometimes painful, often joyful, and always fulfilling process of birthing a novel.

      by

      Sandra Carey Cody

      Sharen Ford

      Gretchen Haertsch

      Marielena Zuniga

      BIRTH OF A NOVEL:

      Thoughts on the sometimes painful, often joyful, always fulfilling process of birthing a novel

      Sandra Cody, Sharen Ford, Gretchen Haertsch & Marielena Zuniga

      Copyright 2012 by Sandra Cody, Sharen Ford, Gretchen Haertsch & Marielena Zuniga

      Smashwords Edition

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.

      The articles contained herein were previously published as posts on the Birth of a Novel blog: http://www.birthofanovel.wordpress.com.

      INTRODUCTION

      We met in early 2007 in a class optimistically entitled Write Your Novel in Nine Months. Our instructor, Jonathan Maberry, himself an astonishingly prolific author as well as an excellent teacher, inspired us all to hope that, if we followed his techniques, we would each have a completed first draft by the end of the class. The fact that none of us achieved that goal within the allotted time frame is no reflection on Jonathan, and we would heartily recommend his courses to any aspiring writer.

      We all did finish our novels, and it's doubtful we could have done that without Jonathan who showed us how to turn our vague ideas into the solid outlines that eventually became polished manuscripts. It's also doubtful that we could have done it without each other.

      Although we were all still far from our dreams of publication when the class came to an end, we realized we were very much emotionally invested in each other's work. The thought of walking away from these nascent stories without seeing them through to completion seemed unacceptable. So, determined to help one another throughout the gestation period, we formed our own critique group, and now proudly regard each other not only as the creator of our own individual books, but as the midwives for three others.

      Via our blog, we continue to share our thoughts on writing not only with each other, but also, to our delight, with readers and fellow writers around the world. We hope they will enjoy, and perhaps be inspired by, this small collection of our musings on the joys and struggles of birthing a novel.

      We dedicate this ebook, with thanks, to our mentor, Jonathan Maberry. We didn't do it in nine months, Jonathan, but we did it.

      All proceeds from the sale of the Birth of a Novel ebook will be donated to Vita Education Services. Vita provides quality educational programs with an emphasis on literacy to residents of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

      Table of Contents

      Part I

      INSPIRATION

      Dream On

      Thanksgiving

      On Calling Back the Past

      A Writerly Trip

      Winter Light

      One Writer's Roots

      Life's Stories

      Real Events in Fiction

      Part II

      THE WRITING PROCESS

      Keeping to the Writing Life

      On Revision–or Seeing Again

      Writing as Spiritual Practice

      Writing from the Heart

      The Power of Name

      Avoidance: A Day in One Writer's Life

      Blending Fact and Fiction

      Setting: Looking Through a Writer's Eyes

      When the Well Seems Dry

      On Walking and Writing

      Part III

      SELF-DOUBT AND OTHER DEMONS

      Writers. Who Are We?

      The Demons Within

      On Waiting

      Am I Crazy?

      The Boomer Writer

      Writing Through What Happens

      PART I

      INSPIRATION

      "O for a muse of fire, that would ascend

      The brightest heaven of invention!"

      ~ William Shakespeare

      DREAM ON: USING THE SUBCONSCIOUS TO WRITE

      Gretchen Haertsch

      I had a happy dream last week. In the dream, I received a letter informing me that my book had been accepted by a major publisher. Not only would they publish it, they would give it what my husband calls the full court press as far as marketing goes. The publisher would even put out an app as a tie-in to the book! Where my brain came up with that one, I don’t know since I’m the least likely person on the planet to care

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