Writing Blog
Do you need time to ‘refill’ after completing a writing project?
The long list for the annual Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize) is out, and one of the novels on the list is Anne Tyler’s A Spool of Blue Thread. Tyler, a prolific writer, is the author of twenty novels. I read an interesting interview with her in The Guardian, in which…
Read MoreCelebrate women writers on International Women’s Day
Okay, okay, so officially International Women’s Day falls on 8 March, which is a Sunday this year. At my workplace, where we celebrate women’s achievements in projects in developing countries, we’ll be marking the day today. Since many observances will take place on Friday, it occurred to me – why not celebrate the entire weekend…
Read MoreWhere does your writing take you?
I went to film school, so I have a pretty strong background in dramatic structure. I do a whole outline, and as I work I get progressively more detailed. But if something happens in those sponatenous moments of writing that’s different than my outline, I go with the spontaneity, and change the outline to suit it. -Author…
Read MoreWant four steps to better (and happier) writing productivity?
Over at the fabulous Writers in the Storm blog – an essential destination for any writer – women’s fiction author Jamie Raintree offers us her advice on Four steps to happy writing productivity. What writer doesn’t want to boost productivity, while also increasing his or her happiness index? At least my experience with high writing productivity…
Read MoreFavorite reads of 2015 (at least so far…)
I’ve had a good reading start to 2015, and I’d like to share some of my favorites. I’m a big supporter of #Readwomen, and so far this year I’ve read five novels by women and two by men. It just so happens that my favorites so far have all been by female writers, giving me…
Read MoreAre you monogamous (to your writing projects)?
I was as surprised as anyone to learn that I struggle to stay monogamous … to my writing projects. In the first blush of romance, I set off with abandon, writing, plotting in my mind (I’m a pantser, so my plot lines never make it to paper/computer). I only have eyes for my new WIP,…
Read MoreWriting inspiration from Vladimir Nabokov
I’d click into anything with a title like that. : ) The Russian-American writer Vladimir Nabokov is one of my favorite writers, and sometimes I feel somewhat like a type of (accidental) groupie. I studied at Cornell, the university where he taught until he made his name with Lolita and happily gave up academia to write…
Read MoreHow do you feel when you wrap up a writing project?
This week, I’m wrapping up a writing project I should have concluded long ago. This is a contemporary story I’ve loved writing about three very different expat women living in Rome, Italy. Their lives cross when they meet up at a 1950s movie night at an Italian seaside resort off-season. Although my contemporary characters are…
Read MoreWriting inspiration in the mountains
Although I live in Rome, I love to escape when I can to the nearby mountains of Abruzzo. I have a small place in a little town up in the Apennine mountains, and I enjoy going out there to escape the chaos of Rome – to hike and mountain bike and ski. I was out…
Read MoreUnfinished work for #Readwomen2014. Join #Readwomen2015!
Those of you who may have followed my blog this year know what a big fan I am of #Readwomen2014. Although there are more talented women authors out there than ever, writing from every corner of the globe, it’s clear women writers aren’t getting the amount of attention they deserve. Traditional media tends to favor…
Read More