See my previous post, below, for how to enter. If you haven't signed up yet, do! Tomorrow's prize will be Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels.
Today's Insider Info:
The best way to learn to write a novel is…to write a novel. Sounds logical enough, but as an aspiring author, this was one of the most startling tips I ever heard. I remember the moment vividly, sitting in the audience of a panel session at a Philadelphia mystery writers conference back in the mid 90’s. There were four or five authors on the panel, and after communicating this truth, they went down the line and each told how many novels they had written prior to penning the one that had become their first published novel.
As I listened, fireworks began going off in my head. I had already written a novel myself by then, but it had big problems, ones that I’d been trying to fix for several years. Now, suddenly, it was as if I were being given permission to give up on that doomed tome and start fresh. Sounds odd, but I felt utterly liberated!
“My first three books were awful,” one noted author told the audience that day. “But I learned so much from doing each of them, and by my fourth try, I knew I had finally gotten it right.”
So much changed for me after that conference. Back at home, I boxed up my first attempt and shoved it to the back of the closet. Then I started in on my second…and eventually my third.
That third one I decided to call A Penny for Your Thoughts, and as soon as I finished writing it, I knew I had finally penned a manuscript worth submitting.
The rest, as they say, is history. :)
Speaking of history, thought you might enjoy this flash from the past, a photo from my very first book release party. (Sorry kids, I couldn't resist!)
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| A dream come true: Posing with my husband, John, and our two daughters, Emily and Lauren, at our Penny book release party in 2002 |
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