Jill Murray
Currently viewing the tag: "On Writing"
We opened our fourth workshop with a chat about writing routines and practical goals– whether you prefer to set yourself a word count limit, or spend a set amount of time writing every day.
My routine sees me writing every weekday morning, in the same cafe, for one hour, like clockwork. I also write at [...]
Continue Reading →Last week we discussed the one thing I’ve had to work hardest at in my own writing: plot.
Despite all my hard work, I’ve come to the conclusion that most of us worry too much about plot. There are very few musts as far as plot is concerned.
Plot Musts Have one.
So yes, make [...]
Continue Reading →We got a lot done in week two.
We began with a discussion of first drafts, and how they’re supposed to be difficult and awful, but you have to finish them anyway to find out what your story’s about, and of course because it’s the only path to the next draft. I won’t share those [...]
Continue Reading →From the voice that brought you writing advice like “get some sleep” and “don’t worry if it takes a long time” comes a writing workshop for aspiring and practicing Young Adult writers Writing YA: Making the A Stand for Awesome.
Yes, it’s a QWF workshop by [...]
Continue Reading →On Monday, I blogged about an article that had appeared in the Economist, by a novelist who asked the question “What makes any of us think that we have something to say that others need to read?” Initially I wrote about how I keep working in face of the uncertainty and self-doubt that [...]
Continue Reading →Julie Wilson has a great piece up at Book Madam & Associates about critiques, first readers, and getting your manuscript ready for submission.
Spoiler: I am one of the writers interviewed. I highlight the important differences between listening to voices that come from inside and outside your own head.
Continue Reading →Photo: Jim Linwood
Multitask more efficiently Become a bestseller Lose weight and love it Achieve social media dominance Live longer Avoid common traps Be more viral than swine flu
Continue Reading →Online interviews are sprouting up like daffodils this week!
My interview with My Ever-Expanding Library is now live. I got to talk about dancing, inspiration and the open-mindedness of teens, so I had a lot of fun. Here’s my answer to a question I liked, about the challenge of writing a second novel, compared [...]
Continue Reading →People ask me all the time “how’s the book going?” And I tend to sputter and flinch at the question.
My gut reaction is to ask “which ONE?!”
For most writers, there’s never just “the book.” For me right now, there’s the book I released in 2008, for which royalty statements exist; the [...]
Continue Reading →As I mentioned the other day, I finished looking over the copyedit of Rhythm & Blues.
How does a writer celebrate such a milestone? She starts working on something else, of course.
For me, this time, it’s not quite that tidy. I’ve had enough lag time between editorial phases on R&B that I’ve already [...]
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