Novel Writing – Aly Writes

AWOL: Absent Writer, Out Lingering

If my absence has been noted, consider this my excuse: I’ve been savouring.

Writing in the In-Between

I’m sitting in a tiny art gallery on a cold, grey, rainy day that feels more like November than May. The lights are dimmed to showcase delicate tapestries that cast shadow portraits on the clean, white walls. Six pairs of hands tap away at keyboards while I try to keep my allergic sniffling (the only indication that it actually is spring) to a minimum. It always feels a little like we are part of the exhibit, we small group of almost-strangers who gather here twice a year to spend twelve hours filling blank pages.

September 2023 Editing Update

As I sat in the delicious air-conditioning, reading through a draft I hadn’t opened in nearly two years, I was struck by something I had not been expecting: It was good. It was actually pretty darn good, and I was getting excited about the story again.

March 2023 Editing Update

I’m not thrilled that I’m a leave-it-to-the-last-minute kind of gal, but I am who I am, it is what it is, and that’s where we are. If I can manage to finish this round of edits by end of day Friday, I plan to pass the manuscript off to my beta readers and forget about it for a while.

January 2023 Editing Progress Update

I am a little behind schedule already, for no other reason than my own dawdling. I’m a chronic procrastinator.

2023: A Plan

The best way to start any plan is at the end. Where do you want to be? What do you want to have accomplished? Once you know what you’re aiming for, you can chart the path that will lead you there.