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Things To Do While Waiting To Hear Back From an Agent

In Richard Westall's Sword of Damocles, 1812, ...
Richard Westall’s Sword of Damocles, 1812. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At one point in Shard & Shield, a character is waiting for his treason to be discovered. He knows it is only a matter of time before he is identified, seized, tortured, and executed, but in the meantime he must go about his daily business as if nothing is wrong, as if he fears nothing, as if his entire world does not hang by a Damoclean thread.

I might have researched and prepared for writing such a state by sending off a manuscript for consideration.

Things To Do While Waiting To Hear Back From an Agent

Pep Talk from Hell.

Anger Controlls Him
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Someone on the NaNoWriMo chat group mentioned a technique in which a writer writes a pep talk from his or her characters. She said she had found it helpful.

I hadn’t heard of the technique, but just the thought of it scared the snot out of me.Pep Talk from Hell.

On Spoilers. (I Hate Them.)

A 2011 psychology experiment indicates that spoilers don’t ruin a story, but rather enhance it.

With all respect, in this regard psychology has its headlight plugged firmly into its tail-lamp. And that’s coming from someone who makes her day job in psychology and behavior, so you know I feel pretty strongly about this.

On Spoilers. (I Hate Them.)

Prepping for NaNoWriMo and Kitsune-Mochi

Assassin's Creed
Assassin’s Creed (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I don’t typically attempt NaNoWriMo in the way that many writers do — I mean, actually writing a new novel — but I do use it as a shameless excuse to dedicate more time to side projects I wouldn’t otherwise. I have no memory of what I did with it last year, honestly, but two years ago I wrote an Renaissance espionage/thriller novella based on too many hours of Assassin’s Creed parkour and a single Within Temptation lyric. You need NaNoWriMo to justify toys like that.Prepping for NaNoWriMo and Kitsune-Mochi