I'm halfway through the first draft. But I've just changed the text from past tense, third person limited, to present tense, first person multi point of view. While I was reading Holden Sheppard's The Brink, I was taken by how personal his book felt with different characters narrating in the here and now. My gut …
Feedback from my Writers Group
Recently, I searched for a writers group. I wanted one with writers more experienced than me, and I now meet monthly with a group that includes two screenwriters with three decades of experience each, and a published non-fiction author. I submitted the first two chapters of my current WiP for review. I hate anyone reading …
It takes years to write a novel
Ten years ago I attended a workshop at the Sydney Writer’s Festival. The author gave us an insight to the industry, but the most important thing I learnt at this session was the art of letting your manuscript rest between drafts. I mean, really rest. Not a couple of weeks, but at least three months. …
I got a bad review
I got a bad review. To be honest, it's a proper critique. The reviewer was honest about what worked for her and what didn't. And it hit me hard because she is a fan of two of my other books. This review was posted a week later than originally scheduled and in that time I …
Impostor Syndrome
How do you deal with Impostor Syndrome? I asked this as part of a social media chat group I'm part of and one particular answer stayed in my mind. "I've noticed it's triggered more by success than failure. Success makes me frightened that I won't make the mark..." Over the past couple of years more …
Plotting using the Snowflake Method – An Update
I previously spoke about the Snowflake Method in this blog. At the time I was working on a Space Opera but for my own reasons, that project has been put on hold. A contemporary novel has taken it's place. And I've now had the chance to use this plotting and characterisation method for longer than …
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What should I write next?
I had this dilemma recently. I began a new book in a genre which had me intrigued - The Space Opera. I have character notes which include motivations, goals, conflicts and epiphanies. I have an interesting plot, and extended story lines from each character's point of view. Then we made a sudden trip north to …
Editing, over and over
I have a new book being released and a new manuscript I'm submitting. First off, with a new book being released by my publisher soon, the process of editing, second edits, proofing, then final edits make an author really fine tune their work. I re-read my work just after the proofing stage, and again when …
When author business gets in the way of writing
I haven't touched my WiP in six weeks. First it was simply a case of a sudden trip north to catch up with family when an invite to Warren's great niece's eighteenth birthday arrived. And even though I took my laptop, I was busy being social after being trapped in my own state due to …
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Plotting using The Snowflake Method
My last post was about a new plotting method I'm using. A few things got in the way of my usual writing days after I published that post, and somehow I didn't feel bad about missing them. It was because I didn't feel like I was working on a book. There were a few times …
kevin klehr - author 