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My 5th Novel Has a Name (at least for now)
Today, it’s official. I have a book title. I have a copyrighted ISBN number. I have a “mood” for the cover. And while I am going to seek traditional publishing this time around and solicit an agent to represent me, I still need to go through this process to help move in the right direction and keep me motivated should I venture down the self-publishing road again. The characters in this novel are not only in my head, but in my soul. Each one is a part of me, and a part of you, and a part of everyone we have met along the way. With five main characters, a…
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Not Quite There With 5 Days Remaining
It’s the 25th of November, and I’m still making progress, although it’s not moving as quickly as I would like. The goal for November was to complete 50,000 words (which is, in essence, a small novel). The problem is, this novel (Life with Nan) will more like 80,000+ words, I’m guessing. So, my friends, I have a way to go, but if that’s the case, then I’ll try to find some solace in the fact that I hit the halfway point by going over 40,000 words. Nan and my main character, Calista, still have more to uncover as their relationship of living together as granddaughter and grandmother continue, and as…
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Friday Fiction : I Hate You (a flash fiction story)
On Fridays we write. Answering a prompt is a good way to stay in touch with your writing, storytelling, and creativity. In this flash fiction piece, the goal was to “write a story with the word ‘hate’ in it.” Simple parameter. I write a lot about relationships, mostly happy ones, and sometimes ones that are on their way back from devastation. This is one of those. Here’s what I came up with for this week’s FICTION FRIDAY. *** I HATE YOU | Flash Fiction There was nothing left to say. The words hung in the night air as the sound of the sea pounced against the rocks. The breeze caught…
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The Downside of Being A Writer
While there are so many pluses to being a writer—namely that we have the privilege of passionately telling stories through our own lenses—there is a downside, at least from my perspective. The downside has become increasingly more clear to me the older I get. It makes me pause more than I used to. It leaves me with notebooks full of scribblings. The downside that I am talking about this morning, as this blog post came to me all at once (you know, with the lightbulb going off and all that jazz), is that when we are writers and intent on telling stories, we are also part psychologist, as we try…
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Flash Fiction from a Writing Prompt
* In the classes I teach at Stevenson University, students know that I have the propensity to use writing prompts in class to get them writing creatively and telling little stories. Their purpose? Simply to practice writing. Often, when I have the inclination to write something but am in-between novels, I use writing prompts a lot. There are three main reasons to use a writing prompt: It gets you writing (as stated above) and thinking creatively. It gets you thinking in way you may not have been thinking when you started staring at the blinking cursor and allows you to take a writing journey. It can turn into something wonderful.…
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A Short Story From A Writing Prompt
I’m feeling a little creative today and am in the mood to tackle something new and different. I searched for a prompt on Pinterest, and this is the one that struck my fancy. So, the way I see it, I will start my story with these words and see where it takes me. 500 words is my goal. Let’s see what happens…(I love this part of creativity…wherever will the story go?) * “This is my life now. I have climbed this hill, and now I will die upon it.” “Shut up,” I said. “We’ve only been hiking for twenty minutes.” I can talk to my grandmother like this because we…
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Perhaps It Was An Omen
Spiral notebook. ✓ New pencils. ✓ Planner. ✓ Pink rubber eraser. ✓ A folder with pockets. ✓ Highlighters. ✓ New outfit. ✓ Some things don’t change. I still have this checklist today. I was always excited at the prospect of starting a new school year. Ever since I read a book about a girl who walked to school on the sidewalk past the white picket fences in her neighborhood as the leaves were falling, I’ve always loved the thought of going back to school, seeing friends, and learning something new. Perhaps it was an omen of what life had in store for me. Strangely enough, I was one of those…
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Walking Spawns Creativity
*** The ritual for me of a Sunday late afternoon walk is the perfect way to generate creativity. All you writers out there know what I’m talking about, right? The ability to unplug, listen to the birds, and regenerate from stress while burning a few calories helps us become more creative. I do some of my best creative thinking and strategizing during this time. Late afternoon is my favorite time of day…and I love walking in my neighborhood. Who else is a walker and does his or her best thinking on your feet? 👟👟 Getting in touch with nature and decompressing helps you recenter and look at things with a…
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Writing Prompt Challenge
So, last night I posed a writing challenge to see who wanted to try and write a short piece of flash fiction (300-400 words) around a prompt. I posted three. I got no takers. But I did it. I chose the third. I love writing prompts because they force you to immerse yourself in a scene, setting, or situation right away. They force you to be creative, and to use your creative juices in the best possible way. The challenge was to write approximately 300-400 words. Here’s my result of Prompt #3. The Young King The young King’s hair was a rumpled mess, his clothes strewn across the floor, his…
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Coming in February: Inn Significant, A Novel
*** INN SIGNIFICANT by Stephanie Verni…Coming in January. What if three weeks after suffering a miscarriage, you faint and find yourself on the floor of your own home’s cold foyer, and as you regain consciousness, you have to acknowledge the horrible news that was relayed to you moments ago by two police officers: that your husband of ten years—the love of your life—was tragically killed by a tractor-trailer on the slick, rainy interstate? Two years after receiving the horrifying news of her husband Gil’s death, Milly Foster continues to struggle to find her way out of a state of depression. As a last-ditch effort and means of intervention, Milly’s parents…
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What It Feels Like to Finish Writing a Novel
* Well, friends, I’m coming down the home stretch. By next week, my novel will be written, if it does not happen sooner than that. People have asked me this question: what does it feel like to finish a novel? As this will be the third one I have published, it feels a little like saying goodbye. What I mean by that is you live and breathe the characters and their situations for so long, that when you’re done writing their story, their story is over, and you have to say farewell. The creative process of actually building and telling the story is my absolute favorite part of novel writing.…
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Withdrawal and The Staircase
Today I decided that I would write a little something. I haven’t written anything creatively in a while, and it’s sort of getting to me. I’m going through withdrawal and I don’t want to go through withdrawal. I want to write something, and while I am far too busy to spend time writing what will be my next novel, I will tackle some short fiction, or what some deem Flash Fiction. Here’s the prompt that I got from the 3 a.m. Epiphany written by Brian Kiteley. It’s my “go to” book of prompts I use when I want to write a little something but need a push. The beauty of…
