R.L. LaFevers's Blog, page 25

Getting My Gremlin On

I can't remember if I talked here about how Greasle came to take such a prominent role in Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist. It is an important lesson that I have only begun to learn, and have certainly not yet grasped. Not if the last few weeks are any indication, anyway.

The mythology in the Beastolgist books is simply that all the mythical creatures featured in the medieval beastiaries are real. They truly exist in hidden pockets of the world and only the Fludds know the exact locations of thos...

Friday Randomness

Just some random stuff for today. I'd had a post on the trickiness of traveling in the course of one's manuscript halfway ready, but then I got the stomach flu yesterday and nothing got done. Oy. Thank gawd it was the 24 hour variety.

The only good thing that can be said about the flu is that when it's over, you feel like you've been given a whole new lease on life.

My son and I have been watching the first season of The Wire, in no small part because Nathan Bransford has frequently declared it...

A New Plot Predicament

Remember how I said that each of my manuscripts demands its own, unique plotting method? Well, this book is no exception. ::le sigh::

As I struggle with this current manuscript, I'm discovering that there are a few structural things that are forcing me to look at this book's plot in a completely different way.

For one, it is the first book in which I've changed locations this many times. It starts off in Cairo, then moves to Luxor, then the action moves to An Undisclosed Location, then back to ...

An Altered Book

I've already talked about the collages I do for my books, and the travel journal I'm doing for this particular Theodosia book, but I also wanted to talk about something I started doing a while back. It's similar to a collage in that it helps me access the story world in a much more, loosey-goosey creative way, without the specific writing tasks I expect to accomplish with the travel journal (voice, descriptions, travel logistics). This altered book is really more about helping me stay fully i...

Sherman Alexie - Luddite or Prophet?

My son directed me to this clip on the Colbert Report. Must See TV for any and all writers. In it, Sherman Alexie talks about the potential impact of digitalization on the publishing industry.


The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cSherman Alexiewww.colbertnation.comColbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorU.S. Speedskating


How impressed am I that he refuses to allow his work to be published in electronic format! And how sobering are the points he makes. That so few artists make money ...

It's Alive!!

So, last week I ended up having to put aside the Theo Four manuscript and instead pick up my Theodosia Four journal. For the week prior to that, I had been pushing the characters around on the page and it felt just like a four year old pushing peas around the mound of mashed potatoes on his plate. Nothing pretty was happening.

I have to say, I so admire people who can fly into the mist and just write. Not knowing much about their characters or their stories, they simply begin, knowing they wil...

Pass the Alleve, Please

I long for a simple plot. I long for the kind of plot where the protagonist wants this, but can't have it because [fill in the blank:] and so must spend the rest of the book struggling against the antagonist or antagonistic force in order to achieve her goal. And of course she'll triumph and live joyfully ever after.

But instead, my plots tend more toward: Protagonist wants this, but can't have it because of a trick within a ploy, hidden in a stratagem, deeply embedded within a subterfuge, spri...

On Vanities...

Phew, copy edits are in the mail. Now I can let the official Thanksgiving festivities begin!

It has also been frustrating to be up to my elbows in deadlines when a hot discussion is swirling around the internet. At last I can weigh in.

Is it just me or do the recent Harlequin Horizons and Thomas Nelson's WestBow Press Vanity press ventures strike anyone else as the publishing equivalent of credit default swaps?

Sure, every business wants to make money, and rightly so. But there is a point when t...

Winter Blog Blast Tour & ARC Giveaway!

I'm being interviewed over at Hip Writer Mama as part of the WBBT today. And, for those of you eager to get your hands on a ARC of Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, we're doing a giveaway in conjunction with the tour. Come on over and enter if you're feeling lucky!

Also, this Sunday I'll be attending the California School Library Conference brunch. I'm very much looking forward to chatting with all those excellent librarians. And rumor has it I'll get to meet the legendary Mitali Perkins! Can'...

Jump Starting a Novel

Alas, I keep priming the pump but only dribbles are coming out. Time to bring out the big guns. Er, index cards.

I've talked about index cards before, and how I use them to help me see plot holes. They do, however, have other uses. They can also be a terrific tool to help me build or jump start the novel's plot.

Usually when I begin a book I have some key scene ideas and events that I know will need to be in the story. (This is especially true when working on series and sequels.) That in turn, ...