R.L. LaFevers's Blog, page 28

Turning the Page

I spent yesterday afternoon disassembling all my Beastologist materials; putting all my notes and manuscript versions into files, putting the research books back on the shelves, filing away the manuscript journals and the Beastologist Series Bible in the cupboard until it's time for Book Four. Not only do I desperately need the desk and table space for the next project, but I find this little ritual of packing up all the physical manifestations of the creative process really helpful. It is a ...

Happy Monday!

It is finally foggy here, so color me happy!

Plus I'm about to get the Beastologist II galleys off my desk this morning, yet another reason to be happy.

And as if all that weren't enough, today is Nathaniel Fludd's official launch day! Go Nate! My co-Violet, Mary Hershey, did a fun launch post over at Shrinking Violet. There may even be a chance to win a copy of Nathaniel.

Lastly, I completely forgot to mention that I did an interview last Friday over on Dee Garretson's blog, complete with anoth...

Getting Started Part II

The other thing that happens once I line out what has to take place in the book is that I am able to pinpoint what exactly I need to research. Note, I try to pinpoint my research to what I will specifically need for the book or else I could get lost in months of pure research, and that way lies total procrastination.

So my research list for this book looks something like this:

Antiquities Service in 1907 Cairo and Luxor
Means of traveling to Luxor
What household arrangements British archaeologis...

Getting Started

Even though this is my twelfth book (not counting all the practice ones still hiding under my bed) getting started can be daunting. I look at all those 300 blank pages looming in front of me and think: can I really make something out of nothing? Again?

Of course, the answer is always yes (so far!) but that doesn't diminish the sheer overwhelmingness of the task sometimes. Especially as part of me is still wanting to hang out in medieval France with my dark YA heroine. But duty calls. And this ...

The Perils of Pushing Too Hard

One of the things that is keeping this whole carpel tunnel thing from being too frustrating is the fact that I have also managed to burn myself out. I had a bunch of personal and professional deadlines that hit all at once and lord; I am still flat lined from that.

So it's a good thing that this week all I'm really doing is working on finalizing a revision for Beastologist 3 and proofing the galleys for Beastologist 2. I'm giving myself permission to be burnt out until Friday, and then—ready o...

Monday-ness

Don't have much of a blog entry today because I managed to give myself carpel tunnel syndrome. Blearg. It happened when I was redoing my entire YA mss into present tense and was typing/writing about 4,000 words/day in addition to blogging and whatnot. Who knew my brain spit out content at just the right speed so that I wouldn't injure my wrists? But all that went flying out the window when I was typing so much so fast. That'll teach me.

So part of my coping strategy is to pace myself. And sinc...

Rerun: Can Writing Be Taught

I think I may be suffering from just the teensiest bit of burn out, so today I'm going to post a rerun from the archives and wish you all a great weekend and with LOTS of writing time tucked in there somewhere!

Can Writing Be Taught


I recently attended a conference where a number of the faculty was wont to proclaim that writing couldn't be taught.

Which made me want to stop and ask them what, then, were they doing there, not teaching us?

Frankly, I think that is poppycock. Good craft can absolute...

Odds and Ends

First of all, the bRiLLiaNt illustrator, Kelly Murphy, has posted a sneak preview of the second Nathaniel Fludd cover. Love it! Check it out here. Poor Nate is about to enter The Basilisk's Lair...

Also, found THE best research resource EVER. Well, okay. Maybe just the best research resource for Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh. Rice University has a Travelers in the Middle East electronic archive that is chock full of late 19th century travel accounts, guidebooks, and photographs. I love the in...

Quirks and Foibles

It seems to me that the best writers, the ones whose books really stay with me, are connoisseurs of human nature. Being proficient at craft, or excelling at it, is good, but not enough, nor is a crackerjack plot. I relish learning things about the human condition and people.

I also think this is part and parcel of what propels some people to become writers—this desire to wrestle with and better understand the human condition. Do writers become observers of people so they have material? Or, do ...

Older Middle Grade

First of all, my profuse apologies that I never made it back here last week. In addition to all my work related tasks, there were a few family dramas and projects that sucked up all the remaining oxygen. So sorry!

Now, where were we? Ah yes. Dave brought up the fuzzy line between the parameters of YA and Middle Grade, especially where longer works of fantasy were involved, pointing out that many of these longer books had complex plots and darker themes than was typically considered MG, so why ...