M.S. Edwards's Blog, page 8

titles are the mind-killer

So I think I may have thoroughly jinxed myself by finding a title for that New Adult book I’m working on. Because ever since I settled for The Inevitability of Ingrid, I can’t seem to write myself out of a paper bag (See that? I’m also cursed with clichés). I can’t get past Chapter 1 and the kitchen scene. And I have gone round and round with character names as well. It’s odd; I have all these scenes ready to be written, but chaining them all together into a cohesive plot confounds me.

And I...

Danny McNaught – Chapter Two

In which Danny sits through a history lesson and goes slightly mad

The trout was a distraction. It stared at Danny with one baleful eye, daring him to eat it as it basted in hollandaise sauce on a gilt-edged plate. Danny nudged it with his fork and was mortified when three peas bounced off instead and rolled toward the floral arrangement in the center of the table. The trout seemed to laugh at his faux pas and Danny cursed the chef who thought that serving a fish whole was a good idea.

Fortun...

cheating on Nick and Evie

I have not read a book for pleasure in over a year.

Blasphemy. I know. And I was definitely not the greatest role model for my students when my normally voracious reading went on hiatus and I spent SSR time poring over my own novel instead.

But this time away was a deliberate decision because I knew I had to distance myself from all external influences while I worked on my personal opus. Had I not, I was afraid whatever I would have read during that time would have influenced either my plotti...

do questions get views?

aka clickbait…

Hullo, my pretties!

(Did that just sound too twee? Should I call you all something else? How about ‘followers’? That’s presumptuous. ‘Fans’? That’s self-aggrandizing. ‘Friends’? Too forward. Argh. Let’s try this again…)

Hullo!

So WordPress has this new function now that shows me at a glance how many views my posts have earned garnered acquired since posting, and I noticed that my most viewed post was the one entitled ‘who remembers their 20s?’ and that got me to thinking. Thus,...

following a schedule

My author M.O. (fancy acronym for what I usually do in specific situations) has always been to write when inspiration strikes or when it suits my fancy. This usually happens after I hear a song that sparks a memory that sparks a scene, or when a stray turn of phrase ignites a bit of dialogue that becomes a full-blown character sketch, respectively.

After the journey that was No Great Matter, I’ve come to the painful realization that my preconceived M.O. was fine for fanfics and/or dabbling, b...

No Great Matter stats

For all my friends who love numbers and statistics, below is a rundown of fun factoids for No Great Matter. I feel particularly proud of the Reading Level bit, which is “an indicator of the education level a person would need to have in order to understand the words you’re using in your writing”.

Not that I deliberately made it difficult, but I did have a personal agenda of elevating the YA genre if only because it’s what my students gravitate to and I wanted to give them an example of beauti...

possible titles

I can’t keep calling it “For Del” so I have some titles brainstormed below. Some feedback as to which appeals best would be greatly appreciated.

Some context: as mentioned in my previous post, I’d done some superficial research on new adult/chick lit stuff and have found some traits they all share:

script-y/cursive font bright colors 60s/mod/caricature-esque characters OR cake/cupcakes on the cover punny title

I won’t be designing the cover any time soon – that’s Aly’s job anyway – but I ne...

who remembers their 20s?

This is about my new WIP (Work in progress) I’m calling ‘For Del…’ because my sis requested it.

So I’ve been having fun creating characters, and I think I have a strong sense of my protagonists. But it’s been such a long time since I’ve been 20, and I’m struggling a bit. Funny how high school was so easy to tap into and I can certainly write about being middle-aged, but I’m hazy on that second decade of life. Maybe because mine was so fraught?

Also, did you know that there’s an actual genre f...

For Del… – brainstorming Ellie

Ellie

1) What would completely break your character? not getting the part of her dreams; not leaving a legacy; being a B-movie star

2) What was the best thing in your character’s life? starring in an indie flick during her stint at UCLA and meeting xxx at a film festival (choose one here: https://www.lightsfilmschool.com/blog/what-an-indie-filmmaker-needs-to-know-about-film-festivals)

3) What was the worst thing in your character’s life? not getting the lead in the play her senior year and dr...

For Del… – brainstorming Peter

Peter

1) What would completely break your character? disappointing the people he loves; being a disgrace to the family

2) What was the best thing in your character’s life? adopting his dog, Max

3) What was the worst thing in your character’s life? going on location with his mother and either being fawned over because he was the producer’s kid or being ignored because people thought he was a spoiled brat

4) What seemingly insignificant memories stuck with your character? swing set at the park,...