Liz Flaherty's Blog, page 126

What Came First?

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This Is How You Write A Book

Someone told me once - I think during a writing workshop, I'm not really sure - that the best way to write a book was to write a first draft, revise that draft, send it to your editor, and then revise again according to the edit notes. That person said, at that point, the book you've written is ready to be published.

That could very well be the best way to write a book. It isn't my way. But I do know how to write a book: your way.

Seriously. The best way for you to write your book is to do it Y...

Process? There's a Process?

Okay, yeah, maybe there is a process. It's only that I've never given it much consideration. Mostly, I write . . . but perhaps we could call my pre-thinking a beginning of a process.

I always start with characters, too--very possibly one of hundreds of reasons why Liz and I are kindred spirits. Our stories start with people. We invent stories for the people in our heads, not people for the stories. Does that make sense? Unlike Liz, I do hear the characters talking to me, which probably means t...

Setting the seam

     by Liz Flaherty 
    Here are a few pieces of Word Wrangler conversation with no attribution, although you may be able to guess who said what.
...do you remember when we used to do themes? We rotated weeks on picking...
Do we have a theme for next week and I forgot it already? 
...we hadn't talked about theme yet ... since the last 2 were kind of 'slice of life'ish, do we want to go to a writer theme for next week? 
I can do a blog on my process if...

Thanks for the memories!

The Wrangler gals have put together quite a striking list of memorable days in their lives!

I struggled with this week’s theme, partially because so many of my memorable days are either unpleasant or bittersweet, but mostly because I’m horrible with dates. Case in point: my wedding anniversary is written in my old-school paper organizer affectionately called “my brain,” and I still forgot it one year. To make matters worse, hubby did notforget it. Fortunately, he’s a really great guy and does...

Summer Days

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The Best Days? Mostly...

We're talking about best moments...or maybe just life-altering moments this week at WordWranglers. Why the video over here? Well, because I love Kellie Pickler and it's mostly on-topic.

You've already read about Nan's bank robbery and Liz's Bobby Kennedy moment ... and I'm wracking my brain trying to remember five moments that stand out more than others. There are a lot, but then I try to quantify what makes them 'more' and...my brain starts to hurt. So I'm clearing my head and the first five...

Not-So-Faded Memories...

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Changing the rhythm...

by Liz Flaherty

...everybody's individual music, has its own rhythm... - Yo-Yo Ma


I had this idea for a post because today’s my daughter Kari’s birthday. It was definitely right up there
Kari Wilsonwith the best days of my life, along with her brothers’ births, the days they married and gave me my other three kids, the days the Magnificent Seven were born, the day back in 1971 when Duane and I said yes, we do, and all the days since. That’s life in Pollyannaville, folks—there are no bad days, on...

I Feel Fine!

Fortunately, like Margie, I have not been sick (yes, knocking on all kinds of wood here), though my heart goes out to my fellow wranglers. I hope they get over their creeping crud soon!

It’s probably for the best that I don’t get sick very often. While our culture pokes fun at men being big babies when it comes to having a cold, that’s not the case at my house.  I’m the biggest baby of all when I have a cold, or worse. I look at it this way: if I don’t feel sorry for myself, who will? He...