Carrie Mac's Blog, page 4
January 9, 2017
10 THINGS is on the CBC Spring 2017 Books Preview List!
And alongside such amazing company … WOW.
So exciting to see 10 THINGS I CAN SEE FROM HERE get attention already. I can’t wait for the book birthday. Cake for everyone!
November 18, 2016
Eat.
Found Writing Advice #6
Franklin St.
Chicken processing plant lunchroom, 530am.
On a roll?
Your words are behaving and the story is truly happening?
That’s brilliant.
Keep going!
But don’t forget to eat.
If you’re lucky, you have a snack within arm’s reach.
But if not, combine your trips.
Get up, stretch, walk the dog, go to the bathroom, refill your coffee or tea or water, and — most importantly — get something to eat before you return to the literary awesomeness.
You will thank yourself l...
November 10, 2016
dream
Found writing advice #5:
Dream.
Enough said.
October 31, 2016
A starred review from Kirkus!
What an absolutely brilliant way to start the week! I am so grateful.
Andsoexcited foreveryone read 10 Things I Can See From Here!
Anxious queer girls unite!
Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2016:
«10 THINGS I CAN SEE FROM HERE
Author: Carrie Mac
Review Issue Date: November 15, 2016
Online Publish Date: November 2, 2016
Category: Fiction
A white teen with severe anxiety struggles to manage her mental health and finds joy in a budding relationship with a new girlfriend. Most people worry, but Mae...
Air
Found Writing Advice #4
5am. Powell Street, by the shipping yards. Dark and raining.
Air
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Repeat.
Stuck? Go outside and do the same.
Anxious? Slow it down.
Need to think something through? Frustrated with a character? Can’t find a way to write through a scene? Find a quiet place. Close your eyes.Breathe.
Need more than that? Walk faster. Run. Swim until your lungs ache.
Breathe.
October 22, 2016
open 24 hours
Found writing advice #3
This is you, as a writer.
Perhaps this is you as a person?
Some writers are very good and shutting the operations down when they want. That comes easy for some, requires discipline practiced for others, is next to impossible for a large group, and absolutely impossible for an unfortunate group, which is thankfully quite small.
No matter what your shop hours are, use them well. If you are keyed in best in the morning, then don’t squander it. If you work better at night...
October 14, 2016
Be reasonable.
Found Writing Advice #2
Be reasonable.
Keep your goals within reach, but not too close. Spitting distance is too close. Need binoculars? Too far.
If your writer-gut tells you it sucks, listen.
If it needs chopping, sharpen your ax.
If your smart people read it and give similar advice, listen.
If you get rejected, send it out again.
If you don’t like it, write something else.
If you’re tired of it, put it to bed and wake up something else.
Be reasonable.
Keep writing.
Estimate
Found Writing Advice #1
Estimate.
You don’t need to know anything for sure.
You don’t need to know everything about your characters, your plot, the arc, the climax, the ending, the theme, the atmosphere, any recurring images, motifs, or ideas. You don’t need to know where, when or if your story will be published.
Just estimate.
Get an idea, and go with it.
Keep writing.
Powell Street. 5am.
August 10, 2016
Timeline Cut & Paste
I had to use an actual calendar, scrap paper, scissors, my 400-page printed manuscript and my computer to untangle a piece of plot. Done. Phew.
This is is what it felt like when I started:
August 5, 2016
ARC Day!
The ARCs arrived for 10 Things ICan See From Here!
The Book Smugglers did the cover reveal in June, which you can find here.
The book is due out in February . . .
That’s SOON.
That’s SO LONG FROM NOW.
I’m not sure which, but I’m so excited either way. Excited.Excited.
Excited.
EXCITED.
EXCLAMATION MARK EXCITED.
Prepare for the wow!
