Susanne Dunlap's Blog, page 10

Why I will never write like Virginia Woolf—and why I love her

At a time when life was difficult and confusing—more difficult and confusing than it normally is—I discovered Virginia Woolf. I was in my twenties, living in London in the days before connecting with friends and family far away was easy and cheap, before the Internet, when International phone calls were prohibitively expensive. In those days, I read and read and read, and I started a love affair with British writers.

Especially Virginia Woolf. I read everything by her I could get my hands on...

Work Spaces

I’ve just come home from a week in one of my favorite places in the world: Damariscotta, Maine. The serenity, the fresh air, the occasional swim in the river—it’s all good for my soul and washes me clean of the daily pressures of work and life, at least for a little while.

When I’m in Maine, I write. I couldn’t do otherwise if I tried. This time, I finished the fourth rewrite of my next book and sent it to my agent. And then I immediately started thinking about what I should write next.

In Ma...

Thought for the day

 

“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”

George Orwell

New York, 1909

Just a little of the research I did for my WIP! I love the research part...

 

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On finishing…for now

I just finished the fourth complete rewrite of what I hope will be my next published novel. It’s taken a long time, because I’ve been reexamining everything about my craft, about structure, about what I hope readers will take away from my books. This was a true labor of love, nurtured by my patient agent who has many good ideas about storytelling.

I’ll be teasing the content in future posts. For now, stay tuned!

New year, new book

[image error] I can't believe it's already 2010, and that Anastasia's Secret is only two months away from publication.

I'm very excited about this book. Such a fascinating period in history, and an opportunity to really get to "know" a historical character who has been an important figure in the popular imagination.

Lots of bloggers have shown interest in the book, and I'm pleased to let you know that the March issue of Romantic Times Book Review will not only feature a review of Anastasia's Secret, but a br...

Where Have All the Good Writers Gone?

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Writing with a dog

[image error] I've recently had the flu—hardly surprising at this time of year—and had to spend some time at home alone. I mean, really alone. Because I didn't want to give anyone my sickness, I isolated myself in my cosy, one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment and did what I could to get better. Mostly sleep. Call my doctor in a panic one morning because drawing in breath to cough made me feel like I couldn't breathe, and I had a fever that made me feel very weird.

My only contact with humans was on Facebook and T...

An event in rural Virginia.

[image error] A couple of months ago, I received an email via my Web site from Loretta Carreras, a violin teacher, who had read my book. She said she was running a summer workshop for some of her high-school age students and thought she would like them to read The Musician's Daughter. Did I have any suggestions for discussion topics? she asked.

My response was to ask where she was located, and say I'd do better than that and come to talk to her students if it was within reasonable distance from Brooklyn. She a

The exciting parts of the writing process.

[image error] As most authors do these days, I participate in a number of online communities. I want as many ways as possible to connect with readers and with other writers—we all need a sense of camaraderie during the difficult, often ego-destroying process of writing a novel and then trying to get it published.

One of my communities, She Writes, has a very interesting application that I've put on my home page there. It's something called Poll Daddy, and it lets you make your own polls that you can invite peo