Susanne Dunlap's Blog, page 7

Story vs. History

I was at a writing workshop a couple of months ago, and one of the participants commented that writing historical fiction is easy, because the story is already there. I didn’t say anything at the time, but it’s been bugging me ever since how to articulate why that is absolutely, categorically, untrue.

First, history never arranges itself into timelines with an obvious beginning, a believable plotline, fully fleshed-out characters, conflict that has a chance to get resolved, and an ending that...

Me and NaNoWriMo

Yes, I have done (and am doing) NaNoWriMo. So are many of my serious, well-published author friends. Why? Isn’t NaNoWriMo just a gimmick to make everyone believe they can write a novel (and there’s nothing bad about that, IMO)? That depends. On why you’re participating.

I’ve had one or two “successful” years, where I reached my word count legitimately (as opposed to just using a work in progress that was already well on the way). The first time, I wrote something silly that deservedly ended u...

Process

Daniel F. Gerhartz (1965-)
Winter Sun

I never really used to think about “process” in relation to writing. You have an idea. You research, You plan—at least a little. Then you write. Is that a process?

But lately, as I’ve been swimming back into actively writing and trying to get published again (I was distracted for a couple of years by cofounding a tech startup and rebuilding my life with yet another career change, and then the general discouragement of the publishing business), I began to w...

Protected: Market vs. Passion

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Rejection dreams

Whatever your theory about dreams—that they clear out the garbage in your mind, that they foretell the future, that they reveal great mystical secrets of your psyche—dreams have power.

For me, their greatest potency is in helping me identify what’s really going on with me, what things are upsetting or obsessing me, what I really care about. I have dreams about my family, dreams about performances gone wrong in the past or simply imaginary performances where I’ve prepared for a piano recital,...

Scraping off burnt toast

That was a phrase from Jamie Ford’s advice to writers, which I linked to in an earlier post. The metaphor—meaning going back to something you wrote long ago and revising it and shining it up thinking even though it didn’t sell then, it might sell now—I found very apt. His opinion was don’t do it.

And then, there was Jane Yolen’s comment in the post I reprinted a couple of weeks ago:

“This past summer (2017) was a banner-waving, happy-dancing time for me. I sold four picture books and only one...

Self-Doubt

I thought about just leaving it at that. You all know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you? It goes hand-in-hand with wanting validation, feeling unappreciated, and that pesky cousin: imposter syndrome.

It’s especially powerful for me when I have a manuscript out on submission, as I do now. She hates it. It’s crap. How did I ever think anyone would care about my characters, or the time period, or the plot that came from somewhere I don’t know where? Yes, full-blown self flagellation.

Bec...

Pet Peeves

I try to be tolerant and not too pedantic when it comes to the way people use the English language. Colloquialisms are totally fine, weird punctuation, etc.—especially in quickly dashed off social media posts.

But when I see something repeated misused in mainstream media, both written and broadcast, it drives me absolutely. Insane. So here it is folks:

DISINTERESTED and UNINTERESTED mean two completely different things.

When you’re not interested in something because you find it irrelevant, b...

Jane Yolen’s Advice

I’m fortunate to live in a great community where there are many serious writers. One of them is Jane Yolen, inspiring, hard-working, award-winning author of books for children and young adults. She posted the following on Facebook this morning, and it is such a true observation about the vagaries of the publishing world, that I just had to share it here:

This past summer (2017) was a banner-waving, happy-dancing time for me. I sold four picture books and only one of them was new. The other th...

“Why do you write?”

I rarely get asked that particular question, although I’m often asked “Why did you write this book?” I think the answers to the first question partly answer the second:

I write because if I didn’t I wouldn’t know what to do. I write because stories. I write because it gives me the ability to control a little corner of an uncontrollable world. I write because I love to read, but when I read it makes me want to write. I write because my brain is never quiet, and I have to do something with all...