Yes, it’s that time of the year, time for NaNoWriMo.  For those of you new to this term, it stands for National Novel Writing Month.  Nov. 1 – 30th — “30 days and nights of literary abandonment.”  You write a novel … Continue reading →

This is a repeat blog from last year. Here is the hand-printed sign that hangs over my laptop: “Nancy, the difference between you and the authors of all those published novels is they completed their books.” I have been writing … Continue reading →

“Let any woman imagine for a moment a biography of herself based upon those records she has left, those memories fresh in the minds of surviving friends, those letters that chanced to be kept, those impressions made, perhaps, on the … Continue reading →

The good thing about writing fiction is that you can get back at people. I’ve gotten back at lawyers, prosecutors, judges, law professors and politicians.  I just line ‘em up and shoot ‘em.’  –John Grisham. I’ve been doing a lot … Continue reading →

Yesterday, my historian husband and I spent the day on Sapelo Island, off the Georgia coast. It has the last of the Gullah/Geechee communities and the only way to go over is to take the official tour or to be … Continue reading →

The form chooses you, not the other way around. An idea comes and is already embodied in a form. —Michael Frayn Sometimes in the swells of the dawn or at the last light of the day, an idea comes to … Continue reading →

“I would say that the most important duty of a writer is to find what is really his story, his particular story, his unique story.”  — Isaac Bashevis Singer There are certain types of stories: the love triangle, betrayal between … Continue reading →