WIP Takes Back Seat to Back Yard for a Day

Nothing to report. Saturday was yardwork day, and by the time we were finished, there wasn't much energy left. I had to husband what I had left for working an unusually busy copy editing shot for work.

So I wrote not a syllable on the WIP. Thought about it while pushing the lawn mower through the ankle-breaker of a back yard. Decided the path chosen for the story will work, got a feel for where I go next. But by the time I got back inside, I was done. There would be no writing Saturday.

Hope to have some time this afternoon to push a little farther. But there's nothing new to report, unless thinking counts.

Instead I'll mention that a blogger I follow is releasing a book Monday on how to how to write a novel. I'm not sure the world needs another one of those, but based on his blog, especially what he wrote about the book last week, this may be a good one.

Nathan Bransford is a former literary agent and now author of the "Jacob Wonderbar" series of kids books.

In his post about the upcoming release, he gave a glimpse of the first chapter, and I like what I read. It's a great starting point. I am taking the liberty of quoting him here.

"The first thing you need to know about writing a novel is this: you can do it.

"No, really. You can. Lesser people than you have written a novel. I’m not saying they were all good, but they did it. You can, too! And if you read this book, and apply the rules and advice herein, it will probably be pretty good!

"I spent eight years reading slush as a literary agent at a century-old agency, so I can say this with authority: you can’t possibly go and write the worst novel ever written. It’s already been done. Don’t even try."

That's the kind of encouragement everyone needs, whether they've been at it for years, or are nervously considering their first attempt. So much so that, I m going to stop this, and get to work in the backyard so I can get back to work on "Brainiac Kapow."