Reading. Writing. Me.
The longer I write fiction, the more I realize that my version of "write what you know," looks like me working through my trauma by writing it. The first time I knowingly wrote my trauma into a story was when I wrote about a character being molested. It was supposed to be her story, part... Continue Reading →
NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Every November, writers across the globe shoot to get 50,000 words of a new novel down before 11:59pm, November 30th. I first heard about it in 2015. That year I wrote the first draft of a middle-grade novel called Land of the Golden Raindrops. In 2017, I wrote the first... Continue Reading →
This summer, I'm trying to buckle down and get through a complete rewrite of my fantasy novel, Immortal Bond. It's been slow going, not just because of our upcoming bundle of joy, but because of the growth I've experienced as a writer since last summer. I started my rewrite by analyzing my characters in each... Continue Reading →
Brave art is beautiful art. My husband reminded me of this after I bemoaned the increasing number personal elements that seem to be creeping their way into the short story I'm handing in for my Fiction Writing class. About an hour ago, I finished my third draft and had so much of my own self and struggles leaking... Continue Reading →
I'm not accustomed to this level of praise from anyone but my husband. My professor is holding out my short story to the rest of the class, my √++ a loud red against the white paper. It's screaming, "loved it" almost literally, because that's what he's written next to my grade. "Look at the format. This is... Continue Reading →
It wasn't the rejection letters that made me think it over, not really. I was expecting them. Honestly, I think it was the fact of my so definitely expecting them that made me really think it over, like I didn't have a chance in hell. It's because my query letter sucks, I thought. I just... Continue Reading →
After months and months of nerve induced procrastination, I have officially sent out my first query letters for Us. I sent them out last week. My husband wrapped his arms around me, we counted down, and clicked the send button together. Sharon was a major help to me that day, sending me constructive criticism on... Continue Reading →
I've been meticulously methodical about sending my novels out for representation to the point where, last month, I called myself out for being utterly ridiculous. And, as J.R.R. Tolkien said, "It's the job that's never started as takes longest to finish." So, I decided to take March off from writing new things and focus on querying... Continue Reading →
I’ve been working on a young adult fantasy trilogy for over a year now. The way I have it plotted is in a sort of broken chronological order, meaning that book number 3 is meant to be published first followed by book 1 then 2. Book 3, entitled Immortal Bond, has been complete for over... Continue Reading →
R. C. Svendsen 