Tag Archives: writing process

The Book Is Done!

Yay! I just put book 2 of my next trilogy in the mail to my editor. I’m writing about a Detective Agency in New York City. Book One was titled: Her Perfect Parter, Book Two is: The Partner Quest, and Book Three (due to my editor May 1) is: An Unlikely Partner. Anyone spot a theme here? 🙂

Anyway, the important thing is that Book 2 is done! What a lovely feeling…now I can catch up with the rest of my life.

I used to try to write 8 – 10 pages a day so that I could meet deadlines without shifting into panic mode, but now I’m finding that the writing seems better when I totally immerse myself into the story and aim for 20 – 30 pages a day. That’s a pace, though, that I can only keep up for so long.

Now it’s time to pay bills, catch up on reading and organize the house!

The View From Up Here

A writer’s office is a special place. For me it’s the only place I can actually write. I’ve tried taking my laptop (a) outside to the deck and (b) to my local coffeeshop…but I only end up with (a) a sunburn, and (b) a caffeine high. No pages. No progress on the story.

So…I need my office. Between projects I like to organize, file and dust. The place can look quite lovely. While I’m deep in the writing process though, the clutter mounts and chaos reigns. But one thing I can always count on to look good is the view. Here are a couple photographs I’ve shot from the deck right outside my office.

In the fall all the leaves in Calgary turn gold, with just a few special splashes of red and orange. My office also faces downtown. One morning I caught the moon hanging out with the skyscrapers. This is still one of my favorite photos.

Pretty inspiring huh? But guess what…when the words are flowing, I don’t even look out my window.

When the story is jammed, however, I appreciate something else about my office. It’s right next to the kitchen…