by toby | Feb 17, 2012 | The Writing Life
Okay, so you got your Book of Secrets started. You wrote your story and identified themes and stuck spots. You probably then, got a little stuck. (Like I have been, now that I sent off my latest novel.) This is the time to purge clutter. Clutter weighs us down. It...
by toby | Feb 12, 2012 | The Writing Life
I stayed up until midnight last night finishing a read-though on Stolen in Paradise, my latest book, and then sent it to beta-readers (those intrepid souls who've agreed to have a whack at my first draft) at 12:01 a.m. I hoped to feel good today. Triumphant even. I...
by toby | Jan 23, 2012 | The Writing Life
Once upon a time, there was born a princess with golden hair, brown eyes, and unquenchable curiosity. About everything. But she was supposed to be a boy. We have the set-up, the conflict… and we're off and running on my personal tale. Terrifying! One of the best...
by toby | Jan 7, 2012 | The Writing Life
Now that you have your Book of Secrets started, the main and first task to begin is the personal timeline. It’s a plumbline, really, a way to see when and how big decisions were made about your life—by yourself, and by others. Patterns emerge. Trends. Epiphanies. It’s...
by toby | Jan 2, 2012 | The Writing Life
My first novel, Blood Orchids, debuted in December. This has been a lifelong dream, and a process on a thousand different levels. It's also caused a bit of an upheaval in my personal and professional life as I resolve issues of being a therapist in private and public...