Louise Marley's Blog
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May.03.2012
I suspect every writer--or really, artists in every field--have a strong obsessive streak. I certainly do, as Beloved Husband and Beloved Son--and Beloved Mother, come to that--would testify. It's a most useful attribute in working through a novel-length work.
The straightforward map...
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Apr.03.2012
Ten years ago I did extensive research on twelfth-century France, centering particularly on Eleanor of Aquitaine. There was a sort of proto-feminist movement at that time, with the great philosopher and writer Hildegard of Bingen influencing both church and secular leaders, and the...
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Mar.28.2012
As I prepared to help my publisher promote my first book with them, Mozart's Blood, there was a lot to consider. First of all, what genre is this book? It's historical, covering nearly four hundred years. It's musical, with a protagonist who is an opera singer. It's fantasy...
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Mar.25.2012
It's been some time since my last post, and there's a reason for that. I don't think there's anything harder than the middle of a book. I'm not quite to the middle, but I have reached the POS stage--"piece of shit," as the great Kay Kenyon has dubbed it. This is the point at which...
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Mar.04.2012
The writer’s retreat is a time-honored tradition, and every writer I know seeks out at least one every year.
A retreat can take all sorts of forms. I take one all alone when I'm making a final pass through a book. I'm fortunate to have friends with a space they don't mind me...
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Feb.20.2012
I'm just about eighty pages in, if you're curious. I started the book at the first of the year, so I've written about twenty percent of the novel in two months. This is a good pace. By summer I should have a first draft completed.
At this point in my process, I'm heavily dependent...
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Feb.01.2012
Now that I have fifty pages of the new book, it's the right time (for me) to stop and write a synopsis. It's an act of discipline, but one I've learned not to avoid. Having a synopsis--a plan for the book that gives an idea of the arc of the story--will save me time in the end. It...
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Jan.16.2012
I'm off and running--slowly. This is still a very early stage, without a synopsis or a plan. I've written about thirty pages, inching forward, listening to the voices of my characters, setting them challenges, finding their strengths and their weaknesses. A few minor...
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Jan.07.2012
The prospect of beginning a novel can be daunting. There are so many things to be considered: setting, pace, voice, plot, characters. How can a writer contain all of those in her head over the weeks and months of writing an entire book?
One of the most important lessons I've...
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Nov.28.2011
Inspired by video of the First Family shopping in an independent bookstore, I hope everyone's planning some literary gifts this year, and that you'll do your best to buy from an indie if you can. Here is a short list of some old books which will be forever new, and may persuade even the most...
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Nov.01.2011
I read once that Will James, the wonderful Western writer and artist, was reduced as a kid to reading cereal boxes and soap labels when he ran out of books. I was a kid myself when I picked up that detail, but it's stayed with me because I was the same--I devoured, before I was eight, a full...
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Oct.05.2011
My very first creative writing teacher was the great Joanna Russ, teaching a short story class at the University of Washington. Nothing like starting at the top, pedagogically speaking! I admired her so much, and found all her books in the library to read. I loved her teaching,...
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Sep.30.2011
A couple of weeks ago, at lunch with my editor in New York, the topic of how best to title a book was on the agenda. The title that best suits a book may not be the best title to attract readers; a title readers can't pronounce, as I learned the hard way with my science fiction novel The...
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Sep.26.2011
Beloved Husband and I watched Moneyball yesterday, and as we left the theater, we wondered aloud how much non-baseball fans would enjoy it. We love baseball, follow it nationally, and really dig the statistics and history of it, so we enjoyed the film very much. It did make me think,...
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Sep.07.2011
Golf is a tricky game. It takes a long time to learn, for most people, and the many components that have to come together to make a great score can be daunting. As I set out for eighteen holes yesterday, fervently hoping to improve my score from the previous round, it occurred to me...
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About Louise
Louise Marley is a former concert and opera singer who now writes fulltime. She is a two-time Endeavour Award winner, has had several ALA Best Books of the Year honors, and two Nebula nominations. Her bibliography includes science fiction, fantasy, and young...
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