Once Upon a Time, Once More

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

And just like that, I’m nearly two-thirds of the way through the rewrite of my WIP.

I should rephrase that: I’m two-thirds through the second draft of my WIP, with an as-yet-undetermined number more to go after that.

And it’s not exactly “just like that” either, for I’ve been hard at work on this draft since January. This has involved, in addition to multiple rewrites of chapters one through three, a first crack at the additional 15 chapters I’ve completed to date some of which were in much better shape than others.

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You Don’t Need to Have Your Shit Together to Host House Guests (you just need to know how to fake it)

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

Everything I need to know about how lead a successful life in our modern, millennial age I can find out on Buzzfeed.

One may not agree with this statement, least of all as pertains to me. But I recently read an article on the popular social news and entertainment site that had all the answers I presently seek.

This an article is helpfully titled 15 Tips That Will Trick Your House Guests Into Thinking You Have Your Shit Together.

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How I’m Spending My Summer, 2016 Edition

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

I take great joy in planning my summers every year.

Even if I’m not expecting to do anything noteworthy or conventionally exciting, the thought of longer, warmer days and a bit of time off to do as I will to fill them is invaluable in helping me make it through the winter.

Admittedly, winter in Vancouver is mildest that Canada has to offer. I really have nothing to complain about by comparison.

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On Recognizing the Interim Rewards of Writing

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

My chapter revision tracking system, with special emphasis given to chapters 7, 15, 21, and 30 (formerly 31)

My chapter revision tracking system for draft 2, with special emphasis given to chapters 7, 15, 21, and 30 (formerly 31)

The ultimate reward of writing, obviously, is publishing a book and having it read to widespread appeal.

But long before reaching that point, should a writer reward the intermediate stages of his/her writing journey?

In the past, I’ve written not only about both the importance of goal-setting, but also of ensuring your goals have corresponding plans to power their fulfillment.

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The world is a terrible place. We have to use the power of story for the ultimate good.

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

The world is a terrible place.

It’s hardly worth referencing a specific incident to support this statement. Just turn on your TV. Turn on the radio. Log on to any social media platform. Open your front door. You could spit and it would land on something awful taking place. The reasons why are too numerous to count.

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Thoughts on Re-Rewriting My Novel’s First Chapter

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

Not the “re-re” I’m referring to, but like the Bajan beauty in her famous revenge video, I had to get tough on this chapter

Writing is rewriting.

So the popular, and unfortunately, all too true saying goes.

After working on the first draft my historical fiction trilogy for the better part of three years (with a long, six-year hiatus in between), I was ecstatic to finally get started on draft two of book #1 back in January of this year.

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A New Answer to the Big Question

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

The Helix Nebula, nicknamed the “Eye of God”

Years ago, I blogged about a common big question that often arises in writing.

Namely, the question of when you can properly call yourself a writer.

At the time, I’d just found “The Answer to the Big Question” in my house. This was a list explaining the various circumstances that make one a writer that I’d printed from the internet years earlier when I too was uncertain on this matter.

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Love and Marriage in the Middle Ages (Medieval Mondays #5a)

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

A medieval betrothal

Getting married in the medieval times was a complicated business.

On the one hand, it seemed straightforward enough – far less complicated than today:

Almost every man and woman could reasonably expect to someday wed.
The definition of marriage was not contested as it often is today: there was no same-sex marriage or common law marriage or the modern legal and political wrangling commonly associated with these.
Wedding ceremonies themselves were quite simple, wholly untouched by today’s wedding industrial complex.
Divorce was illegal, so when two people married, it was (in almost all cases) literally unto death.

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Revising is Hard, But Not in the Way I Expected

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

I’ve now been actively revising my WIP for about three-and-a-half months.

I have to admit, I haven’t progressed nearly as far as I’d anticipated, to date having reworked only seven chapters out of a total 31. And that’s not counting the fact I have to go over chapters 1-3 all over again.

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The Stories We Tell Ourselves

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

No, this isn’t a post about negative self-talk.

That would be the subject of an entirely different, and if I chose to get all self-psychoanalytical about it, lengthy post.

Rather, it’s about what goes on in my mind whenever it’s not otherwise occupied, and, to me, is the furthest thing from negative.

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