It’s been about a year since I went to emergency with my hockey playing concussed daughter. At the time, all that concerned me was her head, but I instinctively sat between her and the homeless man. Beside him, on the other side, was an old man and a middle-aged woman,
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A Writer's Mind: The Gentle-Hearted Computer Scammer
Sometimes I like to toy with the scammers on the phone. It’s an exercise in quick thinking, saying whatever comes into my head, messing with them until they hang up in an outraged huff. This time it was the Microsoft scam. You know, they call and say that they’re from
Continue readingA Writer's Mind: Lilian Nattel Reflects: Part III
I’ve finished the first scene of the last section of my new novel, unless, of course, there turns out to be more. That’s the strangeness of writing the way I do. I always wanted to be the sort of writer…
Continue readingA Novelist's Eye: Lilian Nattel Online: Archie and Thanks for the Books
I use Grammarly for proofreading because I want Veronica to love me. – Archie We’ve been having an Archie issue in this house. Archie and his pals (my fave is Jughead) hide under pillows and on top of bathroom shelves. Now, I have nothing against those folks. When I was
Continue readingmark a rayner | scribblings, squibs & sundry monkey joys: Writing is fun!
Stabbing them in the neck with a fountain pen works too … Alltop is writing up the funny!
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Joyce Carol Oates on 1st Draft
Getting the first draft finished is like pushing a peanut with your nose across a very dirty floor. Filed under: Fun, Literary Tagged: Writing Life
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Looking Deeper
I was walking and saw a slight indentation in the sidewalk. It was the shape of an inverted V. I stood over it with my camera and took a series of pictures. As I bent closer, I noticed a crevice at the tip. Bending closer still, I crouched over it.
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Wheat Sheaf Tavern
wheat sheaf tavern, est 1849 King St W, Toronto (click to enlarge) Inside the upper window is a wide bottomed jar with yellow paint or yellow peppers, also a blue-green mural with a giant eye, which might be the reflection of something across the street, or a black and white
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: And the Winner Is…
Me! Because I got to watch the Oscars last night with the 2 most amazing kids in the universe. H stayed up for the first half. (And had trouble getting out of bed this morning. It required several loud Uh Oh’s on my part and “your nose has grown to
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Friday Ease
I’m in my usual writing outfit: old grey sweatpants, old green tanktop, and terry bathrobe. But I know that it isn’t a writing day. For one thing I’m too revved up for interviews to settle into the interiority that writing requires. And it’s a PA day. Normally I’d be taking
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: My Workspace Revised
Recently, I rearranged the corner where I write. My workspace is 6 ft by 4 ft with another 21 inches of shared space on the table where my large monitor sits, also used by my older d when she wants to participate in the “homework club.” My work table is
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: My Horrible, Rotten, No-Good Day
It started this morning when the sound of rain woke me up. First I thought, “It’s raining outside, not inside.” I listened. Then I thought, “Nope, it’s raining inside too,” and I went to get the pot. Those of you who read my blog regularly may remember that the roof
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: On Writing
Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren’t. I’m not surprised some people prefer books. Books make sense of life. The only problem is that the lives they make sense of are other people’s lives, never your own. (Flaubert’s […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Writing and Weeping
I intended to post my report about Scrivener yesterday, and I have photos from my Thanksgiving walk to upload. But instead I imported a document to Scrivener. It was a book I began months ago but had to put aside while working with my publisher on Web of Angels. Yesterday I looked at the few […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Writing Again
I have 2 projects on the go–a fun idea and a serious one. However, from past experience, I know that fun can morph into serious and serious can take a completely different turn from where I begin. So this time I have no expectations of where I’ll end up with either or perhaps with something […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Heat Wave Over! And my book is…
I’m a new woman! The heat took its toll. The only way I could tell the difference between a hot flash and hot air was that I needed 2 ice packs vs 1 to keep from turning into a puddle. My good humour about the whole situation deteriorated until poor A fled to look for […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Page 262
I am pushing to get as far as I can today because tomorrow, with temp going up to 34C (that’s 93F) tomorrow, I have no expectations of getting anything done other than lying in front of a fan. I’ve been learning to be more careful and punctilious in getting characters from point A to point […]
Continue readingA Novelist's Mind: Lilian Nattel Online: Draft 10-A
This is it folks. The last draft. I got my editor’s notes–we had a wonderful meeting. I started yesterday.
Filed under: Literary, Personal Tagged: Writing Life