Skip to main content

Dear Reader,

THE END IS NEAR

I'm SO close to finish editing Supernova. I've been so inspired, and honestly, I don't know where it's coming from. Is it the winter rains of the Cape that's quenching my creative thirst? Perhaps it's something else, unidentifiable, impalpable, and obscure... divine intervention? Or is it because I've been letting my toddler watch more TV so I can work? Yeah, that's it. Not that my kid watches TV, per say. Netflix Kids is pretty legit. And besides, the TV and my writing desk are in the same room, so at least it's supervised. Happy days.

WILD & FREE

In all my life I've wanted nothing but to be a professional creative: an artist, a poet, a writer. I've never been employee material; to have-a-boss material; to ask-for-permission material. I rebel with a cause, driven by the pursuit of freedom. Freedom to live a life that I'm in charge of. To be wild. And one of biggest callings in my life, aside from being a novelist, is to lead by example, to show my daughter that she doesn't have to become a corporate slave in order to make a living.

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. After all, she's only 4.

I simply cannot wait to share Supernova with my beta readers. So far, I have 3 betas who've been waiting patiently (I'm talking years here) to read, and I'll write a post to recruit one or two more in the very near future.

EPIPHANY ALERT

I have to share this. Yesterday I worked out the plots for the next two books, including their titles and I'm so amped I can hardly stand it. I also experienced an epiphany of sorts and I would like to leave it here for newbie writers. As shared with my husband via Hangouts yesterday afternoon:

19 July 2019 12:15pm

Most amazing thing is happening. I'm working out plots for next two books. I AM A WRITING MACHINE. I've realised (all on my own, I'll have you know) that in my case or perhaps this is the case for all scifi and fantasy genre, YA fiction etc. that the motivation of the antagonist has to be the main driving force in the plot. The protagonist won't have a mission if the antagonist's motivation isn't the most important thing. Because of the bad guy there's a good guy. The bad thing that happens gets the ball rolling. OMG, I just realised Harry Potter the THE PERFECT example!

And then it occurred to me, that from a young age, my daughter would identify movies by pointing out villain. When she wanted to watch The Little Mermaid, she would ask for the "big octopus movie". When she wanted to watch Barbie and the Pink Shoes, she would ask for the "snow queen" movie. The bad guy matters. If you're struggling to motivate your protagonist's existence, perhaps spend some time getting to know your antagonist. This is what I did and suddenly, after years of drowning in plot holes, they've miraculously disappeared.

AUGUST PLANS

My genius digital creative guru of a husband is on board with my marketing strat which will follow soon, to create a presence for this book online. I'll announce the launch of my website through Squarespace and the revamping of other social media accounts, including a new Spotify account, where I will share music to set the mood. Coming to you in August!


Thank you, super person, for reading my post.

EL

Comments

  1. Monica21 July 2019 at 08:00

    Looking forward to reading your books Erica! Love your explanation off how you come to realize the importance of the antagonist and your little girl's role in that :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Erica Livingston24 July 2019 at 07:15

      Thank you for your lovely comment, Monica. Looking forward to sending you a complimentary copy!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Wild Woman

Dear Reader, The Wild Woman has been on my mind for some time now. My husband and I had a discussion this past weekend about the premise of the book Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. I'd been fervently devouring its pages when I recently realised this book shares a similar theme with a manuscript I've working on for the past couple of years. When I tried to explain to him the need for women, the need for me, to be wild and free, he asked, 'But what is it that women want to be freed from? What does it mean to be wild?' I've married a good man. Unlike those who came before him, he's never tried to tame the wild feminine out of me. Not only does this unique man embrace every aspect of my wildness, he encourages it. I've never met a person who "gets" me like he does. Men like him are few and far between and I can say this with a fair amount of certainty, because experience. I know what every male representative of ...
4 comments
Read more

Short Story Monday - The Day The Applebaum's Met

The Day The Applebaum's Met Being part of a family which consists of an inventor for a father, an artist for a mother, and five siblings which differ from each other on every imaginable level might sound delightful. I can assure you, being in the company of this particular group of Applebaums is everything but a delight. We try our very best to avoid gatherings. We keep it simple: a one-on-one meeting is a lot less volatile. There’s not much potential to get into a heated argument with just one of us. And if the pawpaw hits the fan the possibility to outrun only one was far greater. The odds would be favourable in such an instance. And we have all run away from each other at some point or another. I must admit, when I see other families getting on like a house on fire I am envious. And when I say like a house on fire I mean it in a good way, not in the Applebaum way, like the day we attended our grandmother’s funeral. It was Francis who had started it. Even though she is the ...
Read more

Confessions: I Often Disappear

The hours of my days and the days of my life belong to a tiny individual with a big presence. Some days are tougher than others. There is no me, only her. I disappear. On other days I receive rejection letters from literary agents as well. During those tough ones it feels like even the memory of me too will fade and no one will remember that I'd ever lived. On those days I have to actively seek out the happy.  So here goes. My happy is in the sound of notes resonating from the strings of my husband's guitar. It's in the sweet scent of fresh blooms and in the taste of a slice of cake for breakfast. It's in the blue of the ozone, the fragile guardian of our planet. It's in the golden glare of the setting sun over the mountain. It's in a cool breeze carrying the smell of the sea through my open window. It's the latest New Girl episode. It's  Bad Lipreading . The adoration for me in my husband's eyes. My daughter's giggle and the way h...
Post a Comment
Read more