M. Harmon Wilkinson 7/15/21 M. Harmon Wilkinson 7/15/21

Basing characters on friends

How does a real life friend feel when a character based on them does things they would never have done?

M. Harmon Wilkinson 7/2/21 M. Harmon Wilkinson 7/2/21

When do you write the sequel?

Somehow, the idea of a “part II” seems premature when I don’t even know whether anyone will like the first book. But it may be necessary to set up the sequel in the first novel.

M. Harmon Wilkinson 10/16/20 M. Harmon Wilkinson 10/16/20

Editing: Under Shōko's Bed III

I thought I sent Tricia Callahan a clean manuscript, but it turned out I had not learned the meaning of thorough.

M. Harmon Wilkinson 8/21/20 M. Harmon Wilkinson 8/21/20

The idea: The Man Terror Club

Perhaps the most surprising experience of writing The Man Terror Club was how much I came to like the characters. While all the women have been betrayed, abused, or discarded, they remained kind, giving, and caring. Their love for each other heals them, and that healing is most of the story, not their terrorism as they lash out at the evil men do.

M. Harmon Wilkinson 6/11/20 M. Harmon Wilkinson 6/11/20

Editing: Neyuki II

I’m trying to write a whole new opening chapter. But bucolic life in rural Japan does not capture the imagination and refuse to let go. It doesn’t turn pages.

M. Harmon Wilkinson 12/20/19 M. Harmon Wilkinson 12/20/19

Writing software: Two years with Scrivener

After writing with Scrivener for two years, I recommend it even more highly.

M. Harmon Wilkinson 12/6/19 M. Harmon Wilkinson 12/6/19

Plotting or pantsing?

I have mostly “pantsed” my novels so far, but would a trilogy require more plotting in advance?

M. Harmon Wilkinson 8/2/19 M. Harmon Wilkinson 8/2/19

Tears

It’s what leads up to the weeping, setting up the emotional situation, that is critical.

M. Harmon Wilkinson 2/10/19 M. Harmon Wilkinson 2/10/19

Editing: Neyuki

I am both pleased and disturbed by how little of Neyuki’s content I sacrificed in whittling down the word count so significantly. It implies my original writing was wordy and repetitive.

M. Harmon Wilkinson 10/6/18 M. Harmon Wilkinson 10/6/18

Routine

My goal is 1000 words per day, but editing tears me away from it.

M. Harmon Wilkinson 9/14/18 M. Harmon Wilkinson 9/14/18

(Im)patience

Waiting—and editing—but still, waiting.

M. Harmon Wilkinson 8/31/18 M. Harmon Wilkinson 8/31/18

Editing: Under Shōko's Bed II

Editing is a painful process. It hurts to erase words that feel emotionally invested. But then you read it again, and the benefit shows. Under Shōko’s Bed is nearly complete.

M. Harmon Wilkinson 8/17/18 M. Harmon Wilkinson 8/17/18

Editing: Under Shōko's Bed

If I want Under Shōko’s Bed to touch people, they have to read it, and my editor reinforced that the plot has to move, the tension has to increase and the pace has to quicken as the novel approaches its climax, and then it needs to end promptly.

M. Harmon Wilkinson 8/3/18 M. Harmon Wilkinson 8/3/18

Books on writing: William Strunk Jr.

William Strunk Jr.’s The Elements of Style, a classic reference for writers, brims with useful advice, but at 100 years old, is any of it archaic?

M. Harmon Wilkinson 7/20/18 M. Harmon Wilkinson 7/20/18

Books on writing: Sol Stein

I enjoy writing dialogue. It feels alive. I have learned more from Sol Stein than from anyone else about writing dialogue that moves the story along.