TENACITY

As another year draws to a close, I’m struck by the vibrant tenacity of this patio dahlia. Look at her! She won’t quit. Rejected by her dying foliage, spit upon by freezing rain, she greets me every morning with her audacious beauty. Her unwavering resilience despite the climate telling her to give up.

Metaphor coming!

A novel I started several years ago, worked through draft after draft after draft, sent out a few times, boomeranged back with “the concept just didn’t grab me” and “unfortunately do not feel that it is right for our list” and “in the end, I’m not sure that I was pulled in by the characters in the immediate way that I look for in this kind of novel” –HAS JUST BEEN ACQUIRED!

I’m thrilled to report that my novel, CASCADIA, has found a home with a terrific small press with a likely pub date of Spring, 2021. More details and a formal announcement in the next newsletter, but know that champagne has been consumed!

Tenacity, my friends. Perseverance. Don't let "no" be the final word! Be the flower that dares to bloom in December.

GET A NEW VIEWPOINT

Wherever you are in the world, if you’re interested in learning more about choosing, navigating and expanding on POV options in your work, take a seat in my 10-day POV class that begins January 7. More info here. Plus, because you are a special bunch, here’s a SECRET PORTAL to the first lecture in the class.

COUPLE SPACES LEFT!

Do you have a novel or memoir or collection of short stories in progress? Start 2020 with a commitment to your project and join a small, serious group of writers in my basement! Ha!

Wednesday afternoons or Thursday evenings beginning mid-January. Fall filled up, and there are just a couple seats left in winter session. More info>>

BOOKS. BOOKS. BOOKS. BOOKS.

I’m so glad I read Jami Attenberg’s new novel, ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS while preparing new materials for my POV class. Attenberg defies convention with this book (in a most delightful way) and expanded my notion of the possibilities and angles for points of view in a scene. So, my friends, take out your microscope and examine how Attenberg tip-toes up to and around her characters as she plunges them through her riveting story.

But wait! There's more! A client pointed me to Joe Moran's FIRST YOU WRITE A SENTENCE and in my nerdier moments, I'm finding the book incredibly fun. It's part style guide and part language deconstruction. Warning: be cranked up on caffeine before cracking this sucker.

NEW WORKSHOP ALERT

My friend and colleague, Phil Kenney, is leading both one-day and multiple-day workshops at The Attic Institute this winter. The focus is one how best to navigate the turbulent and emotional waters of the creative life. He's the real deal, and his book, Writer’s Crucible: Meditations on Emotion, Being and Creativity is a lovingly written guide on how to live with the vulnerabilities artists face living a creative life. Find out about the classes here.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

End of Year News from Suzy

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