As Confucius once said, “If you get an agent but don’t tell anyone how you did it, did you even get an agent at all?” (He also said “don’t believe everything you read on the internet.”) (In case you missed it, I am lying.) But I’m not lying about this: Getting an agent took a…
Tag: writer
Big News!
Everyone who knows me personally is already aware of this massive event that happened roughly three weeks ago, which I can’t seem to shut up about: I got an agent!
Bullet-points Are For Busy People
As the title states, I’ve been very busy lately, what with work, and the holidays, and many overlapping writing projects. Over Christmas I was alternative between two different submissions: one for SCWC San Diego (I enjoyed the previous conference in Irvine so much that I signed up immediately), and one for FogCon, which I’d honestly…
My Reflections on the Southern California Writers’ Conference
What a whirlwind of a weekend! I think it’s safe to say my first conference was a success… I was so worried about the networking, but there’s one thing I hadn’t been considering: the fact that MOST of us writers are weird introverts, which means 1) we’re all in the same boat, and 2) we…
Pre-Conference Musings and the General Panic of Existence
Hi everyone, remember me? Lara Henerson, fiction writer? Yeah, it’s been a while… You know what’s ironic? I just re-read the first post I ever posted on this blog, and it’s all about how I am terrible at sticking to resolutions, particularly of the blog-writing variety, but that “this time it would be different!” Spoiler…
Total Character Makeover
After much anticipation, I finally received some valuable feedback on my first novel, three things. Of course, the optimistic compartment in my brain was hoping for only a few minor suggestions, so I could finally send my digital baby out into the world. I am so naive. What a rollercoaster. In general, the feedback was…
Validation, Motivation, Elation.
One week ago, I received some great news. The funny thing is, I was in the middle of teaching my ESL students, and the unit topic we were studying was “Good News, Bad News”. I just happened to check my email during the ten minute break, and there it was: a notification that my short…
Two Novels, Both Alike in Dignity…
Lately, I’ve been working on my second novel, and I can’t help but to be amazed at how different it is from my previous one, in so many ways. The reason I’m so staggered by this fact, is that when I first began it (maybe two months ago), my number one concern was making sure…
Sending Letters to Strangers with Cancer
A few months ago, I discovered this amazing nonprofit organization, From Me To You Letters, which allows people to write uplifting, anonymous letters to people suffering from cancer in England. I heard about them from one of my all time favorite podcasts, The Allusionist, hosted by the amazingly witty Helen Zaltzman. (It’s no secret, I…
Start with this…
Not sure where to begin writing? Here are some random sentences to get you started… The beast lunged, straining at the chain around his neck. I can’t believe you forgot the egg… Do you know how much it’s worth? There I was, standing in front of the vault. Time was running out… I racked my…
The Real Final First Draft
I’m a couple of months late to the party, but it’s my party, so I make the rules. Which party? The “I finally finished my first draft” party! I know I’m still nowhere close to actually sending my novel out to agents, but this is definitely a milestone! It felt pretty darn amazing typing those…
The Benefits of Feedback
When writing something you really care about, it’s easy to want to keep it to yourself, lest someone tries to steal it. Personally, I’m wary about posting creative work online, and with good reason. After all, I know people who have had their work plagiarized, and it doesn’t exactly sound like a barrel of laughs. My…
Lara Henerson 