In today’s Writers in the Storm blog, Joseph Lallo talks about “Restarting Old Projects / Continuing a Series After a Hiatus,” saying, “Chances are good that any author who’s been at it long enough will have at least one project that’s been simmering for years, either in an unfinished state or begging for a follow-up.”
I wish I had only one project that’s been simmering for years. Instead, I have dozens! Extremely prolific in the ‘90s, most projects were drafted and not polished. Those that were finished weren’t finding a home, as this was well before indie publishing, when one needed an agent—a difficult task to achieve.
Fortunately, I managed to get published with two different publishers, and having made lots of cold calls to Hollywood producers, I was working with half a dozen who wanted to see everything and anything I did. But then in 1998, a divorce, a move across the country, and then returning to school as a non-traditional student, my creative writing got put on hold for fifteen years.
Oh, I was writing. More academic than creative, but I did manage to write papers with topics I could later use for more projects. Silly me. Adding to the pile of unfinished ideas.
I’d been teaching professionally for a decade, and it was two years after receiving my Ph.D. that I was let go from my job—two years before I could officially retire with full benefits. Two years later, I officially retired, and within months, I created my production company and became an indie publisher. The first book was Grendel’s Mother, an idea generated after studying Beowulf in three different classes and realizing Grendel’s mother had no voice. My book gave her one.
After that, I began pulling projects off the shelf, blowing off the dust, and giving them life.
It’s been quite the journey.
Looking at my list of books published, they all have ties to earlier projects I’d written or had been teaching since the ‘90s, except for last year’s publication, Harbor House: Deadly Intentions. That story was a new historical Gothic novella for an anthology, published in 2024, which I then tied into a newly written contemporary story, allowing me to create a split-time thriller.
The current thriller I’m working on, Buried Trash: A Shelby Hale Thriller, is a mystery series resurrection from the ‘90s that I’m turning into a thriller. It’s the characters who hooked and convinced me to make the conversion.
From that 1996 manuscript, let me introduce you to the main character…
I’m Shelby Shawn Sherman Roberts, one month shy of turning thirty-nine. I hate gossips and love cotton candy. I’m slim, with shoulder-length dark hair and brown eyes. I squint too much (need glasses), drive too fast, and laugh too loud.
My first name belonged to my grandfather, and my mother protested it being hung on me, but Dad told her, “It’ll make her strong.” The only thing it did for me was get me a bloody nose or a black eye every first week of school until I entered fifth grade and I was finally able to return the favor. I guess Dad was right, after all.
Mom named me Shawn after her first actual boyfriend. The one that made her toes tingle when he kissed her, she said. In her mind that was what love was all about. Of course, Stuart, my ex-to-be, never did make my toes tingle. I thought he did once, but then I realized he was standing on my foot.
I’m constantly asked—or rather used to being asked when I was single—if I was related to that Sherman. I guess my Southern accent lends one to think I don’t mind hearing that question. It was usually asked by some drunk fraternity boy who always had a leer on his face. You’d have thought I’d have learned my lesson and stopped going to those kinds of parties. What can I say? I was young. I was more stupid then.
Come to think of it, I met Stuart at one of those parties.
While she starts out as Shelby Shawn Sherman Roberts, she changes her last name to Hale. A name she creates for herself now that she’s creating a new life and moving back to her small hometown and a pecan orchard she inherited some time ago. Her plan is to live in the trailer her ex installed on the property when she first inherited it.
And then, her first morning back from Atlanta—after the court appearance to finalize the divorce and collect the rest of her belongings—she finds a body in her trash can.
From the current rewrite, the book begins:
Had I known ahead of time that what I’d find in my trash can would put my life in danger, I would have done the smart thing: say nothing, not call the sheriff—my best friend and my first husband for all of about a month when we were 19—and let the garbage truck pick up the trash, as usual, letting the truck empty its contents into the country landfill.
Unfortunately, I’m not known for doing the smart thing. I react, not thinking things through well enough.
It’s how I ended up married three times.
I’m 38 and starting over.
Again.
The potential for this book to become a series is there, but it’ll depend on the readers. Hopefully, it’ll garner enough fans who want to read more.
Be sure to follow me here, and then go subscribe to my What’s New with Dr. Diana? announcement-only newsletter/blog on my website, so you can follow my progress via email. I plan to publish Buried Trash in the fall or late summer. With over 25k words already written and the story plot revised, my goal is to finish the first draft this month.
Writing Is My Favorite Sport – I Am Blessed
In November 2025, I wrote about not having a project after publishing two books close together. The first, Dr. Diana’s Toolkit for Better Writing, a book that writer friends had been asking me to write, was published October 29. The second, my first thriller, Harbor House: Deadly Intentions, was published on November 18.
I’d spent the last half of 2024 and much of 2025 working on those two books, in addition to my usual quarterly blog contributions to Writers in the Storm and a bit of teaching.
Soon after I wrote that November blog about having no project in sight, I had to laugh. Looking through various projects that were queued, some waiting for 30 years, it was ridiculous for me to think I didn’t have something to work on.
What bubbled to the top was a class I’d taught in 2024 about how to avoid and use procrastination, but I’ve always been keen on writing about time management, another class I’d taught in the past.
Suddenly, I thought, why not combine them into one book? They are related, after all. Two sides of the same coin.
So, gathering all my class materials, blogs, and research material, I organized, drafted, tore it apart because it wasn’t working, reorganized, wrote, revised, read it a dozen times, and cut it down to the bare bones without a lot of fluff. It was published February 25.
Looking back, I realized I’d published 3 books in 4 months. Wow. Did I do that? Apparently so, but it feels so unreal!
I saw a shirt on another writer today that said, “Reading is My Favorite Sport.” Once upon a time, I could say that was my favorite, too. Not anymore. Writing is.
I love to write. The juxtaposition of words. Writing a word I’ve never heard of. Stopping to look it up. Amazed that it’s the perfect word and wondering where it came from.
Talking to a producer recently, I said that I love to write.
“Ya know,” he said, “that’s probably the first time I’ve ever heard a writer say that.” I was surprised—just as much as he was, he admitted.
Our discussion became about how writers enjoy the finished project but hate so many parts of it. The first drafts, the rewriting, the editing, the revising, the polishing, and the dreaded promoting that must follow.
Nope, I love it all. Well, maybe not the promoting as much, but I’m finding ways to like it. Mostly because I’m not following the so-called rules.
In the beginning, I dreaded writing the first draft. Now, I love it because I found a way to write first drafts FAST—as in 10 days for a book. I wrote about it some in my CPE: Characters, Plot, & Emotion book.
I learned to enjoy editing. It helps when I distance myself from owning the words and examine them as if I were an editor, looking over someone else’s work.
I enjoy grammar because I taught it and grinned every time I saw students grasping a concept, understanding the why behind the need for that comma. Or, when a fellow writer is excited because they remember the trick I taught them about using who versus that.
As I journey, navigate, and negotiate my way through the winter of my life, I look back and feel blessed.
Blessed that my mother saw my voracious reading and encouraged me toward certain books and movies.
Blessed that both my mother and stepfather loved movies as much as I, where we could talk for hours about the classics, and where my stepfather would imitate Jimmy Stewart perfectly.
Blessed to have students who loved my classes, telling those who feared taking one that “yeah, she’s tough, but she’s fair, and you’ll learn a lot,” and who would follow me from class to class. Even where one student who proudly boasted to me just before one class was to start, and how he had avoided my classes. I told him I knew why he had. He changed the subject, but again, I knew why; and then, midway through the class, he apologized to the class for not taking their advice, finishing with, “I wish now that I had taken her classes.
Blessed that others acknowledged my expertise in grammar and writing, where I became the go-to for teachers and students from other campuses, too.
Blessed that I.T. acknowledged my computer expertise and allowed me to fix, install, or move equipment without having to send someone out. “But don’t tell anyone,” they’d say.
Blessed that my inquisitive nature enabled me to find two million dollars being charged incorrectly to the department that I worked in as a contracted temp, where the supervisors said that I knew more about the computer program we all worked from than their full-time employees did.
Blessed that my curiosity of knowing the truth has led me to fun researching hours.
Blessed that in the latter half of my life, I got to meld my love of teaching and writing into a job that never felt like work…well, until I had to attend a campus or department meeting or attend team building meetings, taking us away from projects with tight deadlines.
Blessed in recognizing that there are far better writers than I, and thankful that it’s a multifaceted sport with readers of various interests.
Blessed that I have fellow writers who love meeting up online for write-ins! You are my tribe!
Blessed for the many friends I’ve had throughout my journeys—some of whom were best friends and taught me valuable lessons.
Blessed for the family and friends who have supported me and loved me for who I am and never will be.
Blessed for the rabid fans that I have and for those I will have in the future.
Blessed that I had a wonderful (!) dissertation chair who taught me so much in just a few words. We had just finished talking about my dissertation topic when he said, “Don’t go for perfect. Go for getting it done.” Thank you, Jonathan! That advice still serves me well.
It’s how, I realize now, I was able to publish three books in four months and how, for this year, I’m able to line up reworking a favorite script, turn a half-written mystery into a thriller, and plot out and write a historical based on a true event.
These three projects have much in common. They’ve all been waiting for some 30-plus years.
Embracing Change and Letting Go
For the first time in at least three years, I don’t have a book, a project that I’m currently working on or have touched in over a year.
Last month, I published the grammar book that everyone was asking, “When are you going to publish it?” Interesting how my royalty report isn’t reflecting the desired demand. At least, not yet. That was a book I’d been working on in between other projects for the last half decade.
But, hey, at least Freida McFadden told me that “You’re my new grammar expert!” and gave me permission to use her comment made in public in her readers’ fan group. Even if this book doesn’t turn out to be a best seller, that comment alone—in my mind and seeing it on my first hardcover book—made me a best-seller.
And, an hour ago, I uploaded the last of the three formats (hardcover, paperback, and eBook) for the November 18, 2025 publication of Harbor House: Deadly Intentions, my first psychological thriller. A book whose origins began in summer 2023, and which I thought had been ready for publication October 2024. Boy, was I wrong! To read the origin story, click here.
Why I never pursued romance instead of thrillers in the beginning is beyond me. No, actually, I do know why. There were and are no nearby thriller writing groups—at least not that I’ve found. At the time I began writing books, Romance Writers of America was huge, and there was an area chapter starting up, which I joined.
I learned a lot and have a pile of best-selling writer friends and just as many like me—not best-selling-authors-yet writer friends. The support is incredible.
Two days ago, I participated in my first author get-together through a Potluck Book Sale. In getting ready for my hour of hosting, I learned a few tricks to combining Canva with PowerPoint in creating reusable, promotional graphics. YAY!
I had fun chatting with some of the readers and ended up giving away seven books and sharing three recipes. I’ll definitely do another potluck party in the future.
So, what other significant changes have I made this year? Surprisingly, the theme has been about cutting back or letting go. Less is more mentality. Without providing all the details, the endgame is that I’ll be writing more books, using my time more effectively.
Once I clean some files, clear off my desk, and restock the printer, my plan for 2026 is to:
- Rewrite the optioned script, Miss Mississippi, and publish it.
- Plot out the 180-year-old story based on a true event and write it as a book. I always thought it should be a screenplay. I still believe it, but…I think it can gain legs as a novella first. A project I’ve been considering for 30 years.
- Add another book or two to my Finding Your Fire series.
- Plot out a story I’ve been mulling for about 20 years that reminds me of Nicholas Sparks’ books and the movie Somewhere in Time.
- Plot out two thriller ideas that were solidified in a write-in weekend two summers ago.
- Consider writing Harbor House and the true event story as screenplays.
- And finally, plot out a 10-second idea that raced past me from start to finish with a shocking ending that came out of the blue while I was playing a game a few days ago. I heard the character talking and could see many of the events. Yup, all in 10 seconds. (I wrote it all down quickly, so I wouldn’t forget.)
All of these projects are nagging at me—as all projects do—with this last one close behind me and whispering in my ear, “You know it’s gotta be me, don’t you?
The Secret Joy of Writing & When Lightning Strikes
Every business has practices that participants try to follow, believing they are best practices.
Writing is no exception. Large numbers of blogs and books are written on how to launch a book. And, each includes a long checklist that starts months before publication. After publication, there’s more promoting: newsletters, more blogs, book signings, blog tours, social media participation, ads, and more.
Not to mention, joining writing organizations, attending conferences, subscribing to newsletters, and taking classes.
Truthfully, the list of things a writer should do, whether indie or traditionally published, is overwhelming.
Most writers say their joy comes from the writing. I don’t know of a writer, yet, who says they love promoting their books.
I’m no exception. My joy comes from writing, teaching, and helping other writers.
After much analysis of how I spent my time in 2023 (60% promoting, 30% writing, 10% everything else), I realized that to flip those numbers, I needed to make drastic changes. I began asking questions like, Do I really want to do this? Do I need to do it?
I concluded that…
I’ll do book signings when readers clamor for them.
I have a newsletter, but it’s an announcement-only newsletter, which means I send them out only a few times a year. Producing a regular newsletter doesn’t work for me.
I’m on social media, but I don’t like doing videos or podcasts. So, I’m highly active on only a few platforms.
I still have big goals, but better yet, I have great writing habits that move me toward achieving them.
As a result of my changes, in 2024, I spent 80% of my time writing and 10% promoting. Because I believe a backlist is important, I wanted to produce more.
Finally, I stopped comparing my activities to other writers. I allowed myself to be different, to do me. Now, I only compare myself to how I’m doing this year compared to last year.
And when I read a book from an unknown (to me) author, I took comfort in later discovering her method was even more extreme than mine.
—
The Tale of One Author Who Did It Her Way and Still Does
After I read one book by this author, a book she’d published after about 15 other books, I learned she had written about 24 books total, so far. I found her 30,000 members strong fan group of mostly readers and some writers and joined.
I began reading her earlier books. While they weren’t as riveting as the first one I read, as I moved through her backlist, I could see how her writing improved.
Her print and eBooks were sold only through Amazon. She was an indie author who did no book signings, no interviews, no publicity, and minimum advertising on Amazon.
Suddenly, her fan base blew up and her books started hitting the best-seller lists. At one time, she had three books in the top ten. Publishers began seeking her out, republishing her books.
Now, her fan group has 170,000 members. She has two publishers with print books everywhere and audiobooks online in libraries. She continues to be in the top ten of the best-selling lists, and she still participates in her Facebook group where she started. She’s vowed her eBooks will always remain in Kindle Unlimited. Today, she has an agent, and her most popular book is being made into a movie.
While she doesn’t do book signings, she does sign books that are sold through the bookstores, plus she sells bookplates that are signed. They’re just one product on her website, products readers requested,
Lightning struck because she authored great stories readers wanted to read. She wrote for pure enjoyment, then started publishing them just to share. She wasn’t interested in making money; she already had a career—as a doctor.
She did her.
She’s my role model.
Her name is Freida McFadden.
While I’d love to be earning a living from my writing and don’t have a secondary career anymore, I’m doing me and trying to manifest my own lightning strike. Thus, my focus is to author great stories and to share what I’ve learned. Hopefully, one day, I’ll have a rabid fan base, as well.
In the meantime, I’m excited every time I open a box of newly published books and find immense joy in the writing.
—
Your takeaway: Take time to try different activities, but stick to those activities that are a good fit energy- and money-wise for you. Activities that leave you feeling joyful and excited to be a writer.
Authors Are Fans, Too
Even though I’m a screenwriter and author, I’m also a reader and a fan of authors and screenwriters whose stories can’t get enough of.
Years ago, that author was Constance O’Day Flannery. She wrote the first time-travel romance novels, which were a huge hit.
That year when I went to a romance writers conference and saw that she would be in attendance, I became excited. I decided I was going to get her autograph, so I packed my favorite book, her first one, into my suitcase, determined I would see her.
I carried that book everywhere. To workshops, to meals, in the bathroom, everywhere. On the next to last day, I left the book in the room. I can’t remember if my leaving it was intentional or a mistake, but there it was. And, there was no going back for it. The distance and time it would take would make me late for the day’s events.
The day was massively long and still no sign of Ms. Flannery. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t carried it around with me, after all.
Bone weary, feet hurting, and brain dead, my writer friend, Maris, who was also my roommate, and I went to the elevators. There was another lady there, so we stood next to her waiting for the elevators to come down from higher floors.
We were chatting about the long day, when she turned toward us, slightly.
I looked at her name tag.
Constance O’Day Flannery.
“Oh, my God!” My heart racing, excitement welling up, I grabbed her arm. “You’re Constance O’Day Flannery! I’ve been carrying your book around with me the entire conference, wanting you to sign it! But I don’t have it with me right now! I’m so excited to meet you.”
I felt like I’d been screaming. I probably was.
She laughed and patted my hand. “Nice to meet you, too. Bring it with you tomorrow and if you find me, I’ll sign it.”
Our elevators arrived. She got on one and Maris and I got on another one. The doors closed. I looked at Maris. “I think I just slobbered all over myself.”
Maris laughed. “You did.”
I was so embarrassed. How would I ever be able to face Ms. Flannery again?
The next morning, despite the odds of seeing her, I picked up her book and put it in my bag. I probably wouldn’t see her, but if I did, I’d brush aside my embarrassment.
Lo and behold, at breakfast, I saw her. Before she left the room, I approached her with my book. I handed it to her. “I am so sorry for last night. I was beside myself, so happy to finally see you. I was slobbering all over myself.”
She laughed and said, “Honey, that’s why we come to these affairs.”
It’s Read an eBook Week – March 1-7: What are you reading?
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group (#IWSG)
Rather than answer the March 4 question posed by the group, I’ve chosen to write about this week’s national recognition on eReading.
It’s Read an eBook Week – March 1-7: What are you reading?
Already, we’re into the third month of a new year. A year where I was going to do more writing and be more organized with my reading.
I have three shelves of double-stacked to-be-read (TBR) books. These are the remainders from last year’s thinning from fives shelves, where I got rid of books I knew I’d never read simply because my tastes have changed over time.
My TBR pile, though, isn’t going down quickly enough to suit me. I think I read only three of them last year, and I have just as many books on my Kindle, which I haven’t touched lately.
And now today, I learned that this week, March 1-7, is Read an eBook Week. Did you know that?
Are you like me with a huge assortment of books on your eReader?
So, here I am again, revisiting my wanting to do better.
And I am. One book at a time.
Right now, I’m finishing Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen. An excellent novel about Mrs. Francis Osgood, a poet who fell in love with Edgar Allan Poe and he with her. Osgood, too, became friends with his wife, Virginia, his first cousin whom he married when she was 13 and he was 26. A petite woman who behind the beautiful skirts and seemingly gentile manners was a conniving, jealous creature who wished harm on others, especially Mrs. Osgood–or was she?
Mrs. Poe has been a book difficult to put down. I highly recommend it including the notes at the end of the book.
Now finished, I need to dig into my TBR pile again. What other goodies lurk there for my reading pleasure?
So, what are you reading? Did it come out of your TBR pile?
***
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting!
If My Characters Feel So Real, How Can They Be Imaginary?
My life as a writer has provided me many meetings—some fun and some strange.
Fun meetings involve other writers, some best-selling authors, new authors, and many writes in between. Many have become friends.
Other fun meetings involve readers. Their enthusiasm is catching, and they always have great ideas regarding my characters, which always leads me down a path of thoughtful consideration.
I’ve met and become friends with lots of characters, too. Many of these characters that I’ve read about were created by other writers, and some of these characters came into my life via my hand. I wish I could say that I fully created them. They mostly just pop into my life, fully formed, wanting me to write down their stories.
Such was the meeting of yesterday’s character. Only this character is dark and sinister—not the usual, traditional, likeable character that I want to get to know. Generally, I have to probe to learn about my characters—particularly the wounds they are struggling to overcome, which creates the conflict in the stories. Just as in real life, the wounds are buried deep, so it takes time—often weeks—to reveal these wounds.
But this guy was different. He wasn’t hiding a thing.
So there I was, at one of my favorite restaurants in this small community. The place was crowded, every booth and table taken with people standing at the door waiting.
While waiting for my order to arrive, I was reading, as I typically do when dining alone. I was reading Gillian Flynn’s Dark Places, a thriller for sure. Most definitely, it’s a dark story, and I was hooked, oblivious to everyone else around me.
All of a sudden this imaginary character—a drop-dead gorgeous hunk of a man with dark hair and dark eyes—sat down opposite me and said, “I know you.”
And then, he just stared. Waiting. Watching. And sharing his story.
The story, which includes a shocking ending, spewed from his mind to mine telepathically and with a gaze that never wavered. Seeing the end of the story, I broke out in goosebumps and felt my skin crawl.
I have other commitments, I argued.
He didn’t care. He’s wasn’t interested in knowing what I’m already working on, what my plan of writing projects looks like for the rest of the year.
Nope, it’s didn’t matter.
His wound was easy to see. No digging needed on my part.
He’s scary. He’s dark. He’s shallow and yet deep. He’s the bad boys of bad boys, but not in a good way or a fun way. He’s not someone you want in your house at all. That kind of scary.
Looks like I’ll be working on several projects, simultaneously. I have no choice. To get rid of him I have to write the story, and I’m not willing to postpone or abandon the others—even if for a short time.
A story that is going to lead me into the dark, spooky corners of an individual or two, who feels as real as any breathing, talking, blood-in-their-veins person in my life.
I can hardly wait.
::shudder::
Part II – Genesis & Development of Grendel’s Mother
The choices I made and why.
So, I had an idea for this book, Grendel’s Mother, and I had 20 or so pages written.
I knew how my story started, and I knew how it would end, but I had only a vague idea about a few special events in the middle. During the next few years, I would add scenes that I would write out and then file away. I’d jot notes on napkins, scraps of paper, and on the backs of bookmarks. Everything went into a file folder. Then, in 2006, I took all these bits of scenes and dialogues and strung them together, and developed a detailed outline.
I worked on her characterization: her dreams, desires, fears, and flaws. I knew she would be young. At first, I had her as fourteen, but then realized that would be too young, so I made her fifteen. She was a precocious creature, thinking the rules didn’t really apply to her. Consequently, that thinking always got her into trouble.
In 2009, I began my Ph.D, so once again, all creative writing came to a halt while I wrote academic papers. With my Ph.D. in hand, I had to make a decision: would I continue writing academically or would I return to my creative writing roots? I couldn’t do both while working full-time, with most of my time spent teaching, grading papers, and as an administrator for the English Department.
I choose creative writing with the support of my supervisor. In earnest, the draft writing began.
The writing was not easy. I found myself jumping from first person to third person but predominately, I was writing in first person. Which should I use?
I was using both present and past tense. Again, I found myself asking, which should I use?
I decided not to make a decision until I completed the first draft. In the end, the book became a first-person, present-tense story, except for a brief period when Grendel’s mother goes back in time, which starts in past tense and then evolves into present tense again because the story brings that back story into the present.
While I had given this character a name, I realized mid-way through the first draft that her name hadn’t been used. Should it be said? Was it necessary to know her name? I ended up naming her but her name is never mentioned in the story. I chose this route deliberately, even when as a child, Grendel asks his mother what is her name? She tells him to call her what he always has—Mother.
My outline didn’t include Beowulf characters, not until Grendel becomes a teenager and starts fighting Hrothgar’s thanes. While Hrothgar is mentioned early in the story, the others—the thanes and Beowulf—don’t appear until Grendel tangles with them. In the end, this story is a stand-alone tale of a woman who stands alone, as the only daughter in a large family of brothers, as an outcast from her community, sacrificed to a dragon, and who creates a home in the wilderness, becoming one with Nature, where she gives birth and raises her son.
A reader doesn’t require prior knowledge of Beowulf to understand the story, and yet the story is made richer with that knowledge. Because I was concerned about readers not having prior Beowulf knowledge, when I was looking for Beta readers, I chose one reader with no knowledge, one with some, and one who had good knowledge of Beowulf.
In the end, all three readers agreed: it didn’t matter if the reader had Beowulf knowledge or not.
Interestingly enough, the reader with no knowledge has since gone out and purchased Seamus Heaney’s translation in her desire to know more about the epic poem.
Purposefully, I designed this story as a literary and commercial work of art. While literary, it can easily rest on a traditional mainstream bookstore shelf. My desire was to craft a story that would appeal to audiences of both young adult, new adults, and adults in general, much like The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, The Divergent series, and others books have achieved.
So how long did it take me to finish that first draft?
Once I made the determination that I would finish it as soon as possible, with the help of both in-person and virtual write-ins that I attended, I was able to complete the first draft, revised it, and polish it in just a few months.
It was during my writing of Grendel’s Mother that I learned that Beowulf was J.R.R. Tolkien’s inspiration for The Hobbit, that George R. R. Martin’s, The Game of Thrones series was inspired by Tolkien. And, I have to imagine that many works of today’s fiction and TV series were similarly inspired.
