Libby Drew

Big conference call debate today: Which is more difficult to write? The first chapter or the last chapter? I heard a lot of feedback on the call, and it made me want to hear more! Does anybody feel like chiming in? Which do you find harder to craft, and why?

Please take all these replies to heart because they are each true and valuable. @frozenphenix and @Krista hit a couple high points for me. Obligatory old-person reference here: In the not too distant past, there was no Internet. We would write, mostly, in a vacuum. Those who persevered through this lack of readership, "likes", and comments remained writers and became infinitely better at their craft for repeatedly taking their projects to completion without the benefit of immediate feedback. Now, the community-based format of the Internet gives writers a treasure trove of tools. Not the least of which are like-minded individuals with which to share our questions, woes, and creative works. It is a truly amazing construct (not without faults) and has given rise to places like GA. Therefore, ask yourself this: Would you continue your story if there was nobody to read it until it was finished? Why or why not? Whatever your answer, reflect on it, thoroughly and at length. It will help you grow as a writer. Good luck!

Great post, and it reminded me I haven't updated my author bio since 2006. 😄 My suggestion would be to write your bio in 3rd person, which is the standard. Believe it or not, you might find it easier to "toot your own horn" when you word it this way. Definitely mention awards and accomplishments. Keep it succinct. And - unless you need to stick to a certain format for a publisher - have fun with it!

You scare me sometimes. The preamble is, of course, the heart of the entire story. It also makes an appearance in the next chapter, in a rather sad sort of way.

Correct.

The panthers are fine. Martina actually rescued them from their enclosure and took them to the hurricane shelter. More questions will be answered soon! After all, only two chapters remain.

You have all been so patient. Many of your answers will finally be answered in the next chapter. No more red herrings. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Hey! Scully was my hero! 😏

Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it.

Yes, you can totally assume Martina has been killed. ☺️And you can smile about it, because I know that I am.

I hope that I managed to convey how Micco has changed in important ways and stayed the same where it mattered. One physical pain can lesson or even cancel another physical pain In this case, Micco's old emotional scars were eclipsed by new trauma-only now he has the tools to process it.

I imagine that would be a horrifying and helpless feeling.

Yeah, there's no excuse for what she did. Loss is universal. You could argue Micco's loss was far worse. Micco will indeed make a great medicine man. I'm very proud of him.

Thank you for reading and commenting! I have missed the back and forth of answering comments these past several chapters. I appreciate hearing your thoughts and opinions. Martina got what she deserved, in my opinion. I'm a big believer in karma.

It's been difficult to near impossible to hold off adding to the discourse that's been going on these past several chapters. But I feel that I am VERY BAD at being secretive and circumspect. In fact, I think I gave away more information that I wanted when I was answering comments on 40 Souls to Keep. HA! Martina seemed a decent person until grief and opportunity revealed her true colors. I'm with Chase and Calhoun. I think she got what was coming to her.

“Then,” Martina continues, “Charlotte came to me about her illness. About what she wanted to do with her estate when the cancer took her.” She inhales a shaky breath, but her tone takes a hard edge. “And that’s when I knew exactly what I had to do.” CHAPTER 21 Chase barks a laugh, though his gun doesn’t waver from where he has it pointed at the floor. There’s no telling what will come out of his mouth next, whether it will be the words of Special Agent Becker or the affronte

Several years ago, my sister called me up to ask how she could go about becoming a novelist. "Well," I said. "The first step is to write a novel. Have you done that yet?" "Oh. No. Not yet." Writers on this site, and in general, don't give themselves enough credit, in my opinion. Sticktoitiveness is the key when it comes to writing, and most people abandon their project before a single chapter is ever written.

Writing: New rule: don’t start posting a new book in the fall right before the busiest season for retail. Just don’t. There will be tears. Mine, specifically. New rule #2: Listen to your heart when it tells you that a story you’ve written is best read in a single go. Or, at least, that it should be available in its entirety from day one for those to wish to absorb it that way. Keeper of the Rituals was never meant to be posted a chapter at a time. I think I mentioned that at the beginning? I can’t remember now. I’m old and that was months ago. I know many people enjoy serialized fiction, and in fact, some stories lend themselves to it. In retrospect, though, I don’t feel this was one of them. I should’ve just dumped the whole book as quickly as GA rules allowed. That’s the kind of story it is. I kind of hope those who have followed along these past several months may someday go back and read Keeper again in one giant bite, and then reflect on the differences between bingeing and snacking. Three chapters left to post. I’m excited, not gonna lie. Life: Check out this little angel. Some asshole person threw her out of a car window. She landed on her face, had to have surgery to reattach her lip, and lost part of her tongue. She also lost her left back leg. We named her Daisy.

Thank you for reading!

“I’m coming with you,” Chase tells me. “No. I need you to stay with Burke.” “I’ll be all right, Micco,” Burke says. “No,” I say forcefully. “Please, Chase.” Chase knows how I feel about the man. As well as my history of loss. But he’s not on board with my plan, not in the slightest. “What did I tell you earlier?” Chase growls. Well, he told me lots of things, both out loud and silently, and I’ll be holding onto all of them as I navigate the next dangerous fifteen min

Thank you! So glad you are enjoying it!

“It wasn’t his plan,” Danny says. “He just agreed to it.” Then he adds, reluctantly and more quietly, “I wasn’t supposed to know that. Nobody was. But he told me.” He seems perversely pleased with this breach of trust on his behalf, which is pathetic, but I’m too wrapped up in the newest twist to this dizzying mystery to call him on it. Chase vibrates with tension. “If it wasn’t Sam’s, then whose was it?” The renewed rain drives the crowd to converge on the doors and Danny and Billie a

Right? I know @Summerabbacat has been waiting for this to come to light!

My next statement dies in a primal rush of fear. It’s the fear of a ten-year-old boy who’s lied to his aunt, or stolen a pack of gum from the grocery store, or cheated on his math test by copying his best friend’s answers. It’s my fear, plucked out of time and memory and shoved right to the forefront of my brain and heart like it never left. I’m without words, and it takes me several seconds to realize the car has stopped. Chase is staring straight ahead, but there’s nothing in our path, j

At this point in time, AI lacks genuine creativity, as several of us have pointed out. It will get better, much better, and eventually, there will be no turning the tide. Sadly, I think the most we can do right now is remain passionate about its shortcomings in regard to creating authentic art, fiction specifically, in our case.