Author Archives: sheilamcclune

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About sheilamcclune

Aspiring author, sharing the tidbits I've learned along the way.

Research; or, The Devil Is In The Details

Ah, research. One of my favorite things about writing a historically-based story is the fact that so much of the world-building is already done for me.  After all, if for some reason, I need to know what a pocket watch … Continue reading

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The Recipe For Success; or, The Cookbook Project

So I had written this great entry, about how I had turned my mom’s process for making stuffing into an actual, written-down, reproducible recipe. And then WordPress ate it. So at some point, when it’s not already the wee small … Continue reading

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Dragon Friday #9

The Dragon, The Wench, and Her Wardrobe (working title) © 2011 Sheila McClune Part 9 The dragon’s words slammed into me like a freight train, leaving me gasping for air.  “Not…true…here?” I said, feebly.  “But…then…where is ‘here’?  Aren’t we under … Continue reading

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NaNoWriMo 2011 Wrap-up

So the madness known as NaNoWriMo is over for another year.  I’m kind of sad to see it end, just when I was getting into the swing of things:  spending half an hour writing every day before work, blogging about … Continue reading

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NaNoWriMo: Crossing The Finish Line

Well, I’ve done it.  I’ve collected 30 NaNos (1 NaNo=1,667 words) to make one NaNoWriMo (50,000 words).  In fact, it’s a little more than that, and I’ll probably add more to the final word count tonight and tomorrow.  But for … Continue reading

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Dragon Friday #8

Woo-hoo!  Look, it’s Friday (yes, barely) and I have a Dragon Friday ready to go.  So without further ado, I bring you: The Dragon, The Wench, and Her Wardrobe (working title) © 2011 Sheila McClune Part 8 Relief flooded over … Continue reading

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NaNoWriMo Update, Week 4

Ahh, gliding into the home stretch.  I’m at over 45,000 words now, so while I haven’t exactly blown anyone’s doors off with my writing speed this month, I’m still moving forward at a reasonable pace, and, barring any disasters, should … Continue reading

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Naming Issues; or Why Did You Call Me That?

As usual, as I plow through NaNoWriMo, character names are proving to be somewhat problematic. For the most part, the new characters I’ve added so far have allowed themselves to be named without too much of a fuss.  One entire … Continue reading

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And Now The Ball Is Rolling; or, More NaNoWriMo Progress

I just realized, going back and looking at my NaNoWriMo update from last week, that I really didn’t provide much of an update at all.  So I should probably remedy that! As of this morning, I was a few hundred … Continue reading

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Dragon Friday–er, Sunday, #7

Yep, that time again.  Two days past that time, in fact.  So, without further ado, here is: The Dragon, The Wench, and Her Wardrobe (working title) © 2011 Sheila McClune Part 7 As I started to back numbly away from … Continue reading

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NaNoWriMo, Week 3

This past Tuesday, I finally summoned my courage and did something I’d been wanting to do since my first NaNoWriMo back in 2006. I attended a write-in. You know how it is, the first time you venture forth to take … Continue reading

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More Spiff; or Maybe I Just Wanted Some New Userpics

In order to celebrate reaching the halfway point on my NaNoWriMo word count (currently at 26,648), I decided to celebrate by making some new icons / userpics: First, a re-do of my “Keep Calm and NaNo On” icon.  I wasn’t … Continue reading

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NaNoWriMo, Week 2.5

(This started out as part of last week’s entry.  But then I decided that I really had two separate entries, so, Bonus!  Extra Week 2.5 Entry Today!) Last time, I talked about potential excuses for why writing wasn’t happening.  Let’s … Continue reading

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Dragon Friday–er, Sunday, #6

Better late than…well, okay.  Better not late, but it is what it is.  So here’s: The Dragon, The Wench, and Her Wardrobe (working title) © 2011 Sheila McClune Part 6 “No, don’t!” the man cried.  “It might not be safe … Continue reading

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Link Salad for October, 2011 (Better Late Than Never!)

Just realized that I never got around to posting my “link salad” for October. So here’s what I found: Ten Reasons Not To Write Your Novel How to be Miserable as an Artist (oops–link now repaired!) What To Do When … Continue reading

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NaNoWriMo, Week 2

It’s Week Two of that insanity known as National Novel Writing Month.  (Wow, it looks weird to type it all out that way, instead of NaNoWriMo.) This time last year, I was singing the Week 2 Blues.  Which is not … Continue reading

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And The Magic Happens; or, Add New Characters And Stir

Toiling away on my latest NaNoWriMo endeavor, I was beginning to despair.  There was an awful lot of recap happening, and not much in the way of new development. And then…I introduced some new characters. Joshua Newton’s entire family full … Continue reading

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Timing Is Everything; or, I Thought I Was A Night Person…

I think I’ve learned something about how I NaNo best. Last night, after a long and fairly eventful day, I came home and parked myself in front of my computer at around 10:00 pm, with every intention of squeezing out … Continue reading

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Dragon Friday #5

(Sorry this is a little late, guys.) The Dragon, The Wench, and Her Wardrobe (working title) © 2011 Sheila McClune Part 5 “Ow!” I yelped.  It took me a moment to identify the source—or rather, sources—of the pain:  one of … Continue reading

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NaNoWriMo, Week 1

Well, here we are in November, which means it’s now NaNoWriMo.  I’m plugging away on my novel, staying on pace, but not building up much of a cushion. Part of my problem is that I haven’t been able to get … Continue reading

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