It's official! After five months of writing 1,000 words (nearly) every day, I am finally done with the first draft of my novel, tentatively titled Death by Degrees. It's a mystery, written to be both campy, entertaining, fun, romantic, and a little scary. Most of all, it's meant to be a good story.
I'll be sending copies off to my brave first readers in a couple of days. Hopefully, with the help of some encouraging words and promises to mention them on Oprah when I'm famous, they'll have some great suggestions for me.
I would love for this novel to be my introduction to the world of writing full-time, but even if nothing amazing comes of it, at least I had a good time writing it. And I've already started novel number two.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Back to the Work I Love
I am sick and tired of working for The Man.
What I really want is to be a professional writer, working on my own schedule, travelling and living when and where I want, and using my creative spark instead of stifling it nine to five.
So I'm jumping back into writing. I've made a pact with my aunt, who is a professional stained glass artist, and I've decided that I will be more disciplined about keeping an idea notebook, looking for freelance jobs, and writing for practice and fun at home.
Fingers crossed: one day I'll be signing a book deal and out of cubicles forever.
What I really want is to be a professional writer, working on my own schedule, travelling and living when and where I want, and using my creative spark instead of stifling it nine to five.
So I'm jumping back into writing. I've made a pact with my aunt, who is a professional stained glass artist, and I've decided that I will be more disciplined about keeping an idea notebook, looking for freelance jobs, and writing for practice and fun at home.
Fingers crossed: one day I'll be signing a book deal and out of cubicles forever.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
The Longest Article Yet
Finally another article has hit newsstands (or the free boxes on the street corners of Augusta). This is my best yet. I hope you all enjoy reading it.
Find it at this link:
http://metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=1211101074307265&ShowArticle_ID=11011610070969312
Find it at this link:
http://metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=1211101074307265&ShowArticle_ID=11011610070969312
Monday, September 24, 2007
Two New Articles
My mom reminded me that I should post these articles, my latest journalistic endeavors. Soon, I'll have a third and fourth to add.
The first is a link to my article Metro Spirit's website about an Augusta department that is being turned into condos and retail space:
http://metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=1993101074454885&ShowArticle_ID=11011809070574037
Next, is the text of a silly essay I wrote for the back page of the Spirit's special home section ("Abode"):
Camping Out with the In-Laws
Molly Brannan
The soldiers made up for their tiny size with tenacity, numbers, and the Creepy Effect. Too early one morning, as I opened the cabinet under the sink, it took me a few beats to realize what was wrong. The garbage can was in its spot. The trash was still inside it, including a cereal bag and its few, remaining crumbs.
But there was something black covering everything, something that moved like a huge, bumpy amoeba. Ants. Their scouts had found my high-fiber, low-fat, all-natural, too-expensive breakfast leftovers and had moved in, undetected, overnight. The adventures (or disasters) had just begun in what I like to call: Camping Out with the In-laws.
My fiancé and I are staying in the loft above his parents’ garage until we find a house of our own. Theirs is a beautiful property – both the big house and the little house – so “camping out” does not imply that our accommodations are shabby or that our hosts are anything but generous.
We have three black cats (my almost-in-laws are not cat people) and one black lab (they are not big dog people either), so we are forced to clean often. Even so, there seem to be a coincidentally high number of insect incidents that remind us, a la the house in the Shining, that we are not meant to be here forever. We may be mastering the steps in the dance-of-the-long-term-guests, but we are not permanent residents.
After the first ant encounter, we thought we had out-smarted them. I had wedged the cereal on a little ledge six feet off of the ground. We scrubbed, vacuumed, and swept, choosing not to use pesticides so close to our animals. We scrubbed, vacuumed, and swept again. We were sure that our kitchen was the least tasty on the block, and just in case the ants didn’t know, I told them in a flurry of curses.
We were wrong. The ants proved their love for golden oats and flax seed by a return visit, via the counter, the wall, and the cabinets. In one four-foot long stream of hungry troops, they raided my stash. I found them covering the box of cereal and the bag inside the box. I – the long-time vegetarian – took to killing them with my bare hands.
The ants also found an entrance through the crawl space on the second floor. They marched, single file into our bedroom through the space between the door and the wall. They went into our hamper where they roved – creepy! – in and out of our dirty clothes. Perhaps the last few dairy-free, vitamin-fortified crumbs called to them with the promise of a final well-balanced breakfast.
Although we have always seen our stay with my fiancé’s parents as being temporary, the search for a house of our own seem much more urgent. We have been told many times by the owners of the house that we are welcome to live here for as long as we like, and the uninvited guests agree. They only ask that we keep buying their favorite cereal.
The first is a link to my article Metro Spirit's website about an Augusta department that is being turned into condos and retail space:
http://metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=1993101074454885&ShowArticle_ID=11011809070574037
Next, is the text of a silly essay I wrote for the back page of the Spirit's special home section ("Abode"):
Camping Out with the In-Laws
Molly Brannan
The soldiers made up for their tiny size with tenacity, numbers, and the Creepy Effect. Too early one morning, as I opened the cabinet under the sink, it took me a few beats to realize what was wrong. The garbage can was in its spot. The trash was still inside it, including a cereal bag and its few, remaining crumbs.
But there was something black covering everything, something that moved like a huge, bumpy amoeba. Ants. Their scouts had found my high-fiber, low-fat, all-natural, too-expensive breakfast leftovers and had moved in, undetected, overnight. The adventures (or disasters) had just begun in what I like to call: Camping Out with the In-laws.
My fiancé and I are staying in the loft above his parents’ garage until we find a house of our own. Theirs is a beautiful property – both the big house and the little house – so “camping out” does not imply that our accommodations are shabby or that our hosts are anything but generous.
We have three black cats (my almost-in-laws are not cat people) and one black lab (they are not big dog people either), so we are forced to clean often. Even so, there seem to be a coincidentally high number of insect incidents that remind us, a la the house in the Shining, that we are not meant to be here forever. We may be mastering the steps in the dance-of-the-long-term-guests, but we are not permanent residents.
After the first ant encounter, we thought we had out-smarted them. I had wedged the cereal on a little ledge six feet off of the ground. We scrubbed, vacuumed, and swept, choosing not to use pesticides so close to our animals. We scrubbed, vacuumed, and swept again. We were sure that our kitchen was the least tasty on the block, and just in case the ants didn’t know, I told them in a flurry of curses.
We were wrong. The ants proved their love for golden oats and flax seed by a return visit, via the counter, the wall, and the cabinets. In one four-foot long stream of hungry troops, they raided my stash. I found them covering the box of cereal and the bag inside the box. I – the long-time vegetarian – took to killing them with my bare hands.
The ants also found an entrance through the crawl space on the second floor. They marched, single file into our bedroom through the space between the door and the wall. They went into our hamper where they roved – creepy! – in and out of our dirty clothes. Perhaps the last few dairy-free, vitamin-fortified crumbs called to them with the promise of a final well-balanced breakfast.
Although we have always seen our stay with my fiancé’s parents as being temporary, the search for a house of our own seem much more urgent. We have been told many times by the owners of the house that we are welcome to live here for as long as we like, and the uninvited guests agree. They only ask that we keep buying their favorite cereal.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Busy Bee
After months and months of not having much to do, I am suddenly crazy busy with two-and-a-half jobs and a promise to myself to train for another marathon. That said, I apologize for not contributing much to this blog recently.
While I'm still adjusting to my new schedule, I am going to add links to whatever I write for Metro Spirit (or any other publication), but I may not do much more than that. Hopefully things will settle down a little, and I'll want to write for fun more often. Until then, thank you for your patience.
cheers,
molly
While I'm still adjusting to my new schedule, I am going to add links to whatever I write for Metro Spirit (or any other publication), but I may not do much more than that. Hopefully things will settle down a little, and I'll want to write for fun more often. Until then, thank you for your patience.
cheers,
molly
Friday, August 24, 2007
Published at Last
While I've been bad about writing here, I do have (sort of) an excuse. And it's an exciting excuse. On top of the full-time job waiting tables and the part-time job freelance writing and editing for an education program, I have taken on another title: contributer to Augusta's local weekly paper, Metro Spirit.
Yesterday my first article appeared in the paper in yellow boxes across the area and on the Spirit's website. I am giddy. Here's the link: http://metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=1993101074450312&ShowArticle_ID=11002108071835366
I will continue to write for them on a part-time basis, covering stories of Augusta interest, and building my resume and knowledge of the real (not virtual) publishing world. I'll include links to my stories on this blog and prod you all to read them. Perhaps (fingers crossed) this could lead to a full-time, paying gig. At last, I have some good news!
Yesterday my first article appeared in the paper in yellow boxes across the area and on the Spirit's website. I am giddy. Here's the link: http://metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=1993101074450312&ShowArticle_ID=11002108071835366
I will continue to write for them on a part-time basis, covering stories of Augusta interest, and building my resume and knowledge of the real (not virtual) publishing world. I'll include links to my stories on this blog and prod you all to read them. Perhaps (fingers crossed) this could lead to a full-time, paying gig. At last, I have some good news!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Waiting Tables
Now that I'm in Augusta, I have found myself a semi-real job so that Dave and I can get serious about buying a house (and so that we can afford food). I am waiting tables at a really nice French bistro called Bistro 491, working nights four times a week.
It's been a challenge these past few days getting back into the restaurant schedule, especially standing for six hours straight. Hopefully the money will be good and it will allow me enough time and energy to pursue writing. I will try to update the blog regularly (I know it's been a little while), however, it may take a few weeks for me to adjust.
This is a short, wimpy post, I know. But I'm not going anywhere. Things are just changing - for the better this time!
Cheers.
It's been a challenge these past few days getting back into the restaurant schedule, especially standing for six hours straight. Hopefully the money will be good and it will allow me enough time and energy to pursue writing. I will try to update the blog regularly (I know it's been a little while), however, it may take a few weeks for me to adjust.
This is a short, wimpy post, I know. But I'm not going anywhere. Things are just changing - for the better this time!
Cheers.
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