Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

writing

Daffodils and New Beginnings

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They are peeking up through the soil, these first beacons of hope for a spring after a long winter. I don’t want to wish my life away, but I dream of the day soon when vivid yellow blooms dot my largest garden bed. Right now it’s a blank slate, but after the daffodils come, it won’t be long before other green shoots emerge from the ground.

Don’t be fooled by the delicate flowers. Daffodils are tough. In my case, they survived when I didn’t get them all out of the ground in the summer. The ones I did, I forgot to replant in the fall, so they were stuck in a box in the garage. Doesn’t matter. The ones in the ground are quite happy, and the ones in the box were already sprouting, just waiting for me to tend to them.

Last week I sent The Factory Girl and the Fey to my editor for the last time. The past three months have been intense as I have combed through it over and over again, answering her questions and filling in more detail to the story. As of today, it’s the best I can do without her sharp professional eye.

Winter was the perfect time to work on the manuscript. With all the snow and cold, the last thing I wanted was to go outside, though I stole some walks on better days. Now that it’s spring, what do I plant, both in the garden and in my writing life?

There are two manuscripts vying for my attention. One has been through a few drafts and a developmental edit of the first 50 pages. The other is a rough draft, about 65 pages of initial thoughts. One is a plant that needs repotting, the other is a tiny seed just starting to sprout.

This week I will choose which to work on. Both are equally compelling to me. But one thing I have learned from daffodils, is that whatever I do will probably be just fine.

What are you planting this spring, whether in your garden or in other areas of life?

If you like this blog, please consider purchasing one of my books listed on my homepage. Thanks!

Daffodils in Vase Image by Michi-Nordlicht from Pixabay

Off to the Editor! Now What?

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Jane the Factory Girl is back with the editor! I’ve worked on this story for five years now, and I can finally see the finish line! No doubt I’ll need to make more changes, but the story is finally where I want it to be. I’m thrilled to have gotten this far.

I’m not sitting around eating bon bons while I wait, though. I have another manuscript that has waited quietly in the corner for me for a couple of years, and I just finished reading through it. The working title is On Her Own Terms, but that will likely change.

OHOT tells the story of Elaine, age 60, who wants to take her hobby of sketching and painting to the next level — to try to sell her work. At the same time, her husband has decided to jump into politics and wants her at his side. Add to that a daughter who’s used to dropping her son off unannounced. Elaine’s going to have to assert herself to those who are used to her being at their beck and call. She’s going to have to learn to take her own work seriously so others will, too.

It’s time for Elaine to take a chance.

Reading through the draft, I was struck by how far along it is. While it needs work, there are no major plot holes. The pacing is pretty good, too. Mostly it needs a more well-developed setting, and a bit more details on the appearance and mannerisms of the characters.

I’m not sure why I stayed away from it for so long when it’s so close to being done! But what matters, I suppose, is that I’m working on it now.

I’ve resisted the idea of seeking a publisher. After all, it’s pretty easy to get a book out there. It’s also harder to find an audience this way, though.

Some wonderful writer friends have encouraged me to try to get a traditional publisher. They have publishing deals, so they understand the ins and outs. I’m thinking…maybe…possibly…not sure…I might give it a go with OHOT. I mean, why not? Maybe, like Elaine, I’m ready to take a chance.

A Writer’s Life is Many Lives #WDC18 #amwriting

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As I come off this year’s Writer’s Digest Conference, I am thinking about how fortunate I am. I get to do work that I love, and when I spend time around other writers, I am among incredibly generous and supportive people. As author Steven James said during his “Story Trumps Structure” workshop, we are in a rare business where people who could be our “competition” come and share everything they know. He likened it to Apple going to Google and sharing all their secrets.

The magic, of course, is that there is  no competition. Each of us has a unique story to tell, so the more of us the merrier. We don’t have to elbow anyone out of the way.

Back home, I am once again immersed in my projects. For one, I am reading about artists, particularly female and self-taught. Think Grandma Moses as one of many examples. I’m also learning to draw and watercolor. I’m not doing this because I want a new hobby, though I suspect I’ll keep at it because it’s fun. No, it’s a way to understand my main character better.

While I continue my research for that novel, I am living (in my mind) in late 19th-century Scotland. This story idea has sent me to Scotland twice and the old mills of Lowell, Massachusetts; introduced me to proletarian novelists such as Elizabeth Gaskell (think contemporaries of Dickens); and introduced me to genealogy.

When I wrote What She Knew, I studied the victims and perpetrators of the Madoff Ponzi Scheme. I was fascinated with the movers and shakers of Wall Street and what would happen if one of them actually grew a conscience.

In short, as a writer I get to live many lives. I get to play dress up and try on new identities. I get to peer inside the heads of my characters, who I grow to love as if they are real people and real friends.

This is a good life. A happy life. A fulfilled life. Last week I met a lot of wonderful writers who share this journey with me, and I am looking forward to getting to know all of you better.

 

Happy New Year!

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Hello to anyone who might be reading! It’s been so long since I blogged that I don’t know if anyone is still out there…but here I go anyway.

I don’t normally get too excited about a new year. I am not one for a list of resolutions. But this year I sprang out of bed with hope and joy. I’m not alone. As I cruise social media, I see a lot of posts where people are willing to entertain the thought that this can be a good year.

Last year I stumbled a bit. Though I kept on working on two different novels, I lost motivation to reach out consistently to readers. Part of it is my own life: we are moving cross-country yet again, and finally sold a house that’s been on the market for a long time. We are scheduled to close January 31, so the end is in sight.

Though I won’t get into politics in this blog, I also found myself depressed and deeply concerned about the state of our country. Regardless of what side of the political aisle we are on, we are ever more aware of the flaws in our system that must be addressed if we have the courage to do so. And that’s all I’m going to say, I promise. But in this past year we have also seen an energized electorate as people recognize that we must stay engaged…and that gives me hope.

Despite all of this, I continued to write, to do my work. I will write more about my projects in future posts. What I have learned is, whether or not there is a market for my books, I have to write. It’s how I do life. It’s how I stay reasonably sane.

If you haven’t “liked” my Facebook author page, I invite you to do so. I do minimal promotions, and mostly write about books I am reading or other odds and ends. Visit me at https://facebook.com/NadineFeldmanAuthor. I’m also on Twitter at @Nadine_Feldman.

Thanks for reading, and happy new year!

Happy New Year! #IWSG #amwriting

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It’s the first Wednesday again, and time for the next monthly installment for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. This is where we writers provide support and encouragement to each other. Join us!

Thank you to this month’s co-hosts: L.G. Keltner, Denise Covey, Sheri Larsen,  J.Q. Rose, Chemist Ken, and Michelle Wallace. And of course, a special thanks goes to our fearless founder and leader, Alex J. Cavenaugh! I hope you’ll visit their blogs in appreciation for their contributions to our merry band of writers.

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January 2, 1996…twenty years ago. My then-husband and I woke up with the flu. Since we were both sick, there was no one to take care of us, and it was a nasty bug.

Three days later, he went back to work, still ailing but better. For me, though, the story was different. I didn’t get well. Day after day, week after week, month after month, I woke exhausted, my body alternating between freezing cold and burning hot, my lymph nodes swollen, my digestion disrupted.

The eventual diagnosis of CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome) didn’t help, as the cause is unknown and the path to treatment unclear.

During the months in bed, I had a lot of time to think. All my life I had wanted to be a writer but always let life get in the way. Now, with my brain addled and little ability to concentrate, I wondered: was it too late? Did I squander my chance?

I don’t often “bargain” when I grieve, but this time I did. Make me well, God, and I won’t forget.

I was one of the lucky ones. Eventually, I did get well…and I didn’t forget my promise. In 1997 I found The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, which helped me get started. In October 1999 I published my first book, When a Grandchild Dies: What to Do, What to Say, How to Cope (the link is for the 15th anniversary edition).

The life changes that resulted were extraordinary, and here I am all these years later, proud to be a novelist who has completed her second novel and sent it off to industry reviewers. There’s another novel in draft form, and I am swimming in ideas for more books.

More than anything, writing has made me more whole, more authentic, happier. As a side note, when I met my current husband, I gave him a copy of When a Grandchild Dies…it made him want to get to know me better.

It took a debilitating illness for me to wake up and live. It took that moment in time, twenty years ago, when I no longer had the choice to ignore who I really was. Every day that I can write, that I do write, is a remarkable gift. Yes, writing is hard. Yes, it’s frustrating sometimes to find readers. Yes, reviews can be upsetting.

But to be writers who do not write…that is a tragedy.

My hope for you, my fellow writers, is that 2016 brings you joy, peace, health, and a wealth of ideas to explore. May you find readers who resonate with your words. May you look self-doubt and insecurity in the eye and say, “Thanks. I’m doing this anyway.”

How was your 2015? What are your dreams/goals/plans for 2016? Do tell!

What She Knew is now available for pre-order! I hope you’ll take a look. *

 

 

 

The Badass Trinity Part II: Elizabeth Gilbert #IWSG #amwriting

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IWSG BadgeThis is a week where two events collide: the First Wednesday post of the Insecure Writers Support Group, and the second of my three-part Badass series.

They go together, I promise.

On the first Wednesday of every month, the IWSG members post encouragement and support to other writers. Join us!

This month’s co-hosts are:

Sandra Hoover, Mark Koopmans, Doreen McGettigan, Megan Morgan, and Melodie Campbell

And, special thanks to Alex J Cavenaugh, the founder and fearless leader of this group.

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Big Magic CoverNow, on to Badassery. Last week I posted Part I, in which I opined on Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes. This week, I feature another Badass: Elizabeth Gilbert.

Are you feeling discouraged, confused, or disappointed with your writing career? If so, I can offer you nothing better than Elizabeth Gilbert’s book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.

Big Magic isn’t a self-help book per se. Gilbert doesn’t offer a series of exercises, nor does she give you the secret keys to success. However, as she shares her own writing journey, you’ll learn from her.

She calls Big Magic her “permission slip” to writers…the thing that says, “do it” when those sneaky, clever self-doubts threaten to upend our dreams. Most importantly, she puts our writing in perspective. Yes, it’s hard work, but so are other jobs. Yes, sometimes our writing is received more at other times than others. Yes, some days we don’t want to do it. But if we persist, we can find those moments of Big Magic.

Filled with compassion, Big Magic also provides a gentle, but loving, kick in the pants. By demystifying and deromanticizing the creative process, Gilbert makes it easier for us to approach it.

Best of all, Big Magic is beautifully written. After reading some books lately that weren’t so good, sitting down with Gilbert’s chatty, humorous, literary style felt like I’d walked into a fresh spring day. Reading it, I found myself nodding my head…a lot. I said yes, over and over. Sometimes she hit a nerve. I kept on reading because this book is pure pleasure to read.

Gilbert has strong opinions, which is why I include her in the “badass” category. She doesn’t like it when we talk of our writing as though it’s our baby. After all, what if someone tells us our baby is ugly?

She’s also not impressed by Hemingway’s counsel to “open a vein and bleed” on the page. We don’t have to suffer for our art…just apply regular practice and discipline to the process.

In short, she sticks pins in the balloons of what we’re told as writers, those things that cause us to cut and run (or, as I’ve seen a lot of lately, to whine on Facebook instead of writing).

I’ve no doubt I will turn to Big Magic over and over again when I need motivation. I hope you will, too.

Nadine Galinsky Feldman is the author of The Foreign Language of Friends and the upcoming What She Knew, available March 2016. If you enjoy this blog, please consider purchasing a book or signing up for the newsletter to learn about upcoming promotions and giveaways.