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In This Issue:
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I'm happy you opened this -- thanks!
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Newsflash: Writing a Novel for You
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What Other Writers Have to Say
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Read "The Skin of the World"
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Dear Reader
Can I share with you a little of what I'm going through while writing my current novel?
It's a big dark story spanning more than 20 years, and I am willing to say right now that for people who have been waiting for a new horror tale from me, this is it -- but I think it's more than just a horror novel. It's genuinely a supernatural thriller, and deals with love, murder, childhood friends, family insanity...all the stuff I love to write.
And I keep hoping I'll round the bend to its finish every week, but it may be a few more weeks before it's over. Tonight, when I finish writing up this newsletter, I'll get right back to it.
I wish I could let go of a novel once I start writing, but I can't -- I live and sleep with it every day and night. They take as long as they take.
I bet you have some work or interest in life like that -- it just takes over when it needs doing.
Tonight, my office is a mess: books and papers everywhere, a cat on top of most of it (as in the picture to the right) and a cup of hot chai to my left, and a bottle of Poland Springs water to my right.
In between bouts of writing, I:
1. Do crossword and sudoku puzzles
2. Go to the gym (lost 35 pounds so far -- woo hoo!)
3. Watch DVDs (this week: Atonement - fantastic! and Margot at the Wedding - amazing! and Death at a Funeral - light, funny, and a bit too dead on about family life.)
4. Sleep, when possible.
5. Get out to the local coffee house for decaf and a reason to sit and read the local newspaper.
6. Read books, but only books that bear no relation to what I'm writing. Right now, I'm deep into The Ruins by Scott Smith. I love it.
7. Read a lot of nonfiction for research.
8. Because I'm setting the book locally (somewhat) I get out to some areas to turn on what I call the Memory Bank, so I can observe local detail and -- I hope -- become reinspired about the setting itself.
I get out about once a week or less -- and it always interrupts the flow of writing, but I think for mental health it's got to be done.
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I'll be at ThrillerFest this summer in New York -- it's a special convention for readers, writers, and lovers of all things thriller in fiction (whether romance thriller, suspense thriller, supernatural thriller -- you name it, it's there.)
James Patterson, Sandra Brown, David Baldacci, R.L. Stine, and many others will be there. It's for readers, writers, aspiring writers (particularly the CraftFest and AgentFest parts of the program.)
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Douglas Clegg's Official Newsletter is published frequently. It has been published continuously since 1999. This issue is copyright 2008 Douglas Clegg and published by: Douglas Clegg, 255 Route 12 #606, Groton CT 06340
If you received this newsletter, it is because you subscribed to it at www.DouglasClegg.com -- to change your membership or leave us, just scroll down a bit to the blue hyperlinks. If you subscribed in error, it's easy enough to unsub below. Thank you.
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