Finding a Voice

In Writing Lab today I found the nerve to read aloud from my novel–just the first few pages. Afterwards someone inevitably asked, “How long have you been working on this novel?”

I hate to tell you how long I have been working on this novel.

Later I came across a She Writes feature from Melanie Benjamin, the author of a new novel, The Aviator’s Wife. Okay, so she’s been a bit more successful than I have, but it takes a while to get a book written, and it takes a thick skin to put up with the rejection surrounding the process.

Melanie Benjamin’s story led me to the post’s original appearance on a blog. And then I found this video.

Unlike my students, I was alive in the 1960s, and maybe that’s why I enjoyed this video about finding a voice. It’s from Meg Waite Clayton‘s website for her book, The Wednesday Sisters. You’ll like it too:

http://megwaiteclayton.com/trailer.shtml