Diane Sherlock

  • In which I come out of the depression closet

    First, if you have not read the brilliant Rob Roberge’s essay, Crazy, go do that. I’m going to keep promoting it until everyone does. Last days of crowdfunding to cover the post-production costs: an extra day of shooting and those crew members, insurance, camera rental, editing, color correcting, titles, score, film festival entry fees, etc.…

  • when the demons win…

    A lot has already been written about Robin Williams. His exuberant talent and kindness – our grief and shock. And about our misperceptions about depression and suicide. When I was in grad school, Marcos McPeek Villatoro gave an amazing lecture on mental illness and creativity that I wish had been recorded. He’s talked about his…

  • Character and Movement, part two

    The few things I’ve learned so far from the Alexander Technique at Body Chance are that your head is always in motion, your head and neck are attached behind your nose (focus on that while writing or walking and see what happens), your arm is a larger-than-imagined hinge and the glide hinges are at the…

  • Other Voices Writing Conference

    Need to get away, refresh and write? Consider signing up for Other Voices Querétaro What you get? 10 days of structured activities with your fellow writers 7 days of workshops, 3 hours per day All “Wine and Publishing” Talks Mid-morning pastries and coffee on all workshop days Welcome dinner at Fin de Siglo Walking orientation tour…

  • NaNoWriMo!

    OMGWHATHAVEIDONE! Okay, I really do have some trepidation, mostly because I really don’t have an idea for the next novel, but idea or no, I begin tomorrow! Eeek! I figured it was a good way to start and to ratchet up the commitment, I’m raising money besides! (Note: my mentor,  Rob Roberge, would never support…

  • Who Needs A Mentor?

    I’ve been very blessed with great mentors. Rob Roberge and Gayle Brandeis in particular helped shape my work. Cheryl Strayed totally saved me in workshop – saved Growing Chocolate – with her suggestion to flip the last two chapters. I did have to go back and clean some things up, but that change kept the tone consistent all…

  • and then we came to the end

    …but not of the blog! No, the end of your novel. How do you know when you’re finished? Last night, I had dinner with a group of writers and one reminded me I’d said I knew I’d finished my novel when I was so sick of the thing, I couldn’t go over it one more…

  • iceberg, dead ahead!

    No, your story’s not the Titanic (though there will be days you fear it is). This picture is what your story looks like. The top? The words on the page. Then there’s what is under the surface. For one thing, you can see that the reader is going to not only bring their own stuff…

  • publishing

    My friend and mentor, Rob Roberge has a new piece up at THE NERVOUS BREAKDOWN on the ups and downs of publishing, including his experience with having his book cancelled. And yet there’s reason for hope. Go read it, especially for the reality check on how long it takes to get a book out. Also, please…

  • advice

    My artist and writer friends inspire me because they’ve developed the habit of art. That has me thinking about the question a non-fiction writer posed recently: how do you write (or start) a novel? It’s easy to throw out silly phrases: one page a time or the Nike approach (just do it), but that’s annoying.…

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com