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Meg Waite Clayton

Author of the international bestsellers The Postmistress of Paris, The Last Train to London, and 6 other novels

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March 21, 2020 By Meg Waite Clayton

No Social Distancing Required for Fictional Friends

No Social Distancing Required for Fictional Friends

Like many now, I’m social distancing. The good news for me is that a writer in these circumstances can collect as many imaginary friends around her as … well, as she can imagine. No six feet of separation required.

A First Draft…by Sherlock Holmes (Not Mine)

I don’t usually love first draft, but I have a new novel due at HarperCollins January 2, 2021. And at the moment, that seems very hopeful.

Handwritten draft of A Scandal in Bohemia by Sherlock Holmes
Handwritten draft of Page 1 of A Scandal in Bohemia by Sherlock Holmes

So I’m writing. Keeping word count each day, to remind myself at this stage that a whole bunch of small numbers of words in the end make a book. Starting with Day #1, Tuesday, March 17 — no green beer for this Irish gal because that is when the San Francisco Bay Area Shelter-in-Place Order took effect–this is what my week looked like:

Day #1: 1100
Day #2: 900
Day #3: 900
And yesterday…
Day #4: 1100

Not amazing, but words on the page.

I’m drawing inspiration today from this handwritten first page of a draft of the Sherlock Holmes story A Scandal in Bohemia. Arthur Conan Doyle and his stories played a bit of a role in my last novel, The Last Train to London, which went out into the publishing world as “The Last Train to Baker Street.”

Reading

After I’m done writing, I’ll read a bit. I don’t need to keep six feet from any of the fictional friends I meet in the books I read either.

Love to know what you are reading to get you through. I’m especially interested in learning about recent debut novels, because it’s such a tough time to be trying to launch a writing career, and I would like to support anyone trying to.

Stay well!

–Meg

 

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Filed Under: Meg's Posts, Writing Tips

Meg Waite Clayton


Meg Waite Clayton is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of eight novels, including the Good Morning America Buzz pick and New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice THE POSTMISTRESS OF PARIS, the National Jewish Book Award finalist THE LAST TRAIN TO LONDON, the Langum-Prize honored THE RACE FOR PARIS, and THE WEDNESDAY SISTERS, one of Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Essential Best Friend Novels of all time. Her novels have been published in 23 languages. She has also written more than 100 pieces for major newspapers, magazines, and public radio, mentors in the OpEd Project, and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and the California bar. megwaiteclayton.com

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