About Liz Lincoln
About Liz
Everything you could ever want to know
about me including:
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How I started writing
In second grade we were assigned to write a short story. I had an idea instantly, and therefore decided that I should be a writer when I grew up. At the time, I also wanted to be a waitress and a French teacher. I have waited tables and hate it. I took Spanish in school. But my mother, an elementary school reading specialist, and my grandmother, editor of a newspaper for 20 years, encouraged me, and a few years later I wrote my first novel. It was 124 handwritten pages, complete with Crayola marker illustrations. Throughout school I continued writing, although never finished anything. After college, I moved to Virginia, worked at Barnes and Noble, and completed my first novel. I knew nothing about publishing, or even where to start, and didn't know where it would fit in the market. It wasn't exactly a romance, but it had to much romance for a mainstream book. So when Barnes and Noble partnered with iuniverse to allow print on demand, I decided to go that route. Looking back, I would not recommend it. There's no credibility in paying to get your book published yourself. I realize there are some success stories, but next time around I'm going the traditional route. I finished my next novel while sitting at a cafe in a very artsy neighborhood in Paris, while I was visiting there for a week. It was so very romantic. Unfortunately, that book will likely not be more than a learning experience.
About this time I discovered RWA, and my local chapter in Richmond, VA. I joined, and have since completed 2 more novels. And, this time I have the luxury of knowing what to do with my finished manuscripts. If you are interested in writing, I can not stress enough the benefits of joining RWA, or another similar group if you write something other than romance. Besides getting to meet some of my very favorite writers, I've made some great friends. And I have learned so much, about both the craft and the business of writing. -
My writing process
I don't have a daily routine. I'm in graduate school at the moment, getting my masters in social work. 2 days a week I have an internship at a hospital, 2 days a week I have classes, and 7 days a week I have homework. So right now, I'm writing when I can. I spend a lot of time driving from 1 place to the next, so I've done a lot of dictating into a handheld tape recorder. I write out rough scenes during really boring class sessions (don't tell my professors!). And if I actually have time to sit down and actually write in my laptop after I've finished all my papers and reading, I do that late at night, before I go to bed. When I am in more of a routine, I typically write on my laptop. I can write roughly 10 pages an hour, which makes some of my slower writing friends jealous. But I can't write for more than 1 and a half or 2 hours a day. 20 pages is my absolute limit. Those days are rare, however. Usually my brain fries before I get to that point. But I don't need a routine to write. Some writers do. I can write anywhere, if I have nothing else to do.
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Where I grew up
I was born and raised in Madison, WI. I lived there until I was 21, with the exception of a few summers in Colorado, and 1 year in Philadelphia. I also spent a lot of time in Milwaukee, where my father lives.
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Where I went to college
University of Wisconsin-Madison. The greatest university on the planet. Go Bucky! I also spent my sophomore year at Bryn Mawr College, in suburban Philadelphia, but I didn't like the small, all female environment, and my parents didn't like the cost, so I went back to WI.
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My favorite football team (Green Bay Packers, duh)
My step-dad is a huge football fan, so I was raised to love it. My autograph from Brett Favre is one of my prized possessions. And who can argue with the team that gave us Vince Lombardi, Lambeau Field, the Icebowl, Bart Starr...and fans that wear large wedges of Styrofoam on their heads.
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Anything else I think you need to know
I now live in the Northern Virginia area, outside DC, in an overpriced apartment.
My cat is named Diablo, and he tries very hard to live up to it, but when he's in the mood he's a big ol' sweetheart.
When I finish school (May '06), I hope to work with children with cancer, and their families. I also hope that my schooling will enrich my writing.
I know and am friends with a large number of physicists due to the fact that I have dated one for 8 years. They keep asking when I'm going to write a book about physicists. I keep telling they have to be interesting first. They don't seem to appreciate this answer.
I'm probably one of the few people who has ever inhaled a leaf, had it stuck in their lungs, and had to have it surgically removed.
I am the eighth wonder of the world.
No, seriously. A guy I dated in high school told me so.
I am a direct descendant of Noah Webster, of Webster's dictionary fame. I'm still a terrible speller.