When I began my writing career, I was fueled by passion, determination, and naïveté. Like many new writers, I thought that if I worked hard enough and believed in my stories, success would naturally follow. While some of what I dreamed of has happened, some things have turned out very different from what I imagined … Continue reading Five Things I Wish I Knew When I Began My Writing Career
Creativity
My Summer Routine (Hint: I Don’t Have One)
I love summer because it's vacation time for me. I was going to write a post about my summer routine, but when I started thinking about it I realized that I don’t have a summer routine. I don't follow a schedule. And quite honestly, I love it. Another Example of My No-Routine Routine I wrote here … Continue reading My Summer Routine (Hint: I Don’t Have One)
Annotating Books for Research and Enjoyment: My Personal Methods
The Joy of Annotating Books I’ve been a bookworm all my life. I started reading at a young age, which my mother attributes to my watching Sesame Street. Ernie and Bert and ABC songs aside, books were my first and best friends. I lived in books. In books I saw that there were other worlds, … Continue reading Annotating Books for Research and Enjoyment: My Personal Methods
Behind the Scenes: My Writing Space and Creative Sanctuary
Where Do You Write? Where we write is as important as how we write since our writing space can affect how we feel emotionally, mentally, even physically. Having a dedicated space to write has made such a difference in how I feel about sitting down to work every day. For years, I didn’t think much … Continue reading Behind the Scenes: My Writing Space and Creative Sanctuary
From Rough to Refined: Tackling the All-Important Second Draft
Starting Draft Two of my WIP Baking time for my current WIP is done, the timer had dinged, and now I’m writing the second draft. While this is the fun part of the writing process for me, it’s also the most difficult to explain because I believe there's magic involved. In her book Big Magic, … Continue reading From Rough to Refined: Tackling the All-Important Second Draft
Writing Tools I Use: A Behind the Scenes Look at My WIP
My Writer's Toolkit Over the years, I’ve fine-tuned my toolkit in order to streamline my writing workflow. My writer’s toolkit is always a work in progress, but I’ve found a system that I’ve used for my past few books, including my current WIP, a Dark Academia suspense novel. I thought I’d share a bit about … Continue reading Writing Tools I Use: A Behind the Scenes Look at My WIP
Five YouTube Channels To Spark Your Creativity
Creative Videos Can Provide Inspiration Like other people, I enjoy watching YouTube videos now and again. I’ve fine-tuned my algorithm on YouTube to show only what I want to see. I don’t watch the news, and I don’t want to see anything news-related. Yes, I know it’s like sticking my head in the sand, but … Continue reading Five YouTube Channels To Spark Your Creativity
Unlocking the Magic of Writing: A Guide to Starting Your Novel
Another How-To Write Post I know these “How To Write” posts are a dime a dozen, but I’ve been asked to share how I get myself started when tackling a new project, so here it is is. I should point out that this is how I begin a novel. If you ask ten different novelists … Continue reading Unlocking the Magic of Writing: A Guide to Starting Your Novel
Day Jobs for Writers: Finding Balance, Funding Dreams, and Fueling Creativity
Jobs: Day Jobs or Otherwise... Last week I watched a YouTube video from someone who called themselves a full-time writer who admitted later in the video that they use the money they make from content creation, part-time retail work, and other sales jobs to support themselves. That person is spending a percentage of their working … Continue reading Day Jobs for Writers: Finding Balance, Funding Dreams, and Fueling Creativity
The Swirl and Swing of Words is an Amazon #1 New Release in Authorship
Just a quick note today to let you know that The Swirl and Swing of Words: Embracing the Writing Life was named a #1 New Release on Amazon in Authorship as well as Creativity Self-Help and Authorship Reference. I'm always amazed when things like this happen. Thank you to everyone who has bought the book, … Continue reading The Swirl and Swing of Words is an Amazon #1 New Release in Authorship