It’s another Saturday morning. Nothing particularly different or out of the ordinary. I’m putting moisturizer on my face after getting both my kids showered, dressed and looking absolutely fabulous when my daughter walks in. Heavy sigh. “Mama, you always wear so much make-up.” I choke on a laugh. “So … More The Time I (Almost) Explained Why I Don’t Belong To My Daughter
Let’s talk about my mean girl. For privacy reasons and so I don’t one day get sued and blah blah blah, let’s call her Kate Wu. And, no, I’m not being subtle. Those are her actual initials. But hey, I did my part. Her real identity is a secret. I think we all know by … More Let’s Talk About My Mean Girl
I don’t know about you, but 2018 has been a total shit show for me. It started with my migraines going from roughly 5-10 a month in 2017 to 20-30 a month. Mind you, back in November of 2017, I’d started seeing a registered nutritionist, and we’d begun working on identifying and eliminating diet factors … More What The Hell 2018?!
I’m of the opinion that no matter how much we grow as writers, there is always room for self-improvement. We can always be learning and sharing our knowledge. I think to horde our gift with words is something of a travesty, and that when we share and help others foster their own gifts we enter … More 10 Ways to Grow as A Writer
Time-management. An oxymoron if there ever was one. But, sadly (or not so sadly for the expert time wranglers out there), it is a task that even the most unorganized of us must learn. I’m not saying that you need to become some multi-tasking super human, though I’d settle for a Time Turner if you … More 11 Time Management Strategies For Writers
How do we design character? Do we start from the outside and work our way in? Or do we start with the inside and work our way out? Before I get started today, I want to be clear, I don’t believe there is any right and wrong way to design character. We’re all going to … More How to Write Complex Characters + Infographic!
Every now and then, I like to put down my current fantastical read and read author interviews. Sometimes reading the words of successful authors and learning about their process helps me to connect with my creative process and in doing so helps to inspire me. As I’ve been struggling a lot in that department, I … More The Many Permutations of Story
Thank you to everyone who has reached out to me over the last five months. The outpouring of support from all of you has been overwhelming and so very humbling! I haven’t had a chance to respond to everyone, but know that your messages were received and brought so much joy to my heart. As of … More Lifely Update: I Was A Guest on the Typing While Tipsy Podcast!
This picture was taken at Christmas, right before all of the hospital and doctor visits. Just because days have been a bit uncertain in the Elzie household these past few months, doesn’t mean that they’ve been any less filled with laughter. In our home, we cope with silly knock-knock jokes and crazy pterodactyl sounds. And … More Going on Medical Hiatus
I’ve been reading Stephen King’s book On Writing for my MFA this semester and the most useful section for me has been the memoir section. I just love the way King chronicles his journey as a writer. He’s so transparent about the many struggles and failures he had along the way. It’s very inspiring. I … More Why You Might Want a Closed Door Policy When You Write
This week I faced more writing struggles than I tend to on a regular basis. I even missed yesterday’s post because of those struggles. I had back to back migraines that kept me from doing the things that I love. A typical week finds me at 229 Yoga, taking a cycling class or a cardio … More Living and Writing With Migraines
When I first got back into reading I felt so behind compared to everyone else. I followed several amazing book bloggers who quickly pointed me towards some of their favorite series. In the hope that this list is helpful to someone else who feels like they just want to start somewhere, here is my top 25 YA … More 25 Hyped Series for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Bookdragons Everywhere
We can be new to the craft or we can consider ourselves veterans, but I feel confident in saying that no matter where we lay on that spectrum, the struggle we have with writing will never go away. … More 7 Writing Struggles and How You Can Overcome Them
In the hopes that this is useful to someone else also looking to write short-form YA Fantasy or Contemporary, or someone who just wants to branch out from their usual reading schedule, here are the collections I found so far. … More 10 Must Read YA Short Stories
January was a whirlwind of a month and through effective goal setting and weekly planning, I was able to keep my eyes on my goals and get things done. … More How to Use a Bullet Journal to Set and Accomplish Goals
King’s Cage delivers an accurate portrayal of PTSD, highlighting the importance of mental health, and provided more depth to our beloved supporting characters. I can’t wait to read the fourth installment in this series!! … More Can Maven be Redeemed After All? // “King’s Cage”
Today I’m talking about all things having to do with what I’m writing, how long I’ve been writing and basically everything you (never realized) you ever wanted to know about my writing. Dreamweaver has been a work in progress since March of 2015. The first draft took me a month to churn out. After completing … More Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About What I’m Writing
Today, I’m sharing the lessons I’ve learned after one year of using the rapid planning system called the Bullet Journal. … More Bullet Journal // One Year Update
What makes Voodoo Moon so special is that it’s set in a lush and vivid post-apocalyptic world where magic, assassins, paranormal beings and one seemingly unsolvable mystery collide in a thrill ride of deceit and a pile up of dead bodies. … More Detective Work, A Lovable Heroine, A Punchworthy (But Very Kissable) Sidekick // New Adult Paranormal Book Review
My favorite stories always have a badass girl. She isn’t always the main character, though when she is that’s awesome. She doesn’t have to have a sword, though if she does I’m cool with that. She doesn’t have to be the wittiest, or the snarkiest, though again, both I’m cool with. She only has to … More Badass Girl = Favorite Story
