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’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!
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
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
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
There are certain characters that I instantly like when I read. The slightly downtrodden with a chip-on-their-shoulder is one of them. … More Give Me the Jaded Jerk Anytime // “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”
As I approach my query deadline, July 11th, the lessons I’ve learned throughout my journey of writing DREAMWEAVER have been on the forefront of my mind. … More What I Learned From Thinking I Was Done Writing My Book
A review of books read in March, life lived, accomplishments and some thoughts on writer’s burnout. … More On Burnout and What I Learned From It
To help me write, I create epic playlists. Today, I’m sharing a sampling of the songs in my love playlist for my WIP Dreamweaver! … More Beyond the Pages: Music I Write To
A peek into my bullet journal as I review February’s lesson’s learned, books read and writing accomplished. … More February Review: On Books, Writing and Life
Today I’m talking all about my work in progress as I take part in the Beautiful People meme. I’m all about the ships today, so join me as I fangirl about my own characters for a sec! … More Beautiful People: On Shipping My Own Characters (Even Though I Probably Shouldn’t)
Today, The First 250 Project is looking at “Divergent” and the many elements of story Veronica Roth packed into this bestselling novel’s first page. … More The First 250 Project: “Divergent”
Limiting beliefs block writers from tapping into their creative energy. Today, I talk about how these belief systems affect creatives and offer some solutions to this problem. … More How Limiting Beliefs Block Creative Flow
I have high expectations of my critique partners. So should you. Here are my 12 tips for how we can all do better as CPs. … More Don’t Be A Good Critique Partner, Be A Great One
