When I am writing a story, I love to research what I'm writing. This is true when it's a subject I'm fairly familiar with, like cooking or crafting, and it's also true with subjects I don't have much experience in, like outdoor survival skills or variants in algebra. When I run into those things I'm... Continue Reading →
Grappling with the Timeline
Last week I really struggled with the timeline of the story. Trying to overlay the chapters to an actual calendar spread of the months that the story was going to span proved to be really difficult. I started this piece of the process for two reasons. First was because I wanted to see what the... Continue Reading →
Managing Expectations, Goals, and Writing
August 2020 is done and we are into September. Still 2020, but a new month, so I’ll take it. Ending August was rough. We left summer vacation mode and jumped into full remote learning for our daughters. That meant we had to fully deal with the reality that the fall was going to be a... Continue Reading →
What is the Writing Process? Step 2
Once the writing process has begun and step one is complete (check out What is the Writing Process? Step 1) it’s time to move to tackling the second step. The second step to the writing process is all about beginning to figure out the details of the world, characters, relationships, and scenes in the story.... Continue Reading →
Struggling with Process
Last week, I really struggled with process. So much of me wants to do this revision differently, to create a process where my approach is wide-angled in view and scope. I want to know at the outset that what I'm doing will be different and more effective than what I’ve done before. But every time... Continue Reading →
Planning: The Difference of Before vs. During
I am a planner. I plan the majority of what I write before I start writing. I have a general idea of who my characters are, what they are trying to accomplish, etc. I have all of this planned before hand either from notes and ideas that were sparked while I was reading a book... Continue Reading →
NaNoWriMo 2019 Prep- Week 2
Back to working at my daughter's dance studio and it is one of my favorite places to write. I don't have laundry calling me, the dishwasher is not in the next room waiting to be loaded or unloaded, and dinner (on the weeks I've REALLY got my stuff pulled together) is already made and ready... Continue Reading →
NaNoWriMo 2019 Prep- Week 1
I am so excited to get ready for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)! In case you don't know about the NaNoWriMo challenge, it is a challenge that happens during the month of November where writers push themselves to finish a 50,000 word complete first draft of a manuscript. This is the blog post I wrote... Continue Reading →
Writing for Joy
I pulled out my journal for a very different reason then I normally do the other day and it made me pause. It made me think about the reasons I grab my journal. I reach for my journal in very specific times. I reach for my journal in times of stress and anxiety. It's my... Continue Reading →
Putting in the Time
I got together with my peer critique partner this weekend and we switched manuscripts. It was AWESOME to hear her feedback and questions, to think about the way she viewed some of the characters and action, and really, REALLY eye-opening to hear her thoughts about the story in its entirety. She's the first person to... Continue Reading →