I recently took a week-long staycation, which consisted of me laying around my house doing absolutely nothing productive. I won’t lie, it was bliss. Usually, I like to talk about writing and publishing here on the blog, but I realized one vital truth while I was out: Breaks are a part of writing. If you don’t take breaks—if… Continue reading One Writer’s Staycation & How You Can Recharge At Home
Tag: writing tips
How Virtual Write-Ins Help Me During COVID-19 Lockdown
It goes without saying that life is strange right now—and stressful. As someone who has moved every few years my entire life, I adapt to change pretty quickly, and yet these amount of sudden changes (and the constant drone of breaking news) has created an environment requiring constant reevaluation. I’m exhausted, y’all. And I’m sure… Continue reading How Virtual Write-Ins Help Me During COVID-19 Lockdown
Shannon’s Top 5 Scrivener Tips
It’s no secret that I love Scrivener and have since I first bought it back in 2016. In fact, here’s my first ever post about it: Writers, Should You Get Scrivener? Granted, I’ve learned a lot about Scrivener since 2016, and the software has upgraded, which is why I thought an updated post talking about… Continue reading Shannon’s Top 5 Scrivener Tips
Tracking Character Motivations with a Free Spreadsheet
It’s no secret that I’m currently revising a manuscript. I’ve been talking about revising a lot lately and giving glimpses into what my revision process looks like. I’m currently on my third draft of a multi-POV sci-fi novel, and I am still smoothing out my character motivations. (What can I say? It can be tricky!… Continue reading Tracking Character Motivations with a Free Spreadsheet
2020 Author Goals
2019 is over, and honestly it feels like a blur. I know this post is going to seem like a hard brag. I promise that isn’t my intention. I accomplished a lot this year, but I can’t say that I allowed much happiness into my life, especially toward the end of 2019. The beginning felt… Continue reading 2020 Author Goals
Finishing My First Pantser Novel
I finished my first panster novel. For those of you who don’t know what a panster is in publishing, it basically means you write with no plan, no outline, nothing. You write by the seat of your pants. Hence, panster. Typically, I’m an outliner. A pretty detailed one, I might add. There’s something comforting about knowing my… Continue reading Finishing My First Pantser Novel
How I Revise My Novels
I talk a lot about writing, creating, marketing, editing, etc. But I haven’t specifically discussed the revision process. But isn’t revising and editing the same thing, you ask. No, not really. Though the lines can definitely blur, revising is a stage that comes before editing. Revising is knowing what to keep in your work, what… Continue reading How I Revise My Novels
My Experience Querying & Getting an Agent
Recently, as many of you know, I signed with a literary agent. (See announcement.) It’s a time a lot of writers dream of, a time highlighted with celebratory GIF tweets screaming, I did it! I did it! And I’m READY. It’s a lot of fun, definitely exciting, and often followed up with a “How I Got My… Continue reading My Experience Querying & Getting an Agent
Life Changes: Literary Agent + New Job!
Hey all! In case you missed it, I’ve had a crazy past month. (Hence why I missed a blog post last week. My bad.) Not only did I attend the LitUP Festival, where I had the utmost joy of introducing Adib Khorram, author of DARIUS THE GREAT IS NOT OKAY, L.L. McKinney, author of A… Continue reading Life Changes: Literary Agent + New Job!
How I Outline (And Write) My Novels
Foreword: This week has been crazy. Between attending the LitUp Festival today, trying to coordinate the cover for TOOK ME YESTERDAY (the sequel of TAKE ME TOMORROW) on Wattpad, and some other crazy exciting news, I almost (ALMOST) let this blog post get away from me. (Thank the writing gods for iCalendar reminders.) That being… Continue reading How I Outline (And Write) My Novels
