Writing Tips

Want an Accountability Partner? Consider This First.

Maybe you’ve heard of accountability partners. Maybe you’ve considered getting one. But what is an accountability partner, really, and how do you get someone to help? For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, “accountability partner” is teaming up with someone who will keep you accountable for your writing progress. For example, your… Continue reading Want an Accountability Partner? Consider This First.

Writing Tips

Inundated with Writing Advice

There comes a point in every writer’s career that they seek out feedback and advice from others. Whether that be critique partners, beta readers, or studying craft books, writers are often doing their best to continuously hone their skills. And while that is commendable, there comes a point where a writer can feel overwhelmed by the… Continue reading Inundated with Writing Advice

Miscellaneous

What Happened When I Opened an Old Manuscript that I Hadn’t Read in Three Years

Three years ago, I shelved a manuscript that I loved dearly but had to set aside in order to work on another project gaining interest in the market. It wasn’t a hard decision. At the time, I had just finished its third rewrite and, though it had recently won a writing contest, my other piece… Continue reading What Happened When I Opened an Old Manuscript that I Hadn’t Read in Three Years

Miscellaneous

Writing Crying Scenes

Crying is a common experience. “A study in the 1980s found that women cry an average of 5.3 times per month and men cry an average of 1.3 times per month. A newer study found that the average duration for a crying session was eight minutes.” (Heathline) Does this mean your characters should cry that much in your story? Probably… Continue reading Writing Crying Scenes

Miscellaneous

When You Don’t Write As Much As You Should

Recently, I didn’t write as much as I should have over a few weeks. Or should I say, I didn’t write as much as I thought I should have.  Let me break it down.  Every first of the month, I take a moment to look at my stats and see how much I've written. In March, I wrote… Continue reading When You Don’t Write As Much As You Should

Miscellaneous

Looking Back on my Pantser Novel

“Are you a pantser or a plotter?” is a common question writers hear. Why? There’s something inherently interesting about how someone turns a blank page into a 350-page novel. Sure, it's easy to say that one word after another leads to a sentence, which eventually becomes a chapter, before those chapters build a book. But there’s so… Continue reading Looking Back on my Pantser Novel

Writing Tips

How to be Flexible with Writing

Flexibility with your writing means you can easily shift from one project to another, even when it wasn’t in the plans.

Miscellaneous

Writing Method: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

With the New Year upon us—HALLELUJAH—I know many of you are gearing up to tackle your 2021 goals. Whether that’s to finally finish that WIP you’ve been working on or to start writing a novel for the first time, I thought I’d share a new writing method I’ve been using to crank out more words than I… Continue reading Writing Method: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Miscellaneous

2020: The Strangest Writing Year (Hopefully?)

Every year I like to reflect and talk about expectations, goal-setting, writing life, changing trends, etc., and as strange as this past year has been, I still want to keep that tradition going. That said, looking back, January feels like it happened three years ago, not eleven months. In fact, right at the beginning of… Continue reading 2020: The Strangest Writing Year (Hopefully?)

Miscellaneous

Tips for Writing Spooky

Happy Halloween!  I don’t know about you, but Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. In fact, one time my father snuck into my car while I was at school and filled it with Halloween balloons, chocolates, and a pumpkin-shaped candle burner. (I know. He’s the greatest. Though I admit, I didn’t know… Continue reading Tips for Writing Spooky