Category: Writing Tips

I told you all in my 2020 Goals post that I’m trying to focus on writing goals over reading goals this year. That seems like it should be a no-brainer, but somehow while I typically don’t have any problem finding time to read, I always find a million excuses not to write. I have learned from “author Twitter” that this is not a problem that’s unique to me—take a quick scan across posts on social media and you’ll find that writers everywhere are finding creative ways to distract themselves: I’ve got a really important scene to write! This is going to be pivotal. I can’t wait to dive in! … Except the refrigerator needs to be organized. I can’t possibly leave the ketchup in that terrible spot for one more instant. And I should probably wash the extra spare sheets, just in case the regular spares get used. You never know when… Read more »

When I started writing, I wasn’t really doing it with the hope or expectation of getting published. I honestly felt like I was starting too “late.” I mean, when I was younger, I had dreams of being a writer. I took novel writing classes and did workshops and tried (and failed) to be disciplined and actually write. Then life happened and kids happened, and the dream sort of got away from me… But I still wanted to write, so I signed up for NaNoWriMo and I did just that. I wrote a book. (Actually, to be clear, I first signed up for NaNo and wrote 50,000 words of a book that wasn’t going anywhere—someday I might plot that one out better and try again. THEN, the next year, I wrote a book.) For over a year, I did nothing with that book. I wrote it, but I had no idea how… Read more »