#StayHomeWriMo – Brainstorming Walks

NaNoWriMo came out with this brilliant concept, #StayHomeWriMo.  And as someone who was super enthused to start working on a new concept, this pulled me out of the COVID-19 Quarantine funk. Now, I haven't really written in a year. I've been stuck in projects that kept falling apart, corrupting, or disappearing.  So, having the flexibility…

Just Keep Swimming

Hello, friends. Today, I am here with a PSA. Writing a novel does not get easier. In fact, some people say every book you write will be completely different, and require different things from you. Right now, I am not writing my novel, Basiyon Peninsula. I am writing a...something. It was supposed to be a…

Writing Through the Crap

Brystan and I are going to spend the month talking about when to trunk a novel, when to press on, and how to tell what the right choice is.To kick us off for February, I thought I'd reflect on the last six hours, which was built on the last three weeks of my journal with…

Smart, Vision, & Path Goals

Ok, so, you know what you want to accomplish in 2019.  You had it all planned out in December, you started strong in January...but it's the end of the month. Odds are, you might be feeling discouraged right now. Let's take a brief moment to look at goals, and a variety of types. Smart Goals…

Motto for Jan – Take Care of Yourself

Hey....ya'll notice my post didn't go up Tuesday, right?  Yeah... You might have noticed on this blog, I talk a bit about mental health.  I just started a new day job, and I haven't had one for a few months.  So I've spent this week soaking up information and trying to remember to wash my…

Newton’s First Law of NaNoWriMo

So I went on vacation the first week of November! Got back Saturday and...got very little done.  Looked over what I wrote on my tablet over the trip, and found a bunch of garbage that needed deleting, cleaned up, or completely rewritten. Dabble, iOS, and wireless keyboards do not play well together.  For the nano…

What I’ve Learned from a Decade of NaNoWriMo

A quick update!  We will be going part time next month.  Why?  Well, the holidays are stressful for everyone, I'll be gone for a significant portion of the month, and Brystan is settling into a new position for her Day Job.  Also, it's nanowrimo, which I'll talk about in more detail below.  For December, we'll…

Why you Need to Bake Magical Cookies

The magical cookies or cookie scenes are what I call those sparks in a story that makes you WANT to write. It’s the romantic tension you love and just can’t wait to reach. It’s the high-action fight you’re itching to write or the awesome sneakiness of your villain. It is basically the reason you wanted to write THIS book at THIS…

Planning a Character Driven Project

I am itching with excitement. I am almost done with the first chapter of my draft, and while it needs buckets of edits, I'm excited and in love with my project, and already it reads like something I'd snatch off the shelf.  All because I broke up with outlining and agreed to go steady with Goal,…

Current Projects – Hexed & Maps

Current projects So, as a writer, I should be able to write a blurb for both of my current works in progress, right? Let’s give this a try. Ok, not thrilled with the results, but let’s dig in. Hexed Hunters Embry Lenihan is an enforcer for Pyeshu Armed Forces, disillusioned by the human caused problems…