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Artichokes and Salsa: A New Year
2016 ended with me eating artichokes and salsa while watching Gargoyles, a silly animation show for kids that aired in the 90s. It wasn’t really planned — in fact, I’d been thinking I’d be asleep by 10 — but there I was, awake to usher in the new year. As most of us writers here on…
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The Benefit of Two Projects At Once
Somewhere in the haze of NaNoWriMo and my own butt-kicking, I’ve managed to add 6 chapters to a WIP I haven’t worked on all year. Maybe it’s me procrastinating finishing my 2016 NaNoWriMo project, maybe it’s because it’s finally clicking — but whatever it is, I am totally okay with it. I did write a…
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I cannot get into my MC’s head and it’s driving me insane
So basically, NaNoWriMo ended and I was feeling all refreshed and ready to go back to battle it out with my WIP. Then I sat down to start writing. *crickets* So either I waited too long or didn’t wait long enough. I’m really struggling to put words onto the page. The loudest complaint from my inner…
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Swiss Cheese Manuscript
Well my NaNoWriMo manuscript looks like swiss cheese right now with all of the holes in it. No, not plot holes – literal holes in the… plot. (Okay, ‘plot holes’ is misleading. I’m talking about holes in the linear A-Z structure of getting from beginning to end. Holes in the… what else would you call…
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#NaNoWriMo Update: I hate my novel?
So a few days ago I wrote a rant about how much I hate my current #NaNoWriMo project. I can’t remember if I’ve hated projects before for NaNo — and I don’t have time to go back through blog posts and find out — but I’m pretty sure I’ve disliked or been disinterested in them…
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What is half-published, you say?
Half-published is when you’ve signed a contract with a publisher but your book isn’t out in the world yet. Because yeah. That’s what’s happening. With me. Like, what? Me? I have a what now? *deep breath* I am officially signed with Glass House Press for my INITIUM series, starring Fairian, my cranky answers-driven heroine, and Daimyn,…
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Creativity Cycles
Apparently mid-summer is the time of year where writing blog posts is more of a chore than usual. I think every year now, during the summer, I’ve written consistently less posts than during the winter. Anybody else noticing this trend? I don’t have children, so I can’t blame it on that. I was more busy during the…
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“I am a White Writer”
I haven’t said much as the writing community attempts to cut open the festering, repulsive ulcer of racism and sexism in an attempt to heal and change. I’ve tried to be supportive, and listen, and pay attention to what is happening in the world. I’ve digested and pondered and discussed and… The fear I now face…
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Drive and Depth: Debating My Least Favorite Writing Rule
I’m coming to the uncomfortable conclusion that I need to cut a lot from the second in the series I’m writing. I continually waffle back and forth depending on the day, of course. But there is a thread of truth in the idea that I’ve written content in this book that doesn’t drive the plot…
