After spending a few years playing around with the idea of writing fantasy (and then writing several fantasy manuscripts that I wound up shelving) I decided to go all in with contemporary YA. I knew by the first outline that I was a stronger writer in contemporary YA, I'm going to credit (blame?) my first … Continue reading Fantasy vs. Contemporary
I've spent the last three weeks off my routine and it's been driving me crazy. I've always been a morning person, preferring to go to bed early and wake up early. Even in high school and college, assignments were completed in the pre-dawn hours, and this was before I liked coffee. The ever-shifting hours of … Continue reading This Writer’s Routine
As I am currently unrepresented by an agent and editor-less, I have to establish my own deadlines. Here's why this is a challenge: I started my career in news, which consisted of constant deadlines from like, 50 sources. By the time I left news for good a few years ago, I seriously had not ever … Continue reading Deadlines and Due Dates
The first draft of my latest attempt at a novel has (among others) the following characters: A black school shooting survivor A sikh young man A transgender young man A person with Tourtette's Syndrome A domestic violence survivor A hispanic woman with a PhD A lesbian A gay man A black man in the military … Continue reading Writing Marginalized Groups
I set the rather auspicious goal of completing a totally new manuscript over winter break, which was about two weeks. I didn't start from scratch- I had a solid outline I'd been tweaking off and on for a few months and a few thousand words. I figured if I had first mess of a draft … Continue reading Goals: Achieved and Set
A little writing challenge for winter break
The last few NaNoWriMos I've participated in, as well as all the manuscripts I've written to date, have been "pantser" novels. As in "fly by the seat of my pants" novels. As in, "sit down at the keyboard and hope something comes out" novels. Lucky for me, things have been coming out. Well, they had … Continue reading Outline Outline Who’s Got the Outline
After my writer's retreat in late spring, I pretty much stopped doing things. Well, creative things anyway. I stopped writing. Granted, I had just put that final polish on Hot Mess #1, now no longer a hot mess. Hot Mess #2 had its first read-through and has a rat's nest of a plot hole, and … Continue reading Writer’s Lincoln Log
My fiancee and I joke that I need to "practice relaxing." Unfortunately, it's one of those jokes that's funny because it's true. I tend to cram every spare second with some kind of obligation. 90% of the time, they're stuff I want to do: professional networking, friends, family, personal goals like writing or running. I'm … Continue reading Writing and Relaxing
My family is a big believer in routines, as most humans are. My mom used to start every morning on the couch drinking a cup of hot tea and watching The Weather Channel. This was complimentary to my morning routine, which involved rolling out of bed at the last possible moment, so I regularly shouted, … Continue reading A Writer’s Routine
The Merry Manuscript 