A Very Official Guide to Books and Stuff
The publishing industry is confusing. Lovely friends and family have asked me everything from, “Wait, have you written the book yet?” to “Two years? Your book doesn’t come out for two years? Is it really that bad?”* *:( Fortunately, I decided to neurotically research...
My Book is a Real Thing™(!!!)
tl;dr: My book is a thing! It’s a thing you’re gonna get to read! Celebrate with me! Long version: When I was six, I decided I wanted to be an author. Not much has changed. Ahh, youth. When I was fourteen, I finished my first full length book. There were dragons and a...
Thankful Thoughts and New Chapters
Thanksgiving was particularly timely this year. There is so much that I’m thankful for—health, family, friends—but I’m feeling especially grateful for the writing world as of late. I wrote my first full length novel when I was thirteen, and I was pretty sure it was...
Kill Your Darlings
Oh, lovely blog. I've let you down. I missed the past few weeks of blog posts, thanks to a crazy hectic summer and a few too many hours in the editing den! Fortunately, I'm on the other side, feeling better than ever. It seems only fitting to post about one of my...
Internal and External Motivation
Nothing drives a story like a determined character. But this is one of those things that’s easier to say than it is to actually incorporate into writing. I thought I understood what all these writerly types meant when they said to make a “strong, motivated” character....
Writing a Critique
So you’ve completed step one (how to find a critique partner). You’ve brushed up on step two (critique partner etiquette). Now it’s time for step three: writing a critique. Whether you’re in a face-to-face workshop or just exchanging emails, I’ve found that the best...
Critique Partner Etiquette
It’s part two of my series on critiquing: critique partner etiquette. You can view part one here. Okay, so you’ve found your CP. You posted in all the right places, brainstormed all the right people… But how are you supposed to talk to these potential CPs/writing...
Finding a Critique Partner
I’m a day late posting this, but I have a good excuse! Yesterday was a crazy busy, absolutely wonderful day, because I finished my latest round of revisions on my manuscript. The kernel of this particular story popped into my head nearly two years ago. I started a...
Sharing Your Writing
I have a confession to make. For a long time (like, years), I was bad at sharing my work. Really, really bad. How bad? By the time I was sixteen, I had three (admittedly subpar) novels under my belt, and my darling mother, the all-star cheerleader who has always...
Responding to Critiques (Even When They Hurt)
Critiques are like vegetables. Some are terribly unpleasant, and others aren’t so bad. Some weirdos have trained themselves to love ‘em, but most of us hate ‘em. And they’re really good for all of us. Sometimes I’m giddy at the critiques I receive. For about a day....