Draft Zero, Life, Writing

On NaNoWriMo and Failure, Or: How I’m Learning to Embrace My New Writing Process

It is November 28th. There are three days remaining in November, which means three days remaining in National Novel Writing Month, that time of year when thousands - hundreds of thousands - of writers try to plunk down 50,000 words in the span of a single month. In years past, I have diligently hit the… Continue reading On NaNoWriMo and Failure, Or: How I’m Learning to Embrace My New Writing Process

Chronicles of Ghadid Trilogy, Draft Zero, The Unconquered City (Book 3), Writing

Juggling Plots

I wrapped up this draft of book three last week and then dove straight into edits for book two and today page proofs for book one arrived. My work is never done. Which is good since it's, you know, my work. I'm still reeling from finishing that draft - it's a mixed bag of awful… Continue reading Juggling Plots

Chronicles of Ghadid Trilogy, Draft Zero, Pre-pub, The Unconquered City (Book 3), Writing

What I Wish I Knew, Now

A common theme among blog posts by debuts, post debut, is the What I Wish I'd Known post. These are inevitably helpful in pointing out all the gaps in one's knowledge, the I-didn't-know-what-I-didn't-knows. But I call rubbish. I am impatient as a toddler and I don't wanna wait until after my debut to know what… Continue reading What I Wish I Knew, Now

Chronicles of Ghadid Trilogy, Draft Zero, The Unconquered City (Book 3), Writing, Writing Tips

Here We Go, Here We Go, Here We Go Again

Small human helping me plan for my deadlines. I took a brief tour down memory/blog lane and huh - looks like just about this time last year, I was also struggling with the last 1/4 of my WIP and worried to death that I wouldn't be able to make it work and my betas were… Continue reading Here We Go, Here We Go, Here We Go Again

Chronicles of Ghadid Trilogy, Draft Zero, Life, The Unconquered City (Book 3), Writing

Hello Twitter, My Old Friend

I just finished a six week hiatus from Twitter. Or at least an attempted hiatus. To be honest, I dipped my toe in a few times with the excuse of checking DM's only to get swept up into reading a few tweets before realizing what I was doing. But my slip-ups only reaffirmed my need… Continue reading Hello Twitter, My Old Friend

Chronicles of Ghadid Trilogy, Draft Zero, The Unconquered City (Book 3), Writing, Writing Tips

Worldbuilding: Layers of Paint

Photo by Alice Achterhof on Unsplash For the longest time I labored under the impression that most writers sat down and spent a few weeks building their world(s) and then they were done. This notion was fueled by the way a lot of writers talk about worldbuilding, especially when it comes down to the details:… Continue reading Worldbuilding: Layers of Paint

Chronicles of Ghadid Trilogy, Draft Zero, The Unconquered City (Book 3), Writing

The Reason Why

Some days, you struggle and struggle and struggle to find the right words. You wonder why you chose such a profession. You spend some time researching other potential professions. Every idea, every thought, every word you manage to eke out feels ridiculous and wrong. Some days you pull forth each word with great effort, occasionally… Continue reading The Reason Why

Chronicles of Ghadid Trilogy, Draft Zero, Pre-pub, The Unconquered City (Book 3), Writing

From the Debut Trenches: The Copy Edits Are Among Us

Things that I have been unduly excited about since I discovered they were a Thing: - Flannel sheets - Bat boxes that have the Batman logo - Copy edits One of the things I've realized I'm good at over the years has been picky details. Since learning the exact nature of copy editing, I've been… Continue reading From the Debut Trenches: The Copy Edits Are Among Us

Chronicles of Ghadid Trilogy, Draft Zero, The Unconquered City (Book 3), Writing

Spring-inning

The forecast predicts we're gonna get 40s from here on until March, the trees are budding, the bulbs are bulbening, and the river has claimed most of the nearby park and golf course - which means we can officially call it. Winter is fading. It's Spring-inning. I can't lie. I'm going to miss the snow… Continue reading Spring-inning