writers and writing

  • Pushing Through to Publication: Taking the Next Step on the Writing Journey

    I submitted a children’s story for publication. It’s the first attempt I’ve made at publication in years. Like many writers, fear of rejection and impostor syndrome has kept me from making progress towards any writing goal. I was writing more than ever for work, and that left me feeling burnt out and uninspired. My writing

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  • Writing, Community, and NaNoWriMo

    I’ve been participating in NaNoWriMo for nearly a decade.  Over the years, I wrote about NaNoWriMo on this blog. I first heard about this annual event in my creative writing class in high school. While the thought of writing an entire novel in a month felt daunting, the community aspect excited me. Writers from all

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  • Writing Times: why do I write the most in my busiest times?

    I haven’t written anything since Thanksgiving. In October and November I was doing so well with writing. Even with my insanely busy work schedule and the immense stress it caused, I was getting hundreds, sometimes thousands, of words written each week. I was so focused. All day, my mind was filled with my fantasies, and

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  • The Real Reason for NaNoWriMo

    It’s time to prepare for my annual attempt (And failure) at NaNoWriMo. Every year for about a decade I have participated in NaNoWriMo in some capacity. Some years I attempt the full 50,000 word challenge, and some years I make the modest pledge to write every day in the month of November. But every year,

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  • Writing Week: Planning My Own Writer’s Retreat

    I’m thinking of taking a week off of work to write. I have over 2 weeks of PTO to use before the end of the year, and I don’t have any trips planned. Over the last few weeks I’ve been bitten by the writing bug. I have so many ideas for new drafts, redrafts, and

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  • Is the Blog a Dying Art Form?

    I am old enough to remember when blogs were popular. Long before TikTok existed, and before the rise of YouTube, the written word ruled the internet. There were blogs on every topic you could think of: fashion, family, hobbies, and work. No matter what your interests were, you could find a blog that fit your

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  • Writing for work and pleasure, why is it so different?

    I wish I could write my stories as quickly as I write for work. At my day job, I am known for my ability to research and write 1200 word technical articles in a single day. In addition to my other responsibilities, I keep the company website up to date with educational articles about digital

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  • A Novel Idea: Daydream, Outline, and Draft

    My novels have been languishing in my drive for years. Everything has been carefully laid out on the page. I know my characters and my setting like the back of my hand. I know their every wish, their every move, and motivation. I have outlined every plot point from beginning to end. But I still

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  • The Stayed Hand: when you can’t put your ideas to the page.

    I have drafts and plots for stories I want to write. They sit in their queue, waiting for me to pick them up, dust them off, and finish them. I have dreams for fairy tales, speculative fiction, suspense, and romance, all half-written with a clear road-map- but I can’t bring myself to take the final

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  • Half-Told Tales: My Incomplete Writing Projects

    Like many writers, I have a backlog of writing. My files and folders are stuffed with projects I’ve started, but abandoned at various stages of development. Short stories and novellas in many genres: speculative horror, suspense, fantasy, and romance, children’s books, and personal essays- all still waiting for their first draft mock-ups. In honor of

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