some unlocked thoughts on writing, reading, hobbit feeding
“Delayed gratification is good for the soul.” One of my college friends said that frequently, and I took it to heart, saying it even more frequently during my four years of undergrad. So frequently, in fact, that one of my best friends was pretty done with the phrase at one point: “If I hear that […]
Read More Delayed Gratification is Good for the SoulNew Year’s Resolutions have come under fire lately. My whole adult life, I’ve heard the (perhaps deserved) cynicism. While I’m generally skeptical of what culture says we should do, I do like New Year’s Resolutions. The new year is a guaranteed fresh start, an official milestone to look forward to as the beginning of something good. […]
Read More My Solution to ResolutionsAn online acquaintance of mine, J. M. Jablowski, started a writing tag for the end of the year. Since this time of year is usually marked by reflection (also overeating–and for me, board games), I thought this would be a good chance to look back at how far I’ve come–and look forward to where I […]
Read More Writing Ruminations 201850,000 words in one month… This is the challenge of NaNoWriMo. This was my first year trying it, and I won! It feels like an accomplishment. As many will tell you, NaNoWriMo’s place at the start of the holiday season can make it challenging to complete those 50,000 words (1,667 words a day average). What […]
Read More Lessons from NaNoWriMo 2018When I came up with an idea for a new book, I had the main character (we’ll call her… #1) from my shelved novel as the only protagonist I had ever considered for anything, ever. I was used to #1: familiar with her voice, her foibles, her overall character arc. I also love her, as […]
Read More How to Know You’ve Picked the Wrong Main CharacterThe second draft of my first YA novel was 165,000 words long. I swore up and down that not one word could be removed without damaging the entire story. *snort* Then I began researching publication. The more I read from YA publishers and writing blogs, the more I became convinced that my query had to […]
Read More What I Learned from Cutting 70,000 Words
The Word-hoard 