To me, success isn't determined by my ability to produce words...
Tag: novel
No excuses — What’s new this year?
Happy New Year (and one month)! I haven't written much in quite some time, mostly due to being super busy. But I'm still here, and I'm going to get back on track! You read that right. I plan to get back to my writing so much so that you will be able to read my [...]
“Capturing a Dragon” — a short story
Dardo’s wings were tired, his mouth ached, and his back itched underneath his midnight blue scales. After two years on the run, he knew he couldn’t stop until he found a place that could hide his massive form.
“Mother?” he asked the starry sky. “Where can dragons hide if there aren’t any caves?” He smiled as he imagined her deep purple eyes thinking of an answer. His smile faded when he thought of his own answer. “Maybe we’re not meant to live.”
Scrambling before NaNoWriMo… Author Toolbox
NaNoWriMo... Gibberish, right? That's not even a word. How do you say it? To writer's, it is the month when the entire world ceases to exist... when life on Earth becomes a distant figment of our imagination... when we forget all the other hobbies we had if they don't include a notebook, a pen, or [...]
5 Steps on the Journey to the First Draft — Author Tool Box
What can I share for this month's Toolbox? What can I write about that could be even slightly helpful to other writers? I've been trying to answer this question for a few weeks in preparation for this post, but I still didn't have an answer until recently. Someone suggested I write a brainstorm about zombies... [...]
3 Personal Fallacies of Writing a First Draft – Author Toolbox
Too many ideas. A writer's best friend or worst enemy? We can ask the same thing of a first draft. Our hearts start racing and our minds start whirring after the first few sentences. We know we've got this. When does that feeling end? How many of these first drafts do we have? How many [...]
The Wonderful World of Writer’s Notebooks
Teaching writing to middle school students has taught me many things, but one lesson screams the loudest: writer's need to write. I already knew this, right? I'm also a writer, so I had to already have known this. Of course I did, but it was never more true for me as a writer as it [...]
Conquering the Writing Process in 7 Steps
The Writing Process. We've all heard of it. We know what it is. We know why it's used. We know that it's often the bane of our existence. Why does the combination of those three words fill us with dread? Shouldn't they excite us and fill us with wonder? They are here for us, the [...]