I’ve had a frustrating realization, and I decided to share it with everyone here. My reason for it isn’t to garner sympathy, but to show how I use the skills I write about. This post may be long, and I’ll put a TRIGGER WARNING here that I’m going to be discussing the ways depression and… Read More Freeform Friday: My battle with depression
The Command Center went out yesterday with the backstory for Half-Life of a Soul in it, right on schedule. And straight into everyone’s spam folders. Yeah, that was about the reaction I had. “What? There is no way I marked myself as spam.” I checked with a friend, knowing she didn’t, and sure enough, she… Read More Newsletter Update/Sneak Peek!
Like most people who write but also have the day job, it’s often a battle to get the space to write, even with good planning and time management. Still, when I feel I’m not making progress, I can open the folder on the computer and see that I am. The number of chapters, the word… Read More Writing Wednesday: Carving Out Time
I’ve been making steady-ish progress on the Half-Life of a Soul (HLOAS) series. It has been very slow, though. While yes, any progress is good, I don’t want to take a decade to write “the end” when I already know exactly how this story will end, how the spin-off story will open and end, and… Read More Freeform Friday: Author in action
I’ve found that having a deadline keeps me writing. For some authors, a deadline is a surefire way to make sure no writing happens, ever. Something about that date looming in the future will reveal exactly which sort of author you are. Working on deadlines, or needing them like I do, isn’t good or bad.… Read More Writing Wednesday: Setting Goals and Deadlines
Congrats on the finished MS! Now, slow down. It’s tempting to throw your work at every available opening. I know. You want to see it in the stores as fast as you can. Like everything else with writing, there is still a right and wrong way to go about the search. When you start looking… Read More Writing Wednesday: Newbie Pitfalls: Not Researching Agents/Publishers
In my writing files I have a story I first drafted in 1993. Why isn’t it finished? Well, life and raising children intervened. I saved it, faithfully converting the document type from version to version of Word. Now, releasing that story would require a complete overhaul. I’d have to alter some of the tropes in… Read More Writing Wednesday: Newbie Pitfalls: Wrong Time Period
It doesn’t matter where you are in your writing career, you need feedback on your writing. You need editing and you need beta readers. I see a lot of people online worrying about having their work stolen. It’s a valid concern, of course. It isn’t half so common as some believe, though. There are sites… Read More Writing Wednesday: Newbie Pitfalls: No Feedback
Continuing on in the newbie pitfalls is one I haven’t fallen into, except that it prevents me from being able to tell certain stories. I have ideas for horror and science fiction, but very little knowledge of the genre in books. I know horror movies. I love a good haunted house story! I will watch… Read More Writing Wednesday: Newbie Pitfalls: Not Knowing the Genre
Dear Future Me, I’m proud of how I’ve handled the last few years. Between a pandemic, personal health crises (yep, all of them), and a manager who is in desperate need of leadership training, I’ve held up well! I haven’t stopped looking for that path forward. Now, it’s time for a change, and I know… Read More Freeform Friday: Dear Future Me
Kambry Ellis 