Author Archives: storytellergirlgrace

What to Do When You’re Sick of Blogging

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I’ve been diligently blogging for over five years. One post a week every week, only missing a handful of times over the course of several years. I’m proud of the discipline I learned, and happy about all the comments, followers, and connections I’ve gained. But over the past year or so, I’ve become much less diligent about that one post a week.

What was my reason? I got busy. I got distracted. And to be honest, I just got plain tired of blogging every week. Now before you ask—no, I’m not shutting down this blog and quitting the blogging scene. I’ve decided to return to regular blogging in 2019 because, after all, I am still a writer.

Anyway, I got to thinking about my options. Since I’d admitted to myself that I was sick of blogging, what should I do about it? I think there are several options for any writer if they’re ever faced with this realization—whether they’ve grown tired of blogging, tired of social media posting, or just plain tired of writing. None of the following options are right or wrong—I think each person needs to decide what is the best choice for them at that time. Consider your options, consider why you’re sick of blogging or writing, and consider what your ultimate goals are. Continue reading →

Writing and Other Sundry Projects for 2019

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So here we are, facing the new year again. If you’re anything like me, you’re looking back on the past year and seeing all the things you accomplished and all the things you didn’t.

2018 did not quite go as planned for me, although it was a good year and I’m thankful for everything that happened. My writing is what suffered the most last year, and I want 2019 to be different.

So here, in short, are some of my goals for this coming year: Continue reading →

An Imperfect Christmas Tree

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It’s been some time since I’ve blogged, and I’m rather frustrated at myself for that. For several years, I posted a new blog faithfully at least once a week, but this year I’ve become more and more sporadic with my writing and my posting. The reason for it isn’t important. I’ve been busy, I’ve been distracted, etc., etc. Whether my reasons are valid and reasonable, or just lazy excuses, also isn’t important – the upshot is that I’ve fallen behind on my writing goals for the year, and I’m feeling rather lousy about it.

This tree is far more lopsided than this picture shows.

I’m feeling unproductive, feeling like a fraud (I can’t be a writer if I don’t actually write), and generally wondering if even the little bit I have written this year was worth the time and effort. But something that helped me to get it all back into perspective was earlier this month when I put Christmas lights on the little crooked fir tree in my front yard. Continue reading →

What to Read While Writing

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So what do you read while you’re in the middle of a writing project? From my personal experience, and some research and reading of other blogs/articles on the topic, there seem to be several different schools of thought on this topic.

Read in your Genre

If you want to know what’s popular in the genre that you’re writing, then read some recent books. Learn about popular tropes, what current readers expect or enjoy out of that genre, average acceptable story length, and so on. After all, how can you expect to write a cozy mystery or a sword-and-sorcery tale if you’ve never read one (or a few) before? Continue reading →