What to Write About During a Crisis

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As I’m writing this post, the entire world is the midst of fighting the COVID19 pandemic. While every person, family, and community is impacted differently, we all are experiencing changes in our lives that we hadn’t planned for and hadn’t wished for.

With so many people stuck at home and/or out of work, many folks are taking up writing. And many full- and part-time writers are continuing to plug away at their projects, either writing more or less than before, depending on how their lifestyle has changed. Continue reading →

5 Pinterest Tips for Writers

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Everyone loves Pinterest, right? In case you didn’t know, Pinterest is a digital pin-board social media site where you can browse images and save your favorites to your own personalize boards. If you’re a writer, here are five great ways that you can use Pinterest to help with your writing.

Pin Pictures from your Blog or Website

Shameless plug for my newest book!

This is probably the most important one for increasing your online exposure and boosting traffic to your website. If you have pictures on your website and blog posts, then when people find those images on Pinterest, there will be the automatic link back to your website. Have you ever found a cool new website because you followed a link on a pin? Well, others can find your website the same way! Continue reading →

New Short Story! Roaring Twenties Fantasy Adventure!

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It’s been quite a while since I’ve published anything, though I’ve been getting more disciplined with my writing habits. I finished this short story months ago–even had it edited and revised and everything–but for some reason I just hadn’t pulled the trigger yet. Why are us writers and artists sometimes so reluctant to share our beautiful and finished projects with the world?

The answer to that is, I think, long and complicated and the subject for a different blog post. But anyway, I finally did click “upload” and “publish” on Amazon, so here we are: a brand new short story in my decopunk Roaring 20s historical fantasy series! I’m currently writing the first actual novel of this series, but this story should give readers a little more insight into my character and her world before the novel is ready. Click the link to buy and enjoy! Continue reading →

My Favorite Writerly Moments of 2019

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Instead of writing a new year’s post about my writing goals for the coming year, I decided to reflect for a moment about the year I just finished. On a non-writing front, 2019 was an odd year for me (mostly personal stuff), and I had some financial difficulties, but all in all it was a good year. I didn’t get nearly as much written as I’d planned at the beginning of the year, but even a little progress is good, so I’ve decided to focus on that. And so, on that note, here are some of my writerly highlights from the past year:

Favorite Book of 2019

Since the dieselpunk historical fantasy novel I’m writing has elements of a mystery story, I’ve started reading some mysteries. My favorite read was Silent Murders by Mary Miley, the second book in a mystery series set in the 1920s. I read the first book, as well, and enjoyed it, but the second book was the better of the two. I have the third book sitting on my book shelf, so I’ll be reading that this year. Continue reading →

My Favorite Christmas Books

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Christmas is my favorite holiday – it always has been. I love everything about it – whether it’s decorating the tree, wrapping gifts, or just eating candy canes. And reading Christmas books has always been part of the holiday for me. I know that I have read way more Christmas books than are listed here, but these are not only some of my favorites, but they’re also books that I still own.

My Christmas Treasury

I think this was my all-time favorite book (Christmas-themed or otherwise) when I was about five. I distinctly remember asking my mom or dad to read it to me Every. Single. Night. I’m sure they were sick of it, but I loved it. It’s a fun collection of Christmas stories, poems, and artwork, all Little Golden Book style. Continue reading →

The Right Way to Write

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So many blogs, books, and classes these days tell you how to write. Some offer craft of writing education, others (like mine), offer tips and ideas for genre-specific works. For example, I’ve offered advice from my own learning and writing experience about inventing fantasy words for your epic fantasy or sci-fi story, or researching for and writing historical fiction.

But a bigger, and perhaps more important, question is this: is there a right (and thusly, wrong) way to write? My answer is both yes and no.

First of all, in fiction writing, there are some basics that yes, you need to get right if you’re going to have a marketable (or even readable) book. Stuff like coherent plot, characters, and basic grammar and spelling really do matter. Studying writing crafts books, taking seminars from established writers, and just plain old reading well-written books are great ways to learn how to write right.

But what about the more abstract elements of writing “right”? Does that even mean? Continue reading →