Back from NY and back to the manuscript

I'm back and, oh! I took so many notes at the New York winter conference. They're all illegible in gibberish, but hopefully the important bits are rooted in my subconscious and closer to the surface when I need them. I loved every second of being there. If you are interested in the SCBWI and areContinue reading "Back from NY and back to the manuscript"

Week Four of 90 Day Novel

I can't believe it's been a month since I started; It feels like a week. But nonetheless, I have been doing my best to stay excited. I say this because there are times I feel like I'm ready to stop all this introspection and write the story itself. But then I have to remind myselfContinue reading "Week Four of 90 Day Novel"

Week three of the 90-Day Novel

So, full disclosure, I am not attacking the prompts as hard this week. My brain space is already packing for the SCBWI conference in NY, worrying about weather related flight cancelations, where the best restaurants are and what Broadway show to see while we are there. It has become increasingly difficult to focus on poorContinue reading "Week three of the 90-Day Novel"

Week two of The 90-Day Novel

This entry is an example of why I am struggling to follow Al's wonderful advise in his book, The 90-Day-Novel.  He instructs us to spend five minutes answering the five or so questions for that day (so about a minute per question), then spend 90 minutes giving thought to the outlines structure, then 30 minutesContinue reading "Week two of The 90-Day Novel"

WOOP Grant

I’m thrilled to share that the opening chapters of DAMNATION have qualified for the WOOP Grant! This grant, offered to regional members of the global children’s writers and illustrators society SCBWI, must be used to further the creation of my manuscript—a challenge I’m more than ready to tackle. To push myself even harder, I’ve pickedContinue reading "WOOP Grant"

Emoji Story Starter

Remember when emojis were a new tool for communicating? Maybe you don't, but I was around when the dinosaurs died off and cell phones were the new toys. When we were given the ability to express ourselves with pictographs, I had this brilliant idea of writing an originally styled story. I never did anything aboutContinue reading "Emoji Story Starter"

Story Idea: Raising Humans

They say ideas are a dime a dozen, but they also say that if you don't use your ideas The Muse will stop providing them. So I'm writing my overflow ideas here, and maybe one day I'll use them. Or maybe you will. Or maybe we all will. I'm not worried about that happening, inContinue reading "Story Idea: Raising Humans"

Trying To Wake Up The Writer

After staring at nothing for 15 minutes, my mind is worried about the condition of the houseplants and did I buy any bleach this week? I should just go check real quick…

Kant’s Thought Experiment (writers learning about their characters)

Today I want to talk super quick about Kant’s Axe, also known as the Inquiring Murderer.   Immanuel Kant believes that all moral judgments should be rationally supported: He is a moral absolutist: what is right is right, and what is wrong is wrong. There is no need to debate the scenario, because right and wrongContinue reading "Kant’s Thought Experiment (writers learning about their characters)"

A Vomitous Valentine’s

It was only two hours until my husband got home, I was out of the shower, pinning up my hair, and pulling something pretty from my closet. Hello Valentine's day! I’m thinking, I’m going to look sooo good while making a nice steak dinner.   15 minutes later, my hair’s not finished setting but I haveContinue reading "A Vomitous Valentine’s"