One Last Petal

Let's talk about scheduling. I know, I know, it sounds terrifying. But remember that massive goal of 50,000 words you set yourself? You're going to need help. If you don't have a job or school, then awesome, maybe you will have time to sit and write all day, but a lot of us don't. And are you being efficient, sitting there all day? How much time are you wasting on social media and "research"? Let's face it - having a schedule is going to help. Trust me. Set yourself a specific time to do nothing but write. No chores, no phone calls, no Facebook, no research. Just write. Every time you think of something else that needs doing, make a note of it and do those after. Make lovely big notes to yourself in your writing about things you want to edit or research later. But keep writing. Your time is precious, make it count. Why? Because we all know how easy it is to put things off. "Oh, I just need to do one more load of laundry before I write." ...

October basically serves one purpose - preparation for NaNoWriMo . There are a lot of different theories out there for what needs to be done before one delves body, mind, and soul into November. Planners, those who like to have detailed outlines at hand before they start writing, spend October working on those. Pansters, writers who fly by the seat of their pants, allowing their plot to be tossed about by every wind of virtue, spend October catching up on sleep and TV shows. Plantsers, those like myself who are a mix of both, do some pre-planning, but allow for the story to wend where it will. Whatever category you are in, it's always good to take care of a few things before November strikes and you have no time for anything else. Here are a few things I like to do: Tell family and friends that I'm doing NaNo . This has a two-fold purpose: Accountability, and they already expect it when I say "no" to the countless invites as the holidays approach. Speaking of...

Lately I've been trying to find more books in my genre, the genre I hope to someday be published in. I have a tendency to read historical, classics, even the occasional fantasy book. None of which are overly helpful in showing me what sort of elements are key components in mystery/action books. I've read a few recently that I've enjoyed - The first Jack Reacher novel, which is no surprise, as well as a spin-off novel by Diane Capri. However, today, I'm going to talk about things I've learned from a book I didn't  enjoy as much: The Bricklayer by Noah Boyd. This was set up with lots of promise: Noah Boyd was once an FBI agent, so he had working knowledge of what he was writing about, the jacket blurb sounded really interesting, and Lee Child wrote a commendation for the cover. I enjoyed the story: ex-FBI agent brought in to work behind the scenes to help catch a group of murderers/extortionist. It was fast paced, had moments of humor, and the right number of...

Hello all!  First of all, I'd like to apologize for my unannounced hiatus. Life suddenly got very busy, and instead of trying to fit in a few scattered posts, I opted to just take the summer off and enjoy the adventures. (Hint: they involved princes, fancy dresses, friends, cuddly things, and even a trip across an ocean!) I'll fill you in more about that all later, but for now, we need to address that most important events that is already breathing down our necks: NaNoWriMo.  If you don't know what that is, go check it out  here . Basically, it's a world-wide challenge to write 50,000 words in the month of November. It's all about getting your  story out, without fear or inhibitions. I encourage you to try. Even if you only get 5000 words or 5, it's still a start. And I believe in you.  This year's theme is Space, and as soon as I saw that I got a brilliant idea: Why not write a space-themed story? I've been playing around with my usual cast of cha...