I've just wrapped up my 15th story, which means I'm halfway through my 30 stories in 30 days challenge. Some stories, I think, have real promise. Or at least they will once I clean them up. Others aren't so great, but they have the seeds of something else. Still others are just plain awful. Technically,… Continue reading 30 Stories in 30 Days: At the Halfway Mark
30 Stories in 30 Days
I've been in a writing slump lately, and I've been struggling to kick my brain into gear. Writing is easy when you're inspired, but learning to write when you're not inspired can be one of the most important lessons to learn as an Early Career Writer. With that in mind, I've decided to follow some advice… Continue reading 30 Stories in 30 Days
Rejections
I have a funny relationship with rejection letters. I've gathered quite a few rejections over the last 12 months. Of course, in talking to some other writers on a writer's message board I visit, I know that my collection of letters is paltry. More experienced authors talk about getting hundreds in a single year. Still,… Continue reading Rejections
Not Quite an Acceptance, but…
Sometimes, in a sea of rejections, it's hard to keep my head up. I've spent the last year focusing on short stories because I find that the abbreviated length helps to spend my learning process. Still, I've yet to make that first professional sale. Each quarter for the last year, I've entered one of my… Continue reading Not Quite an Acceptance, but…
Talking about What I Write
I don't know why I find it so difficult to talk to others about what I write. Whenever the opportunity arises, the instinct to shift the subject off myself and back to the other person is nearly impossible to shake, even when it's clear that the other person genuinely wants to know more. There's an… Continue reading Talking about What I Write
World Building, Outlining, and Fixing What’s Broken
I'm a new enough writer that the idea of "do what works for you" makes my eyes go blank and my jaw start to sag. I don't know what works for me. Does flying by the seat of my pants (a.k.a. pantsing) work best? How about outlining? What kind of outlining? How detailed is too… Continue reading World Building, Outlining, and Fixing What’s Broken
A Look Back at 2015
What is it they say about resolutions? Resolutions are made to be broken? No actually, I've no idea what they say about resolutions or who exactly "they" are. I just know that in all my life, I've never once kept a New Year's resolution. Except for 2015. This was, apparently, a good year for goal… Continue reading A Look Back at 2015
It’s December. What Now?
I've spent the first week and a half of December twiddling my thumbs. I brainstormed a bit on a short story. Then I brainstormed a bit on this one novel I started in December of 2014, but struggled with. I'm still struggling with it. I just can't seem to make the stakes high enough. Then… Continue reading It’s December. What Now?
I Survived NaNoWriMo15
If you saw my twitter feed, you already know that I won NaNoWriMo by writing 50,000 words between November 1 and November 30, or about 1667 words daily.
What NaNoWriMo has Taught Me
2015 is my second year to participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Last year I won, and by win, I mean I managed to write 50,000 words in the month of November. For the mathematically inclined, that's 1667 words each day. 1667 words is a lot of words. And truly? Most of them are… Continue reading What NaNoWriMo has Taught Me
Molly Elizabeth Atkins 