Most of us have heard the saying, “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.” What this quotation is getting at is that a person who has dabbled in several different fields hasn’t become renowned for their expertise in one particular skill, but instead understands…
Renew Your Enthusiasm
In a perfect world, we as writers would start new projects full of excitement, cruise through the writing process enjoying every second, and finish our first draft full of fire to begin the rewriting. But the world’s not perfect, and that’s almost never what the writing process looks like. In reality, we spend a fair…
Don’t Quit On Yourself
I had a heck of a time convincing myself to do my workout today. I just needed an hour of purposeful movement to tick off the box in my to-do list, and I felt so grumpy and disinterested that none of my options sounded like fun. But I dragged myself into the gym, and within…
Use Variety for Productivity
As a wise person once said, variety is the spice of life. If we woke up every day and did the same things, had the same experiences, and felt the same emotions, everything would get pretty dang boring, pretty dang quickly. When it comes to writing, the same principle holds true. You can’t do the…
Lessons Learned from Draft Three
You know the best part of my writing mistakes and the lessons that I have to learn the hard way? You get to read my blog posts and learn them the easy way! Why make all the mistakes if I’ve already made them for you and am willing to spread the knowledge? Gatekeeping is for…
You Need a Change of Scenery
I am a creature of habit. And establishing your writing space and creating work rhythms can help you immensely as a writer. But if you have an established routine that’s been working for you, and you’re starting to feel restless or bored, then it might be time to deliberately break your routine to get your…
My Rewriting Process (Part 2)
I am having the most fun on draft three of the A Landscape of Shadows sequel. I’ve said goodbye to a few storylines and a handful of scenes that I was slightly sad to see go, but once I get into the rhythm of deletion, it takes on a life of its own. There were…
A Little Encouragement
It’s so easy to get caught up in comparing ourselves to other writers. Sometimes, it feels like everyone else writes faster than you, writes better than you, markets better, has better sales, has better beta readers, and on and on. You might feel frustrated that you’re “behind” in an imagined race to be the most…
My Revision Process
I’ve been using the same revision process for my books since I was around sixteen years old. It’s simple, straightforward, and always helps me feel in control of the project, no matter how long, short, simple, or complicated the book. I’ve used it successfully enough times that now, in the throes of revision, with no…
How to Push Your Limits
When you’re trying something new, when you’re learning a new skill, when you’re pushing for a goal that you’ve never chased before – it’s not supposed to be easy all the time. It’s difficult to reach new heights if you never push yourself beyond what you’ve already proven yourself capable of. If you’ve started a…