Well, I did say I normally hit a slump right around week two and I wasn't wrong. However, my Pinterest/Reading/Netflix plan did work! I took several hours off yesterday doing other things and in the evening I was able to get words on the page. This isn't to say that this process will work for… Continue reading Week 2 – Camp Nano 2021
Tag: Writing
Camp Nano 2021
Entering the world of Bright, where supernatural creatures live amongst us and steam engines rule! I hit my daily word goal before lunchtime, so I am feeling great. Though I do admit that whenever I do a National Novel Writing Month, the first week or so is always awesome. Midway through the second week, my… Continue reading Camp Nano 2021
Looking Back
Looking back at the works I've written, I see stories that missed the mark because I did not have a handle on my craft. I see characters who were not fleshed out well enough, and scenes that never grounded the reader inside them, allowing them to experience it. I see fragments that make more sense… Continue reading Looking Back
Killing Darlings
I'm not certain who first coined the phrase that writers must "kill their darlings" but I find myself staring down the barrel of my proverbial gun today. With my shelter book finally completed - yes, that only took me all of COVID and then some to finish - I am on to the next project!… Continue reading Killing Darlings
The Courage It Takes
Writing is not for the faint of heart. When I started this whole writing thing, I was a child who thought it was great fun. One assignment from a teacher in the sixth grade opened the world of fiction to me and I played around with all the fantasy, making shallow stories that grazed through… Continue reading The Courage It Takes
NaNoWriMo 2020
Here we are, nearing the end of the craziness that is 2020, and I honestly didn't think I would commit to writing for National Novel Writing Month. For one, I have kid doing remote learning, which is 120% more challenging than I imagined it would be. I cannot count the number of times I have… Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2020
Casting the Book
Recently I began reading a new book from one of my favorite authors. I had been looking forward to this book because it was revisiting 1800's London and the author had done a beautiful job describing that time period. I also love the fantastical elements of the world she created. Urban fantasy is fascinating to… Continue reading Casting the Book
Chagrin – Tempering the Writer
A while back I finished my 3rd and I'd hoped final revision of Song of Bones/Melody of Bones/that dragon story I always wanted to write but kept putting off. My stubborn brain insisted it was complete, that I had told the story the best way I knew how, and that it was time to set… Continue reading Chagrin – Tempering the Writer
Embracing the Super-Soldier Cliche
From Achilles to Captain America, Perseus to Luke Skywalker, our stories have been saturated with soldier heroes. We play them in our video games, we read them in science fiction; super soldiers who have the strength to fight when others fall behind. AVAILABLE September 8, 2020 We love them because they fill us with hope.… Continue reading Embracing the Super-Soldier Cliche
Researching the Galaxy
https://www.iau.org/public/themes/pluto/ When I first started the Tapped series, I made the conscious decision that I didn't want to set my science fiction in "a galaxy far, far away" with planets we only just now are discovering. While doing that may have afforded me a little more freedom in writing those planets, imagining what they might… Continue reading Researching the Galaxy
AJMaguire 