Writers, and all creatives really, are subject to tremendous self-doubt. One minute you’re high as a kite, feeling like your words will delight and inspire the world, and the next minute like they need to be ground to a fine dust and flushed down the toilet. So it was both validating and humbling to beContinue reading “Digging Back In!”
Tag Archives: Creativity
Taking the Leap!
I’ve been so busy this spring doing a major overhaul on my middle grade sci-fi novel. I changed the point of view from 1st to 3rd, fleshed out the characters, fixed overall plot structure, and made the ending so much better. I’ve been getting feedback as well, and doing lots of revision based on that.Continue reading “Taking the Leap!”
Picture Book Party
I LOVE trying new things, especially when it comes to writing. But with all the middle grade projects I’ve been working on, the last thing I needed was a whole new audience to write for. At least that’s what I kept telling myself every time the thought of writing picture books peeked around the corner.Continue reading “Picture Book Party”
A Little Detour
I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels the word “pandemic” is almost unreal, the stuff of the distant past or post-apocalyptic novels. And although real pandemics are sprinkled throughout history with a macabre regularity, even the more recent outbreak of H1N1 with over 12,000 U.S. deaths in the first year did nothing toContinue reading “A Little Detour”
The Best Birthday Present
Today may be my birthday, but this weekend I gave myself the best present ever. I finished my first novel! It came to a grand tally of 71,194 words, and an additional 10k words of research, pre-writing and character development. That’s about 325 pages! Actually when I say I gave myself this marathon of wordsContinue reading “The Best Birthday Present”
Out of Hibernation
After the intense focus on writing for November, it was a beautiful thing to switch it up for December and focus only on family, Christmas, and lots of good food. But, now it’s January, the decorations have been put away, my guests have gone home, and this week the kids are back to school. TimeContinue reading “Out of Hibernation”
First Time NaNoWriMo Winner!
I just won NaNo! What’s that you say? Why yes, it is the very last day of the month, but that’s not what counts. What matters is that I set this goal to write 50,000 words in one month, and I did it! My local writing group knows I love to start new stories. I’mContinue reading “First Time NaNoWriMo Winner!”
All the Feels
Something that has surprised me during this NaNo experience is how emotional writing a novel can be. Sure, I’ve poured my heart into my writing before. I know the power of words. But never before have I been with the same characters for 47,000 words. All in the last four weeks I’ve laughed with them,Continue reading “All the Feels”
A War of Words
Two weeks in to this challenge, and I just hit 25,000 words. The first week was exhilarating, the second week was grueling, but I am right on schedule. On Saturday my region had a large “Midway Write-In” event. It was fun to write alongside others on the same journey. I experienced my first “Word Wars”Continue reading “A War of Words”
Breaking through the Barriers
I was really struggling getting all my words written today. Since it’s my first attempt at writing a novel, doubts come at me all the time that I can even accomplish this goal. This morning I told my husband that maybe I just know how to spin out the beginning of a story, not bringContinue reading “Breaking through the Barriers”
Sarah Lynne John 