Tag: writing

  • Writing Through (and Despite?) the Chaos

    The human condition is a flawed one indeed. The past year or so has made that painfully, excruciatingly obvious. And I gotta tell you, there have been many times I’ve wondered not just why I continue writing stories of love and hope and triumph but whether I even should, because it feels so…trivial sometimes. Never…

  • Why I Ditched My Long-term Goals (and simplified my life)

    We’ve all heard the expert advice: if you truly want to get ahead in life, you have to have goals. Long-term ones. Goals that you write down, spend time visualizing, and have a plan for working towards. And then there’s me. I’ve tried the goal-setting thing. I really have. Time after time, year after year,…

  • Paying it Forward as an Author

    We all know how hard it is to get started in this publishing gig. Sure, there are those overnight success stories we’ve all heard (and secretly wished for), but let’s face it…in the massively big picture of our industry, those stories are rare at best. So what’s a writer to do? Here’s what I think.…

  • Feng Shui Your Way to More Words

    I’ve been in a rut. Not because I didn’t have things to do (believe me, I don’t expect a shortage in that department during my entire lifetime!), but because I just didn’t seem to be able to get myself focused on doing any of them. I’d created goals and to-do lists. I’d implemented schedules and refined my…

  • After the holidays: Climbing back into the writing saddle

    I don’t often take a break from a work-in-progress these days, because with my characters living (and speaking) inside my head 24/7, there doesn’t seem to be much point. When I do take a vacation, however, getting back into my story can be a challenge. Depending on how long my break has been, I’m sometimes…

  • The Devil Is In the Details (Along With the Angels)

    This post first appeared at Smash Attack Reads back in January. When Ash, the blog host there, asked me to write about my world-building process, I wanted to provide a serious, thoughtful answer. And I tried. Really I did. Remember that as you read this, okay? Because the truth is, most of the world-building for…

  • Social Media & Marketing Tips for Writers

    Whether you’re learning the craft,  looking for publishing how-tos, building your platform (or learning what that is), or trying to improve your online marketing skills, you can find a lot of resources on the Internet to help you along. My blog has never been geared towards becoming such a resource, but as I’ve grown as a…

  • Required Immediately: Kick-Ass Heroine For Starring Role in Urban Fantasy Fiction

    (This post originally appeared on Fade Into Fantasy) Job Description: Taking the lead female role in urban fantasy novels as required, you will provide critical opposition to various dark forces including but not limited to: werewolves, demons, vampires, fae, shapeshifters and other paranormal/supernatural types. This exciting position is directly responsible for ensuring that the good…

  • The Unputdownable Book

    We all have them on our bookshelves. Those special books that grabbed us and pulled us headlong into their worlds, that touched us in unexpected ways, that refused to release us even after we had finished them…books that made us go when we finished them, because we just weren’t ready to leave the worlds they’d…

  • Reprieve!!

    My editor is an awesome person. In fact, at 7:30 last night, she was officially my favourite person in the world. Why such gushing on my part? You may recall that my deadline for Sins of the Lost was the end of March (well, it was actually the end of February, but I was given…