My productivity this month has been good but not great. I took a week off to visit my brother’s family in El Paso. The desert climate and the company of loved ones thoroughly reenergized me. But on returning to Seattle, the gray, autumn-like weather dampened that. Still I’m chugging along, albeit a little slower than … Continue reading Writing Update – September 2021
Announcement: My 1st Print Acceptance!
While in El Paso last week visiting family, I received an email from Ghost Orchid Press about a story I submitted a while back (you may remember me mentioning it here). I opened it with my mother, expecting another rejection slip to add to my collection. That was not the case. My eyes alighted on … Continue reading Announcement: My 1st Print Acceptance!
10 Favorite Writing Tips
My writing library When searching the Internet for writing advice, you’ll come across a lot of the same information. These are the basics: avoid adverbs, use an active voice, utilize all five senses, etc. And while these are important tips (I don’t like to use the word “rules”), there is so much more out there. … Continue reading 10 Favorite Writing Tips
Writing Update – August 2021
In last month’s update, I lamented how each month I seem to abandon a writing project in favor of a new one. Well, I’m proud to admit I’m still working on the same novel from last month. I’m passionate about this project—in a way I haven’t been in a long time. I still haven’t come … Continue reading Writing Update – August 2021
Writing Update – July 2021
All month I’ve noticed a lack of inspiration and a decline in the quality of my writing. I’m still fulfilling my promise to myself to write a short story each week, but I’ve been unimpressed with the results. At first, I thought that it was me, that I was failure as a writer, that I … Continue reading Writing Update – July 2021
Writing Update – June 2021
It’s Horror Month! A holiday I invented to encourage myself to consume more of the genre. It's been a blast! I’ve only read horror novels and stories, only watched horror films, and dedicated my writing to the spooky and the macabre (including an essay I wrote about Why I Love Horror). Short Stories Since last … Continue reading Writing Update – June 2021
Why I Love Horror
Many of the horror writers I know have been fans of the genre for as long as they can remember. They were transfixed by old horror movies as children, found pleasure in the Goosebumps books of R.L. Stine (depending on their generation), and loved Halloween more than any other holiday. I, however, was not this … Continue reading Why I Love Horror
Writing Update – May 2021
In last month’s update, I mentioned being stuck on my WIP’s outline. I was hoping this month I could announce that my inspiration had returned. Alas, that is not the case. The problem was not so much my concentration as it was a not-fully-thought-out premise. It seems I took the egg out of the incubator … Continue reading Writing Update – May 2021
My First Novel
One of the dozens of maps I made for my first novel, circa 2005 I was going through the dozens of notebooks in my closet—some twenty years old—when I came across notes from my very first novel, a fantasy “epic” entitled Thalamus the Great. The nostalgia overwhelmed me and I started rooting through my old … Continue reading My First Novel
Writing Update – April 2021
You can find March’s update here. The first half of April was a productive time for my writing. It started with a week off from Babou 691—Spring Break, if you will. I dove into the outlining process. My goal was to turn my premise into a plot by the end of the week. Unfortunately, even … Continue reading Writing Update – April 2021
