Thus Far

I’ve been working on something new this month (well, last month technically). I randomly came across this contest called “ Objects in Motion ,” the object being to write a short story where the characters are in motion for the entire time. I didn’t have any old ideas that would fit, so I just sat down with the prompt one afternoon -- and about 1,000 words poured out of me. A whole new story with bright shiny characters and vibrant conflict, fully ready to welcome me into their emotional lives. I’m not sure what will become of this venture, but the beginning of the story is in the hands of contest judges and the rest of it lives rent-free in my head. I’ve mentally plotted out a novel-length story, with a fair idea of where it could go and a few different versions of how it might end. I don’t know when I’ll be able to tackle this one; it’s a much different genre than my normal YA fare and I’ve already got two novels and a novella clamoring for my upcoming attention. Maybe it can take...

 Lately, I’ve been watching a lot of Abbie Emmons' videos , and one of the main things I’ve heard her talk about is why people engage with stories and what makes them matter. One of her claims (and this was likely hyperbole, so I’m not taking it fully literally) is that people don’t really care about the storyworld or gorgeous writing or anything extra like that, rather they come to a story to experience the characters and their internal conflict . To a certain extent, I think this is true. I mean, I definitely come to stories for the characters. Everything else can be chef’s-kiss wonderful, but if I don’t care about the protagonist, I’m going to knock off at least one star from the review. Vice versa, there can be any number of iffy sections with the writing and I might not even know what the what was the plot, but if I fell head over heels for the characters’ journeys, they’ll go on my favorites list till the end of time. So, while this statement is certainly true for me, I’m...

I wrote last fall about how I was starting over from the beginning, to learn to write again . I’d been writing seriously for almost 10 years, but my career didn’t reflect that. A lot of things had happened during that decade, from the personal to the global and back again, that had set me back and hindered my idea of success; I remember feeling that the only way I could move consistently forward was to start over and learn to write again from the very beginning. I thought it would be poetic, less actual learning , more just putting in daily practice, letting the words flow and the manuscripts form in a less-stress way. Perhaps, after a few months, I might even emerge with a masterpiece. But as I went back to study writing blogs and videos like I used to, I found that, despite the many things I do know about writing good characters, recognizing a strong plot, and the nuts and bolts of writing well, there is still so much I don’t know . Still so much I’ve been doing badly even, that...

I actually didn't read these books back-to-back on purpose. The similarity in the titles just kind of happened.  Another gorgeous cover! Summary : Despite the painful monotony of living on a poor planet, Vika's life has always held a spice of mystery: an unknown benefactor periodically popping up, offering gifts from ice cream in first-grade to a first-class education. But lately those gifts have stopped coming, and Vika has almost resigned herself to a dreamless life. Until the benefactor suddenly returns--dead. But his will holds a proposition that could change her life forever: if she agrees to marry his son, she will receive a fortune and could finally live the life of her dreams. The catch: others in the billionaire's will are being targeted, and if Vika can't discover the culprit, she may not escape her old life alive. What I Loved: My favorite parts of this book were the mystery and the romance. I’ve read one other one by this author and the suspenseful parts of ...

  That... cover... though *squealing* What I Loved: My favorite thing about this one was just the overall feel of the book. The writing, the themes, the characters, it just produces this pure, comforting feeling without being too sappy or cheesy. There’s a good balance of honestly showing the emotions of that age and that kind of change, while keeping the reader grounded in the real life so you don’t get swept away in something that feels too dramatic. Norvia’s problems begin, for the most part, outside of her control (which is extremely relatable at any age or time); but it’s her processing of these changes and her reactions to them that the story really focuses on. Even though, I could kinda see where most of it was going, there was still something very sweet about walking with Norvia through those changes. It made sense, how she felt and how she acted, and I rooted for her to find happiness again and peace in herself before the end.   What I Learned: Like I said, ...

  I’m trying something new with my latest project, The Second Prince. Having never been a plotter and having never rewritten a whole draft from scratch… I’m going to do both with this manuscript.   via GIPHY Thanks, Obi One of the new-to-me pieces in the plot template I’m using is to get to know the character before you even begin to write. This may seem obvious to other writers, but for me, I always just got a one- or two-sentence idea for a person and just ran with it. With this method, however, I’m taking a lot more time with the characters before I dive into (re)writing their story. I have to research them in my mind, so to speak, brainstorming their past, their fears, their lies, their desires, all the deepest nuances that shape them as people and will shape their actions throughout the story. It’s been fun, in a way, because characters are always my favorite part of the writing process. But figuring it out before the writing is also very difficult for me. Now that I...

I’ve seen much conflict over such seemingly simple writing advice: that you should write what you know. As a fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian girl (when I started writing), I worked mostly on things that I had made up entirely in my head, so it didn’t seem to apply to me one way or the other. However, as I’ve gotten older and I desire to do more than simply write a story , but also to use such stories to explore larger topics and themes, I’ve seen life throw me situations that make me wonder about this advice. In my first WIP, Low Expectations, a major theme in the tipping point is faith through impossible circumstances. These past few years, I (and the rest of the world) have had to walk through a million different hurdles and hurts that have strained my spirit and stretched my beliefs. The WIP I’m outlining, The Second Prince , is going to be thick with grief. Before starting this story, I hadn’t experienced much loss in my life; yet, suddenly, I find myself grieving many things: long-he...