Receiving feedback is often just as hard as a rejection. We send off our work to a friend, critique partner, beta reader, editor, and while we do these things for the constructive feedback these readers can impart, there is a large part of ourselves hoping for a gold star. “I found nothing wrong, it’s perfect!Continue reading “When Receiving Feedback Be Curious, Not Judgmental”
Category Archives: writing
Back to School = Back to Work…sort of
It’s back to school week here. Routines are filling the calendar. Our alarms are set way earlier. I can feel myself easing back into “real life.” To put a cherry on top, the weather this week is what we like to call around these parts ‘false fall.’ Just under 80, dry, cool mornings. Right now,Continue reading “Back to School = Back to Work…sort of”
3 Tips to Determine if Your Protagonist Has Agency
Tell me if you’ve ever been given this writing advice: Act 1: Get your character in a tree. Act 2: Throw rocks at them. Act 3: Get them out of the tree. Can I tell you a secret? I hate this advice. Not because it’s inherently wrong. In theory, it makes sense – you wantContinue reading “3 Tips to Determine if Your Protagonist Has Agency”
Summer Writing Routines
Writing in the summer can be easier for some (day job in a slow period, vacation time, longer days) and harder for others (kids at home, summer travel, different routines). My kids are both teenagers now and perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. In fact, they have their own schedules and activities and comeContinue reading “Summer Writing Routines”
Writer Confession
Can I be really honest for a second? I haven’t been writing lately. Other than here anyway. And that terrifies me. I am out on submission which is an exciting, stressful, boring, soul-baring, doubt monster awakening time. When I signed with my agent in December, I was at the start of my first revision passContinue reading “Writer Confession”
Writer Reset
2025 has been a lot so far. January I was underwater editing my book to go out on submission. February (and let’s be real, March, too) I had pneumonia. January, February and March are my kids’ busy months with their indoor percussion group with practices, competitions, and more. My oldest also played pit in hisContinue reading “Writer Reset”
My Word for 2025
Every year, I pick a word as a mental homebase. A reminder, a guide post, a mantra that keeps me on track. Last year’s word was mountain. And boy, was 2024 a climb. It wasn’t my most joyful year, though not my most sorrowful either. It was a year where I was anticipating a lotContinue reading “My Word for 2025”
Carving out time to say thanks🍁🥧
It’s Thanksgiving week and whether you are reading this while waiting on a flight or stuck in traffic somewhere (with someone else driving!) or taking a quick break between visits to the fridge for leftovers, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for allowing me to pop into your inbox each weekContinue reading “Carving out time to say thanks🍁🥧”
That time I coached my kid…
I am no athlete, so any coaching support for our children’s athletic endeavors was left to my husband who is an equal opportunity sports fanatic. So the opportunity to coach my kids has so far passed me by. Until this year. The year of the college application essay. The oldest insisted he was fine. HeContinue reading “That time I coached my kid…”
Avoiding Rookie Writing Mistakes
Rookie mistakes. We all make them. Mine? Writing a novel without ever studying structure. Surely this was something I’d just know by osmosis from all that reading and those English classes I took. Wrong. Turns out, I hadn’t a clue. I came close. Maybe even serviceably close. But I didn’t know a lot and itContinue reading “Avoiding Rookie Writing Mistakes”