• Writing

    Writing for Passion

    I started writing stories because I loved writing stories. It’s the way many people start in this field. I loved the world I had begun creating. I could get lost in it. Until I got lost in something else. In the past year I found myself not wanting to write as much, avoiding it almost. Writing wasn’t for me anymore, it wasn’t for the world or for the fun of it, it was because I had to write. Because I wanted this to be my job and I was running out of time before my kids were school aged and all of a sudden all of this pressure was cascading…

  • Editing

    Tautology

    Noun. The saying of the same thing twice in different words. Dictionary.com I was some editing stuff and I wanted to get a few pages in, but I was hid hard and heavy with the word tautology and the example her own. There was no way I did this in my writing, right? WRONG. A quick search and I had seven (in 20k words). I had just gotten used to the problem of using just too much, and using too many ellipses (…). Alas, I want to be a better writer, so here we go – down tautology lane. What are some key ones you can add to your round…

  • Character Development

    Origin | Nell

    It began in 2013, with a drawing. Or maybe it began long before that – when a young girl (about 7 years old) heard, “I will always buy you all the books you want,” I found my way to the mythology section. I had discovered a new type of heaven. I filled my basket with a variety – Irish, Scottish, Welsh, English, Classic…Some were new books, some were used. In the end, my basket was so heavy it grazed the floor as I lugged it to the front of the store, stopping every few steps. I made it, and my mom did not look thrilled. The price rang up over…

  • Writing

    On Drafts

    It’s just a draft, I remind myself. Again and again. It’s just a draft. It’s not supposed to be good, or perfect. I know that. Everyone knows the first draft isn’t built to be what you present the world. Maybe it’s good, maybe it needs to be entirely redone. I’ve been dueling a new side to this – I have a polished advanced copy of Blue Note that I’ve been using as a mouse pad for the past week, and I have the roughest of drafts for The Last Salamander on my screen. I want perfect words to flow from my fingers, but TLS is still being molded into whatever…

  • Writing

    On Passion

    So you’ve found passion. Why don’t you feel amazing all the time? Why is it hard? Now what? (if you just want the highlights, scroll to the list at the end) Passion is impatient. It’s relentless, and it’s angry, and it’s excited. Passion is 6 am and my mind is awake, and 12am and my mind won’t shut down. It’s knowing every hour as 0900, 9AM, 12PM at Krissy’s or 1600, 4PM, 7PM. Automatic. It’s sore hands and a mental exhaustion like you can’t imagine. Passion is amazing. I am so blessed to have passion. I am grateful. I am thankful. I begged myself to find passion for years. I…