It’s been a while, but I’m back with the annual nanowrimo update! As usual, I didn’t do the normal nano, but instead of (light-heartedly) calling it a failure, this year, I’m embracing the “nano rebel” label. Though I intended to step back from blog posts this year, I hadn’t intended to go quite so long …
Tag: authorlife
How to Sew a Simple Fabric Bookmark
I bought my first (and only) sewing machine on a whim. It was a Black Friday deal on Amazon in 2015. I’d always wanted to be able to sew, and my mom had helped me make a few things in the past, but really, it was wishful thinking. I had no immediate plans to sew …
The Writing Process: The Beta Draft
It’s amazing how much lighter I feel now that I’ve got my beta draft finished and out to beta readers. I can focus on plotting and writing, which are much more fun than editing. In addition to feeling happy and relieved, I also feel anxious. What if I screwed this book up big time? What …
August Motivation: Commit Every Day
There are many in the writing community that crank out thousands of words an hour, edit a book in a week, and publish a book every month or two. That is not my production model, and that’s okay. Maybe one day I’ll hit that stride, but for now, all I can do is improve my …
The Writing Process: Editing a Draft, Part 2
The editing saga continues. If you’re interested in Part 1, here it is. This post will make sense as a stand alone, though, so don’t feel obligated. My next step in editing is something I learned from Liz Hayes, the organizer of my writing group, The Hourlings. This has been one of the most amazing …
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Productivity: How to Utilize Those Spare Moments
People talk about completing tasks or learning new skills “when they have time.” I am a firm believer in making the time for things that matter. It’s easy to complete passive activities, like watching Netflix, and it’s important to plan for down time, like reading a book or scrolling through Instagram, but if you’re like …
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The Writing Process: Drafting with POV Chapters
Last week, I didn’t write a post. It was the end of the school year, I had some family stuff going on, and all of my spare writing moments were put into working on the rough draft of The Island Experiment, Book 3 in The Kepos Chronicles. It was absolutely worth it, because I finished …
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2019 Writing Goals: The June Check In
With five months behind me, I thought it would be a good time to go back and look at my goals from January to see how things are going, and if I need to make any adjustments. It might make more sense to do this in July, half way through the year, but I'm a …
May Motivation: Where are you stuck?
People say that you don’t need motivation, you need discipline. I agree with this sentiment one hundred percent. At the same time, sometimes we get stuck, or feel down, and what we need is a little inspiration to lift us up so that we can recommit to being disciplined. So if you’re in need …
Resources for Plotting and Outlining a Series
As I get closer to the end of The Island Experiment, Book 3 in The Kepos Chronicles, I’ve been thinking more about the next series I want to write, so I figured I should start improving my outlining process. I want to avoid some of the issues that I’ve faced with this series as a …
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Erica Rue 