Update on Last Quarter: Winter was a bit of a toughie, but I did pretty well on my quarterly goals. There were a few slip ups, to be sure—I canned nothing, revised only one short story, and my blogging fell by the wayside when my mood disorder flared up—but I still ticked most of theContinue reading “Quarterly Goals: Spring 2017”
Tag Archives: Writing
Advice for Camp NaNoWriMo
Because I am a glutton for punishment, I am participating in this April’s Camp NaNoWriMo. Although I write every day throughout the year, I enjoy the sense of community and cocksureness that comes with a NaNoWriMo marathon. I go in every year for the November event and over the past couple of years I’ve triedContinue reading “Advice for Camp NaNoWriMo”
Making 2017 the Year of Rejections
“I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.” ― Sylvia Plath Rejection has been on my mind a lot lately. First there was this article by Kim Liao where she suggests that new writers aim for 100 rejections a year. There were the podcasts by Mur Lafferty wherein she talks about rejection as an inevitable, evenContinue reading “Making 2017 the Year of Rejections”
NaNoWriMo 2016: Post-mortem
Phew. Well, that was one hell of a ride. My ninth National Novel Writing Month turned out to be a doozy. My initial rebellious streak was quickly quashed, and I found myself reconsidering whether or not NaNoWriMo was indeed the right forum for me to try something as ambitious as marathon revisions – it certainlyContinue reading “NaNoWriMo 2016: Post-mortem”
Organising the Writer’s Notebook: the Index (or Table of Contents)
I love writing longhand. There’s something deeply satisfying about filling up a blank page with words. Stuffing a notebook to the brim is better than chocolate, and I have dozens of the things, fat with ink, lining shelves and stacked in corners throughout my home. I also rarely write in order – a character sketchContinue reading “Organising the Writer’s Notebook: the Index (or Table of Contents)”
NaNoWriMo Prep 2016
I’ve participated in National Novel Writing Month every year for the past eight years (and met the target goal four of those years). I love the sense of camaraderie and good spirit associated with the event, and the feeling of accomplishment for having met my goal has always been worth the strenuous daily word counts.Continue reading “NaNoWriMo Prep 2016”
Writing Playlists: October Edition
I like to listen to instrumental music while I write – most often something that fits the mood of the story I’m working on and gets me immersed in the scene. This autumn I’m doubly steeped in spooky as I prepare for Halloween and work on revisions for my supernatural murder mystery novel, Steep. Here areContinue reading “Writing Playlists: October Edition”
Quarterly Goals: Fall 2016
Autumn is my favourite season: sweaters and socks are once again an option, the air smells like woodsmoke and leaf mould. I can turn off the AC and turn open the windows, and drink as many hot beverages as I like; things are good. This fall is my first using the quarterly goals system andContinue reading “Quarterly Goals: Fall 2016”
Getting the Work Done: Tools to Fight Procrastination
I am one of the world’s best procrastinators. Admittedly this is a difficult thing to measure as most people are pretty private about their failures and procrastination is, by and large, failing – failing to start, failing to make progress, failing to finish, failing to act – but if ten thousand hours is theContinue reading “Getting the Work Done: Tools to Fight Procrastination”
Sydney More 