Writers' Chasm

When you spend eight (or more) hours at the office, it can be hard to come home, plant yourself behind another computer, and work on a book. There's family to spend time with, errands to run, movies and TV to watch, and sleep to enjoy. Here are five tips on how to make a book happen, without quitting your day job: 1. Write when you can If you're an early bird, wake up half an hour early in the morning, just to write. Bring your laptop or a printed copy into work and write during your lunch break. Set aside an hour or even half an hour in the evening when you get home. This is my preferred writing time. Sometimes it happens later than others but as long as I'm sitting at the computer, I always try to get my words in. 2. Make your word/page count goals easily achievable  If you use word count goals to motivate yourself to write, make these easy to achieve. I shoot for 250 words on work nights and busy weekends, and 1,000 words on days when I have more time. It's ni...

Can someone please explain to me how it can possibly be October 1 already? Wasn't New Year's, like, last week? What I'm Reading:  I just finished The Pros of Cons by Alison Cherry, Lindsay Ribar, and Michelle Shusterman. It was a super sweet read with some A+ female friendships, diverse love interests, and a healthy dose of fandom fun. Now I'm reading When I Am Through With You by Stephanie Kuehn. What I'm Writing:  I'm currently in the process of writing a new project--my first since I wrote LP in college. It's YA fantasy told from a dual perspective set in the same world as LP. The two characters are polar opposites and I love both of them very much. I'm a little over 20k into the first draft and very excited about it. What I'm Listening to:  One of the perks of my job is that I get to listen to podcasts all day. I recently finished Wolf-359 and highly, highly recommend it to anyone that wants a sci-fi serial podcast with a great plot, ...

It's been almost ten years since I started this blog. My first post was back in January 2009. I can say a lot has changed since then. I graduated high school and college with my bachelor's degree. I moved out of my tiny hometown and into the city. I accepted my first full-time job.  Back in those days of 2009, I met a girl. Two months ago, she became my wife. Other things haven't changed. I'm still writing and still pursuing publication, although I can say I'm a lot more knowledgeable about both now than I was nine years ago. I'm still riding horses. Tamora Pierce and Rick Riordan are still two of my favorite authors. I've been listening to a lot of podcasts for writers lately and it's made me miss blogging. I know the writer blogosphere isn't as well-populated as it once was but it's one of my favorite platforms and I've decided to try--for real, not like I say I'm going to every New Year--blogging again. I'll be shooting...

This blog has become a bit of a New Year's resolution of mine. I swear that I'm going to start blogging again, make a post or two, and then disappear off into the ether. I'm not going to make a resolution this year. I'm just going to start blogging again. I'm neck-deep in revisions for an entirely new book that I love very much. I have two jobs and a third volunteer position. Last year my only post was about Hamilton and I have to say my obsession has not gone away in the intervening months. Although now I can say all the words to "Guns and Ships" without (mostly) getting tongue-tied. I'm not reading as much as I should be and really trying to work on that. I can say 2016 was a dumpster fire of a year but I have hope for 2017. Somewhere. So how's life everyone? What have you been up to?

I'm back! I made a New Year's resolution last year to start blogging three times a week. Obviously, like many resolutions, it crashed and burned. But a 2016 resolution is not why I'm here. Hamilton is. If you haven't heard of it, it's a rap/hip hop Broadway musical about one of the founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton. Sounds boring? Sounds weird? I thought so too. Trust me. I listened to the full cast recording three times in two days and my favorite songs countless times in between. I have plans to see it live in the eventual future. Interested? I have two recommendations: Number 1: My favorite song and the one that actually got me into the musical in the first place Number 2: From the beginning

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk to help writers stay in touch. What I'm Reading:  I finished Boy on the Bridge by Natalie Standiford last week. My review went up on Friday. I felt that it fell short of its potential. But now I'm reading Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. I have to admit that I was a little sad when I read the summary and found out it focuses on Scarlet rather than Cinder but I'm quickly falling in love. What I'm Writing:  Nothing at the moment. I haven't started querying either. I'm swamped with work. It's not likely to get any better until next week so I think I'm going to forego the writing goal. What Works for Me:  Musical motivation. I've listened to Fall Out Boy's new album an almost embarrassing number of times since it was released, but I regret nothing. Sometimes music gets me pumped up (like Fall Out Boy) and sometimes it helps me to settle down and focus (like my ...

I'm Glad I Did by Cynthia Weil Goodreads Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and songwriting legend Cynthia Weil's extraordinary YA debut opens the secretive doors of the Brill Building-the hit factory that changed history. Part Mad Men, part Grace of my Heart, part murder mystery, I'm Glad I Did is a coming-of-age story at an unforgettable cultural tipping point: the summer of 1963. JJ Greene, a gifted 16-year-old songwriter, defies her lawyer parents by secretly applying for a job in the famed Brill Building-the epicenter of songwriting for a new genre called rock-n-roll. But their warnings about the evils of the music industry prove far darker than she imagined when she finds herself at the heart of a cover-up that involves hidden identity, theft, and possibly murder. Cut Me Free by J.R. Johansson Goodreads Seventeen-year-old Charlotte barely escaped from her abusive parents. Her little brother, Sam, wasn't as lucky. Now she's trying to...