Tag: Writing

2020…What a Year!

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Wow, 2020…you have definitely been a year.  Would I say a good year?  Probably not, but was it a total wash? Nope, not really.  Let’s take a little look back at some of my favorite writing posts from this year and you tell me down below in the comments, which was your favorite?

I started the year off with a few of my favorite things when I write – coffee, notebooks, and music, oh my!

A Few Of My Favorite Things…When I Write

I showed how I get into the head of a character and do my various journaling techniques for finding voice.

How To Get Into The Head Of A Character

Then I shared my author journey from NaNoWriMo to Self-Published Writer!

My Author Journey: How I Went From “Oohhh NaNoWriMo Sounds Fun” To “Self-Published Author”

I shared an interview I did with the two main characters of my upcoming YA novel.

An Interview With Etta And Gina

Oooh, I tried to explain why I love writing YA Coming of Age novels — I really, really do — they are the best!

Why I Write Coming Of Age Stories for Young Adults

After quarantine craziness, I talked about how I’m making my writing more fun!

How I’m Making Writing More Fun

I showed how I use Pinterest to create a mood board for my books – with character images, pictures from the novel’s setting, and other things that remind me of my book as I’m writing.

How I Use Pinterest To Create Mood Boards For My Novels

Lastly, I shared a series of how I use Tarot in my writing by creating characters, making an outline, and working through the muddy middle.

Using Tarot Cards (And My Own Spreads) To Write A Short Story

2020 was rough, but I’m actually proud of all I’ve accomplished.  Tell me below, what good things have come out of 2020 for you? 

I hope everyone has a good year end and I’ll see you in 2021!!!

The form you have selected does not exist.

Using Tarot with my PowerSheets for 2021 Goal Setting

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Most of you probably know this by now — unless you are super new — but I love goal setting!! 

This year, I decided to marry one love with another and use my Tarot cards with my PowerSheets.  Ok, I can hear the questions loud and clear: How do you use tarot with goal setting? What are PowerSheets? Why are you so dang cute?  No? That wasn’t one of your questions?  Are you sure because I’m pretty dang cute?!?  

What are PowerSheets?

PowerSheets are a goal setting workbook from Cultivate What Matters. 

I used their undated 6-month version about two years ago, and while I loved the prep work, I also really like setting quarterly goals so after those were all used up, I didn’t purchase again.  Until, a friend of mine told me that this year they were adding quarterly refreshes and more mini-steps so basically it was my perfect goal setting system!  

Why? Because of the Prep work — 50 or so pages of guided questions to help you analyze and think about what’s important to YOU and your dreams and your vision for the year and for your life.  Not what goals you think you should have, but what goals you want to have.  Not what goals will make your neighbor think you’re awesome, but goals that will help YOU feel awesome and be awesome and do awesome things!

I have a serious addiction to workbooks and guided journals so the prep work is right up my alley. I love diving in and getting into this brain of mine to find out how I tick and what I want to accomplish this year and in life overall. I like taking a big picture look, then narrowing it down bit by bit so I have my five goals for 2021, smaller goals for Quarter 1 of 2021, and then even smaller goals for January 2021.  

It feels soooooo good!

It doesn’t hurt that I get to use bright colored markers, pens, stickers, and washi tape – let that inner child play, you know?!?!

How do you use Tarot with Goal Setting?

So once I figured out my big picture goals for 2021, I got out my deck of cards and started pulling one for each goal.   What I’m doing is getting a litmus test on whether or not this goal is going to work for me or if I need to do anything different. Rewrite the goal maybe? Make sure I include certain things during my quarterly goal setting sessions. Or scrap it all together.  Let me walk you through my five goals below.

Write and Self-Publish Entertaining YA Novels 

I pulled the Nine of Swords which isn’t exactly a great positive card, but I pulled a clarifying animal guide card and got the Shark which is about honesty. What? Ok…right off the bat, you’re probably thinking I’ve lost my mind but I started to really think about things and I realized that I am scared to self-publish again. I love writing, but the business side of things still eludes me and I find myself flailing around.  Nine of Swords is about grief, sadness, anxiety, and worry.  If I’m being honest (The Shark), I have a ton of worry and anxiety around this goal.  These cards helped me come to terms with this fact, made me face that I have these fears and I did actually think about scrapping this goal.  But the fact is, I love writing and love hearing from readers about my books. I want to do this goal, so I know I might have some mindset shirts and some stuff to deal with and that’s okay!

Start my Tarot Business

I pulled The Hierophant and that is awesome! This card is all about spiritual wisdom, traditions, balance and being a teacher or leader – the holder of truth.  I take this as a very good sign that I’m on the right track with my ideas of what I want my tarot business to look like. It’s a little scary putting this out here so early but I want to help writers, actors, musicians, and other creative people deal with blocks, fear of success, imposter syndrome, and life in general using the tarot cards.  I will be doing this via courses, books, and hopefully life coaching. I feel 100% to take this goal on for next year.

Make our Apartment a HOME

Our place is a cluttered mess and I want to change that so I pulled Knight of Pentacles which is all about hard work, charging ahead, productivity, routines, and responsibility.  Basically the road won’t be easy with this goal, but it will be so worth it.  Not much to say here – this was a great card and I feel pretty good about things.

Make my self-improvement a priority

I feel like, honestly, I do this but I wanted to make it an official goal so I have a place to track things and make sure that I’m actually doing it.  The card I pulled for this goal was the 4 of Pentacles.  What?! This is about control, security, not having connection to spirit (okay, getting closer to making sense) and saving money.  So don’t buy a bunch of stuff for self-improvement…but what? I was still confused so I pulled a clarifying animal spirit card for this goal as well and got The Golden Egg which is all about the message at the center of the heart.  Time for introspection and contemplation (adding more meditation back into my life) and staying open to hearing the messages you need to hear.  Basically I need to take the pentacle off the top of my head so I can be open to the divine, and stop controlling every little thing – BE OPEN.  

Now I gotcha and I can keep that in mind while I dig deeper each month.

Live a Magical Life!

I pulled the 9 of Wands…which is all about a test of faith, courage and persistence and being tired. I need to get clear on what I will need to be successful here and then communicate with others. I have to stop allowing things to get in my way. 

It’s me…I get in my own way. 

I want every day to feel magical, I want to use witchcraft to make the mundane into magic.  Stirring my coffee with intentions, charging my lotions for self-love, using my candles and crystals, and seeing myself in a new light.  Maybe the card wasn’t 100% but some good things to remember and it will keep me on my toes this year.

After I did these, I pulled one card to represent all of my 2021 goals and got my old friend, The Chariot. I see this card as my inner guide telling me I’m on the right track.  It’s about action and determination, success and will power, and a spiritual transformation.  I’ll take it!!

Have you started working on your 2021 goals yet?  If you need help, hit me up below and I’ll pull a few cards for you!  

The form you have selected does not exist.

Once Upon A Time…

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Okay, now we are getting into the writing – finally!

This spread will get your creative juices flowing, give you some amazing ideas for how to start your very first scene (or in our case, the first page) and what conflict your characters are facing. Each scene or chapter needs its own conflict – which can be tricky to write (at least for me) so pulling 1-2 cards for each scene to work out the problem can help save you from getting stuck halfway through a draft.

I pulled cards to answer my 5 questions…I feel like Paige is doing something slightly secretive, it’s nighttime and her intuition is coming into play. I think her motivation is to protect itself, help her make a difficult decision – or figure out two sides of an issue. I see the overall conflict of this scene is Heidi, our love interest, but it’s also saying that Paige is overcoming some fears and dealing with unconscious desires. 

The other person in this scene is her Dad. He’s feeling confident and normal – even social and is happy seeing his daughter grow up and become a woman. This all tells me that the very first scene happens before the Mom is arrested. They are in the status quo of a happy existence right now, unaware that tomorrow (?) that the world will come crashing down around them.

Exciting place to be before we get to the Muddy Middle – which is next week’s spread.

Here is my very rough, right out of my brain first draft using these cards as inspiration. Let me know what you think in the comments below or email me and this weekend let’s have a conversation on Instagram about beginnings and what I can do to make the first draft even better. Yes, that’s right – for the next three weeks you get to help me rewrite and edit what I actually put on the page. 

Seriously, I’m so giddy about all of this right now, I can barely stand it. Okay, let’s get into it!!

The Beginning (1st Draft)

I could still taste her strawberry lip gloss as I walked down the boardwalk toward our house. I wasn’t in any hurry to rush home, but my curfew was just minutes away. Turning around, I searched for her, but she was long gone. She did say her car was parked just a few feet down the beach. She was probably half way home already.

I wasn’t expecting to kiss someone today, but she had been so funny. And that crooked smile.

Last year I was all about Troy, and then Devin, but Heidi was something else. For one thing, she had to be at least 5 years older than I was. She mentioned a job in the morning and seemed quite serious about it – so it couldn’t have been just some shop along the boardwalk like me.

Dad was sitting on our small porch, reading a book, the little book light on top illuminating the page he was on. He was in the rocker that we had purchased for Mom that past Christmas, slowing going back and forth as he read, finger on the page of an actual book even though his Kindle was sitting next to him on the little table. He glanced at his watch, then up at me.

“Cutting it close, huh Paige?” he asked with a smile.

“I know, sorry. Lost all track of time,” I said and sat in the small non rocking chair that was on the other end of the porch. Our house faced the beach and I could hear the waves before I saw them crashing under the moonlight.

“Anyone in particular making you lose track?” he smiled. He knew me well, but since this was so new and I still wasn’t sure what was happening I didn’t want to answer him. I had never kissed a girl before. I had found them cute before, that sensation wasn’t new but I had never acted upon those feelings before.

“Maybe,” I said bowing my head so he wouldn’t see me blush and maybe he would stop asking me questions. He was in a good mood though. “How was work?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Really good, we closed a deal to help build a new eco friendly office space downtown.”

“Nice,” I said standing up to go in for the night, “Congrats, Dad.”

“Thanks. Be quiet going in, your Mom came home in a funky mood and went right to bed,” he said and put out his hand for mine.

I held his hand and smiled. I thought about Heidi holding my hand just moments earlier, while we starred up and discussed the full moon.  We talked about our sun signs and giggled while we talked about the favorite things to do at night.  Dad squeezed my hand and brought me back to the present moment. 

“Is she okay?” I asked, bringing it back to Mom.

“She just seemed kind of sad, but didn’t want to talk about it. I’m hoping a good night’s sleep will help.”  He kissed the top of my hand and dropped it. I walked into the quiet house and made my way to my bedroom. Passing Mom and dad’s room, I could hear Mom softly snoring.

Keep reading — Stuck in the Middle With YOU can be found HERE

The form you have selected does not exist.

Let’s Meet The Rest Of Our Cast

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

So originally I wanted week 3 to be actually writing the beginning of our story, but after the simple outline was finished I knew I needed to spend a tiny bit more time with the characters.  Again, instead of a formal tarot spread, I just pulled 1-2 cards for each person.

If you’d like to catch up – here’s the article for Week 1 and Week 2

PAIGE

Okay, let’s jump right in with our main character, Paige. I pulled a card for her inner strength and her inner demon so I could get into her brain and find out what she wants in this world and what’s holding her back.

Inner Strength/Wants – Strength

I see this card showing us that she has great confidence and self-esteem, she knows what she wants in life – something to do with animals, possibly a veterinarian or someone who rescues animals.  She has great inner determination and knows exactly how her life is going to go.  Optimistic even.

Inner Demons/Issues – Temperance

BUT I also see that with that determination comes some self-absorption or selfishness, she feels the world should revolve around her. She’s a bit insensitive at times, even tactless and I’m curious about her spirituality.  I get from this card that she might have lost faith OR that she really wants some kind of connection to a higher power and can’t seem to get there.

FATHER 

Side note, I’m going to be doing some polls over on my Instagram this weekend to figure out names for the other two characters so join in, please!!!

I just pulled one card to get an idea about who this guy is and got the 5 of Wands.  Very interesting. This card’s “book” meaning is all about conflict but I’m reading it more like they are building something together.

I think her father works for an eco-friendly construction company (remember it’s California) as either the CEO/founder or one of the higher up VPs.  He was an old hippie who had to grow up.  Why am I seeing Alex P. Keaton’s father for this?  I see that he’s passionate and willing to fight for what he thinks matters.

LOVE INTEREST

Instagram this past weekend chose a female FBI agent for our love interest with the twist that she was on the team who arrested Paige’s Mom for attempted murder. What?! This is getting really good. I pulled two cards just because one card didn’t feel like enough information.

I pulled the Moon card first and I see that there’s some repressed emotion and inner confusion – maybe around falling for a newly adult woman – and some fear or anxiety.  As an FBI agent I assume you might fear for your wellbeing or life while on duty.  I didn’t feel like I had a full handle on this woman so I pulled the Hierophant and immediately I saw inner conflict – someone who loves the sold institutions (the FBI) and is very conservetive, but had to challenge the status quo to be considered an equal as a woman in a mostly male-dominated field.  Interesting inner life we’ve got now.

Next week I’ll finally be ready to start actually writing!! I also have a fun Beginning of Your Story tarot spread too…and don’t forget, I’ll be sharing the full edited story as a PDF to my newsletter subscribers only, so join today! Not only will I be sharing the spreads I’ve used for this short story, but I know there will be some bonuses and goodies too!

What do you think of our little cast of characters?  Do you think 3 characters is the right amount for such a short story?  Let me know in the comments below.

Check out Week 4 – Once Upon a Time HERE

The form you have selected does not exist.

How I’m Making Writing More Fun

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

I go through cycles of my author journey where writing feels really carefree, fun, amazing, and then there are downright muddy, painful, and just plain hard times too. I’m in a hard phase right now, as you know from last month but I’ve decided instead of just staying in the muck, I’m going to pull from my bag of tricks and work on making the writing more fun!

Music

I need music to write and edit but with my husband working from home and my son doing remote learning and our apartment being just a tiny bit too small it’s hard to find a space to play music, but since I’ve started writing more in the morning before everyone wakes up, my headphones have become my new best friend. It’s been so nice to listen to my Etta and Gina playlist while I work on my novel again. 

 

Timers

I’ve talked about timers before but seriously, playing beat the clock and doing quick sprints creates so much fun. Set a fifteen-minute timer and I try to see how many new words I can write, or how many paragraphs I can edit. Or even how many toys I can pick up or how many dishes I can clean. Pair this with music and my next tip – rewards – and you have a quick burst of energy and some good work getting done.

 

Rewards

Coffee is my number one reward when I write in the morning, but I also like to have weekly rewards for hitting my writing session goals. Time with a cup of tea and a magazine, time to just lay on the couch and watch an old movie (the Back to the Future trilogy is on Netflix – FYI), or just time to put on a face mask and lay down with my eyes closed. Lovely!

 

Location

The old joke about real estate (location, location, location) is true – if you’re used to writing in a certain spot, or going out of your house to write, and that isn’t feasible or working right now – switch it up. Usually write at your desk? Write on the couch! Usually head to a coffee house and that’s not possible right now?  Find a jazzy radio station, brew up a fancy coffee in your own kitchen, and try sitting at your dining room table! Typing not working? Try a quick walk in your neighborhood while you dictate some words to your phone. Write in bed, write on paper using a pen, just try something different. Take notes and think of it like an experiment – you never know, you might find a place or a situation that just works!

 

Mindset

Sometimes, the only thing you can do to get out of a funk is work on your limiting beliefs. If I’m thinking, “This isn’t fun anymore!” then I’m not going to have fun the next time either, it becomes harder to start writing. I use daily affirmations that I write down to help me stay on track, but when I get into a real funk sometimes I have to journal my thoughts out and see what’s going on. Lately, I’ve realized that I was more worried about the end result and not about the process – which is a real problem for me. So I worked on those issues with daily affirmations.  For example, Writing is fun. My writing is a joyous process, an adventure I get to take. My characters are friends who I love hanging out with. You get the idea, and it’s cheesy but if you’re writing them down in a notebook or journal – no one is going to see them. 

 

Story

Also, related a little to my mindset and the fact that I was stuck on results and thinking way too far ahead, I gave myself permission to work on whatever made me happy during that writing session. I’ve hopped around and written new chapters instead of working in a linear fashion, chapter one to chapter two, and so forth. If I feel like editing, then I go backward that morning. If I wake up and really just want to work on a blog post or some Instagram posts, then I do that without guilt. If I wake up and really just want to jot down a bunch of ideas for a new story or quickly write a short story (or some bad poetry) – then I do that. Anything to keep writing and to make the whole process FUN.

 

If you’re a writer – how’s the whole process feeling during this time? If you’re feeling mucky, can you infuse a tiny bit of fun into your writing again?  And if you’re a reader – how are you infusing fun into your day?  This isn’t just for writers, this is a hard time for everyone and I think we all need some levity, self-care, and rest in our days.

 

 

The form you have selected does not exist.

How The “New Normal” Is Affecting My Writing Life

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

“How’s the novel coming?”

 

This question, to be honest, leaves me feeling cold lately.  The writing is just not flowing. Editing feels like I’m trying to create a beautiful statue from a giant slab of marble, slow and meticulous. Kinda tiring really. 😞

 

We discussed a few weeks ago the concept of new normal, well today I’d like to tell you how that new normal is affecting my writing routine.  Before Covid-19 I was just getting into editing my novel, doing my morning stuff and then writing before coffee. Then quarantine happened, kid and husband were home, work duties, school stuff, and general uneasiness threw off EVERYTHING!

 

It took me a month of lockdown to just get back into a morning routine, figure out how school and work could happen at the same time and keep everyone happy (including my clients).  Now, I’ve got to figure out when to write – not just the time of day or week, but how much energy do I have to expend to pursue my creative projects.

 

I ❤️️ writing, but it’s not what pays the bills and feeds my family.  It’s not going to help my 3rd grader with math (but if you know what will – send help because math and I don’t always get along). It can’t be my sole focus right now. I have to find a balance. 

 

Before I valued the weekends with my family, relaxing and catching up on things around the house and playing games of Roblox, but I have found that weekends are the perfect time to get my weekly editing sessions in now.  I had to learn to be flexible and think a tiny bit of the box.  

 

Weekends are so perfect because there’s no client work to worry about, no school to think about, my husband doesn’t have to be tied to his computer all day, and my son is happy doing his own thing sometimes.  I can get a few 20-minute sessions in and still have time for gaming, household cleaning, movies, and baking.  

 

So how’s the new normal affecting you? Are you using a more flexible schedule? Can you celebrate even the tiniest of wins this week, even if you’re not getting all the things done?

 

For me, I’m celebrating writing this post and writing the new ending of my novel! 🎉

 

 

The form you have selected does not exist.

Why I Write Coming Of Age Stories for Young Adults

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

I write contemporary coming of age young adult novels.  

 

It’s a mouthful and it might not even be the correct terminology – I have no idea – but it’s what I write. I write books set in the now, in a real city in the real world with fictional characters going through things that real people would and do go through.  

 

They are not set in space (although I have a crazy idea for a police series about a human cop on an alien space station…but that’s for another time and place). There’s no dragons or witches…not the kind that fly on brooms anyways. My characters don’t travel through time, battle demons with swords, or play sports in mid-air. They go to school, deal with first loves, and have really big decisions to make.  I write about the small everyday things that are huge for that person and character.

 

And I love it!

 

I recently filled out an Author Business Assessment sheet for a class I’m taking and one of the things we worked through was our mission statement.  Who are we writing for and why? 

 

I answered that I write realistic, relatable characters for young adults who feel misunderstood, lonely, are bored sometimes, love their families and friends, and wish they had all the answers. 

 

My mission is to let them know they are not alone, that everyone goes through heartbreak, laugh so hard they cry, fear people laughing at them, and that horrible sick feeling in their stomach when they lose.  My books are pure escapism and entertainment, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make my readers feel something – they should…if I’ve done my job right.

 

Writing YA takes me back to when I was young and had decisions to make that would change the course of my life. To when I was first living on my own in Manhattan and I felt alone and scared, but also feeling hopeful and alive and loving the pulse of the city. Creating these characters keeps me young, keeps me up on what’s cool and what’s in – I mean, I can’t really figure out TikTok, but I know it’s a THING! 

 

Why do you like reading Young Adult novels? Do you stick to one niche or are you a voracious reader across multiple genres? I pretty much stick to YA at this point, but I was also in love with Stephen King for a while and James Patterson’s Alex Cross series.  I would love to know your answer so let me know in the comments below.

  

 

The form you have selected does not exist.

Tarot cards laid on green background

The Long, Twisting Road From Writing Exercise To Third Draft

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

A long, long time ago (almost two years now) I decided to do a fun writing exercise here on the blog and created a character based on tarot cards. The thing is, I liked the idea and the character so much I decided to turn it into a full-blown novel, but halfway through the first draft I realized I didn’t like my main character, Leo, all that much and really wanted to write about his sister, Etta.

My editor agreed and I “tossed” Leo and started outlining Etta’s story. I wrote a whole new draft and sent it to my editor, but it still felt like it wasn’t quite right – it turns out, my editor thought the same thing and together we decided it needed another character to flesh out the story. 

Enter Draft #3 and now I’ve added Gina as a new, second point of view character and revamped almost the whole outline. She was always there, but more in the background and now she’s definitely foreground.

Now I have new characters (Gina’s parents for starters) and a new set of problems – which, as an author, is great news! Conflict = Story after all and my very first version of this idea was severely lacking in conflict. Let’s just say it was kinda boring and Leo was kind of annoying.

Why am I telling you this? Because sometimes writers get inspiration from a person walking through the park (my first novel) and that keeps them focused for a few years (!!!) and sometimes we have to take a kernel of an idea and work hard to get it right – making sure it’s the real story we want to tell. That it’s the best story we are capable of telling.

If you’re a writer, what journey has your latest story taken? If you’re a reader – do you like dual POV books? Or do you prefer one single narrator that tells the whole story?

 

The form you have selected does not exist.

Coffee as a Reward? It works!

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Well, I had thought I was going to talk about how I use timers and rewards to fuel my writing life, but yesterday I realized I don’t use timers and rewards. I want to and I used to, but I haven’t added that back into my routine this year YET.

Late last year, while I was working on the second draft of my novel, I was using my lovely Alexa to set a timer for doing word sprints. Once I was done with my session then I could either do another one (if I had time) or I would stop for the day feeling quite proud of myself and give myself a reward or a treat. At the time it was drinking my coffee. That’s right, I was delaying coffee (one of my absolutely favorite things) until after I had gotten in my writing session for the day. And it worked!

What happened? I got done with the draft and sent it to my editor and decided I needed a break. And I did need a break from writing and editing and all that, but I should have kept up with the timer/reward system in some way because I am having one heck of a hard time getting back into the swing of things this year now that I have a third draft to do. 

The other thing that happened is I created a new morning routine that I thought was working, but then I realized just yesterday that I don’t have time to write now. I was trying to do it in the afternoon after my son got home from school while he did his math homework, but that wasn’t working. I tried doing it before I started my day job but that wasn’t working either.

I knew something needed to change, so I thought through my morning routine and decided to switch things up going forward. I wake up at 5:30 am and wash my face, brush my teeth, grab a glass of lemon water and meditate. That takes a little less than 30 minutes. Last month I would then journal and scroll my phone for another 30 minutes before waking my son up. NOW I’m going to take my laptop with me into the living room and write after I meditate. AND I will add back in the coffee as my reward if I write for at least 15 minutes.

How about you? Do you use timers and rewards in your everyday life? Are your routines working for you or are they causing you stress? Is there any way you can make a tiny (or big) change and try that for a week or two – as an experiment – to see if it makes a difference?  Let me know by commenting below and we can do this together!

 

The form you have selected does not exist.

How To Get Into The Head Of A Character

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

I’m getting ready to start the 3rd round of revisions on this current WIP and with that comes some new characters (and revisiting old characters) and getting to do something I absolutely love – using my acting skills!

If you didn’t know, I have a BFA in Theatre Performance, and although I no longer do any acting, I still use the skills I learned when I create characters. To create a character I have to become the character. I have to get inside the character’s head and think about what they would do, how they would say things, and how they would act in certain situations. I need to make them as real as possible.

To start, I close my eyes and visualize what the person looks like. How are they dressed? What does their hair look like? Where are they? What are they doing? Then slowly, I become them. I picture myself wearing their clothes and doing what they are doing.  Seeing the world through their eyes. Then I start writing

 If I’m interviewing a brand new character then I write the questions as me, but I answer as them. If I’m revisiting an old character, I have them write a diary entry. I pick a time or place within my book and just let them tell me something.  If I’ve visualized them long enough it really does start to feel like someone else is writing. This is both very cool and a bit freaky.

For example, my new POV character, Gina, has a cousin named Libby, who is really upset in one part of my story, so when I did her diary entry she just dumped everything on to the page stream of consciousness style. But Gina’s twin brother, Carl, who is very smart and organized, wrote almost like a Twitter version of his day with times, dates, and complete sentences and proper grammar. Two very different characters with very distinct personalities. 

This feels like magic to me and reminds me of the absolute best part of my old acting life – becoming someone else to tell a story. When I can use my brain to create a person out of thin air, it’s literally awesome. 

What part of the writing process would you like to learn about next?  Would you like to know more about revision? Self-publishing? How I found my editor?  Seriously, let me know and I’ll add it to my list of topics I want to talk about over the next few months.

 

 

The form you have selected does not exist.