There was a time when social media felt like a meeting place. Writers would share what they were working on. Readers would talk about books they loved. Someone would post about a stubborn plot problem and half a dozen people might jump in with encouragement or suggestions. It was never perfect, but there was a sense that people were there because they genuinely cared about books and the people who wrote them. Lately, though, the…
Posts tagged as “Project Zone”
There is a moment in drafting that feels suspiciously like failure. You look at your outline.You look at what you actually wrote.And the two are no longer on speaking terms. A chapter landed somewhere you didn’t plan. A scene expanded. Another one vanished. A section you assumed would stretch farther suddenly feels… done. Not unfinished. Not rushed. Done. This is usually where writers panic. We start asking the wrong questions. Did I mess up the…
Back in 2018 I wrote a blog post about a discovery that excited me more than it probably should have. I had stumbled onto an old short story that fit perfectly into the novel I was writing at the time. I called it patchwork writing. It felt like I had found a forgotten puzzle piece that clicked into place as if it had always belonged there. Seven years later the idea still holds true. Only…
Some people outline entire novels at a desk. Some conjure brilliant scenes in a coffee shop. For me, creativity likes to show up with wet hair. There is something about water that flips the switch in my brain from everyday life to pure imagination. Maybe it is the rhythm. Maybe it is the absence of distraction. Maybe my muse just likes a good shampoo. Whatever the reason I have lost count of the ideas that…
I entered a writing contest recently. I was not chasing prestige. I was not trying to prove anything. I already won an award years ago with my debut novel, which is still wild to me considering it had enough formatting issues to make an editor burst into tears. This time I was mostly in it for the prize money. I am an indie author with bills, after all. If my work could give me a…
It began as an experiment. I had no intention of becoming my own audiobook narrator. Not when there were perfectly capable AI voices like Martin and Mary vying for the honor. Martin, my first choice, had warmth but occasionally took creative liberties that made me question his sobriety. Mary, on the other hand, had perfect pacing and flawless pronunciation, but her delivery felt like a polite voicemail from a distant cousin. At one point, Martin…
Every author dreams of the perfect launch. The moment when months or even years of work finally meet the world, wrapped in the kind of anticipation that makes hearts skip. What we rarely talk about is the silence that comes before it. The kind that settles in after the writing is done, when all that’s left is to figure out how to make people care without begging them to. There’s a strange kind of weight…
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how much realism belongs in fiction. As writers, we pull from life constantly, whether we mean to or not. But sometimes life hands us experiences that make us pause and ask, how much of this actually belongs on the page? Over the last few months, I’ve dealt with some unexpected health challenges. Without turning this into a full medical rundown, let’s just say my body reminded me that…
For years, I used a certain popular video tool that shall remain nameless. Not because I’m afraid to name names, but because if you’ve ever used it, you probably already know who I’m talking about. It was the starter kit of video creation platforms. Simple, structured, and surprisingly decent when you’re just getting your feet wet in the wild world of book trailers and content marketing. Back then, it was exactly what I needed. I…
There’s a silence that comes after a book is born. Not the kind that brings peace, but the kind that rattles inside your ribs—echoing through the empty corners once filled by characters, conflict, and craft. As writers, we spend months—sometimes years—growing a story. We nurture it, worry over it, rewrite its flaws, and chase perfection like it owes us something. The book takes up residence in our minds and our bones. It whispers when we’re…