• Inspiration - Writing Topics

    Here in the Midst of Challenge

    Tweet I often do as you do. I read about people once they’ve already climbed the mountain and faced that lion. It’s all inspiring and humbling to do so. But what I rarely get to see is a picture into the lives of those who are fallen. What do you if you’re not there yet? I’m in that murky space right now. I’ve spent 8-years in the professional nonfiction arena. And I’ve done okay for myself. I’ve worked with reputable companies. I’ve built a network of clients that can depend on me to create and complete finished articles on time.…

  • Writer Challenges - Writing

    Writing With Kids

    Tweet I often tell friends it’s harder and better than people say. I was talking about parenting, but it also applies to writing. Last night, my two-year old son was up multiple times with a nervously high fever. When your baby’s sick, everything else goes out the window. But on a day to day basis, there’s teething, tantrums and toddler troublemaking. There’s always reasons to not write especially when you have a child pulling at your pants. And real, understandable, legitimate reasons too. Like sleep. I caught this post on Writing & Parenting in my Twitter feed today, and it…

  • Fiction

    The Difference Between Fiction and Nonfiction

    Tweet If you ask me what the difference between fiction and nonfiction is, I’d say, “apples and oranges.” And to most writers, that’s a given. For people who don’t write professionally, however, words are words whether they’re made up or based on fact. There’s an art about each. And both have their challenges. For me though, using my imagination, and letting go into it are difficult. There is no way of controlling what will happen to my characters. There is no specific date or fact that can completely direct my story. That’s why writing a children’s book has been a…

  • Dreams

    The Courage in Vulnerability

    Tweet Brené Brown is an expert on everything related to vulnerability. I’ve taken two of her online courses and listened to her SoundsTrue podcast recently. I’m admittedly a big huge fan. Perhaps, it’s because I’m all too familiar with shame. It sits on my shoulder every time I publish a post, conduct a workshop/meetup or submit my writing. Until I listened to Brown, I hadn’t realized how my cheeks would burn or how embarrassed I was to let my insides show. Rejection to me doesn’t feel uncomfortable. It feels like a slow death. It’s an end of who I am. It’s a room…

  • Fiction

    An Easy Way to Sharpen Your Fiction

    Tweet Since I’ve become a SCBWI member (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), I’ve learned a lot of ways to beef up my fiction. An easy way I just read about in our recent Bulletin, is to read your story aloud in front of a mirror, to a loved one or a crowd of kids. The key, however, is to do it without a manuscript in front of you, but to recite from your memory. Obviously if you have a novel rather than a picture book, you won’t be able to read the whole story. But that shouldn’t matter.…

  • Writer Challenges

    The Truth About Failure

    Tweet I had it again. It’s a reoccurring dream where I’m still in high school. The dream haunts me because I’m stuck there, unable to take the necessary courses and get the required grades to move on. Although the situation is different, the emotion is the same. FEAR. It’s the emotion that prevents me from taking the next step. This year embarks a new journey for me. I’m still writing, but I decided to reach outside of my comfort zone and teach workshops. Teaching stress management workshops has been my dream for almost as long as I’ve wanted to be a…

  • Dreams

    Why I Write

    Tweet It’s taken me years to curate enough courage to admit the secret I’ve always known. It was evident in my early obsessions-well-worn books, hardcovers and paperbacks causing a backpack strap indention in my shoulders. It explained why I begged my grandmother for a typewriter and ripped away the crisp holiday paper as if there was a toy underneath. I devoured the book catalog we got in school as if it were a menu, salivating as I thumbed through each delicious page. And while other kids played sports or with their Barbie, I found calm in the click of my…

  • Inspiration - Writer Tips - Writing Topics

    What Editors and Agents Really Want

    Tweet All the rejections from articles, essays, and poems lay in a heavy heap over my heart. They are evidence of one thing that I have to keep learning repeatedly. Success doesn’t come from replicating successful writers. This I have to tell myself after yet another agent/teacher recommends I read a bestselling book in hopes their innovative ideas, voice or style rubs off on me. This after my insecurity makes me succumb to Oprah’s often told lesson of trying to imitate Barbara Walters. But she learned, “I can be a better Oprah Winfrey than a pretend Barbara Walters.” But no matter how…

  • Writer Challenges

    The One Tip That Helped Me Cope With Criticism

    Tweet No matter how long you’ve been writing, it always gets to you. The formal rejection letter. The kind, but full revision request. No reply. Writers are subjected to rejection as part of their job. But it doesn’t make things easier. While I tend to get over it faster than I did 7-years ago when I started as a freelance writer, it still hurts the ego. Like a scab that you constantly pick at, my mind constantly asks, “Why oh why did I make that dumb mistake?” That is, until I heard this Soundstrue podcast with Playing Big: Find Your Voice, Your…