My interest in the Young Adult Paranormal genre is a bit of a guilty pleasure, but I have to admit that Amy Patrick really knocked it out of the park with her Hidden Saga, to the point that I am willing to admit to aforementioned guilty pleasure.

I haven't finished the whole series yet, but the first one, Hidden Deep, is offered free on Amazon Kindle and is definitely worth a read for anyone interested in that genre. It's a compelling story with characters that actually have some substance to them, despite being young (16-18). It also avoids that painfully awkward female protagonist trope that started with Twilight​ and doesn't seem inclined to die anytime soon, which makes my guilty pleasure much less guilty. Patrick is also a strong writer, and a boon to the self-published community as her work is as polished and professional as any traditionally published author, making for an even more enjoyable read.

The two main characters are Ryann (love the name as my female character's name is Adrienne), and Lad (not as crazy about the name, but to each their own and it fits the book). Ryann is the human in this story, and Lad is the one that provides the paranormal element necessary for me to indulge myself enough to the point where I was reading them on break from work. There's also Nox, who is probably my favorite character, but is not as important in the first book as he becomes later in the series. But who doesn't love a handsome bad-boy?

Ryann has a lot of great traits like loyalty and a good work ethic, while Lad has that same loyalty wrapped up in a strict sense of duty, which I am a sucker for. Patrick has also packed some fun surprises in her work that add layers to the story without seeming like shameless plot devices. So far, in the four books I've read, there's no glaring plot-holes or "I see the author ran out of real ideas and went with this instead" moments that even the best authors can have--I'm looking at you, Stephen King, and your random sex scenes.

I'm not a parent, but I would say that this series is definitely child-appropriate (as one would expect from a YA book) while also containing themes and a writing style that are engaging to adults as well. So if you're looking to indulge in a YA paranormal romance, try this out. And I promise, the sequel is as good as the first one, so you can binge for days.

I'm not a fan of the term "writer's block." Sure, we've all experienced it, and I've used that excuse many times myself, but deep down I think that nine times out of ten, "writer's block" is just an excuse for laziness.

That said, whether or not writer's block is a thing, I've been suffering from that or something like it for the better part of the year. I wanted to have my sequel to my fantasy novel The Talented done by winter of 2017. Now, I feel that I'd be lucky to have a rough draft of it done by winter 2018. A lot of this is due to laziness, because I haven't so much as turned my computer on in months, but a not-insignificant reason for this is that I can't figure out what to do with the sequel.

I've started it many times. I've gotten close to finishing it twice. And each time, regardless of whether I was five or fifty pages in, I realized that it was crap. Not the insecure "I'm a horrible writer and don't deserve to live" crap that we all think we write, when really we're quite good at what we do. No, the actual crap that even a mother couldn't pretend to love. At first, I thought I was just being insecure and needed to follow through. Then, when I realized attempt #1 really was bad, I moved on to attempt #2 where I tweaked the plot. Still bad. Attempt #3 and #4 I backed the story up so that it started only a week after the first book ended. Still crap with no real action. Attempt #5 had too much action, full of those horrible author crutches equivalent to your FMC accidentally getting pregnant because she's too stupid to make a doctor's appointment for weeks, despite constant reminders, and then she is surprised by the fallout. It was horrible, and left me once again wondering what I'm doing with my life.

So I'm taking a step back, sipping on some home brew (kombucha, not beer), and reevaluating my life. It's pretty good. I'm engaged and wedding prep is going well. I'm employed and healthy and happy on a personal level. But I have to accept the fact that my usual pantsing isn't getting the job done for The Talented: Part Two. I even attempted some half-assed plotsing for Attempt #5, and that was worse than #4. So I've returned to basics, and went looking for the help of some more experienced writers.

But the title of this blog isn't about writer's block or craft books, this title is about giving something the old college try. And I don't mean that in the usual sense, I mean that in the sense of listening to what your professors tell you to do the first day of classes, which is to actually open and read your textbook for more than just homework, and to spend time consistently on that class, not just cramming before tests. I'm actually going through the steps of the Snowflake Method outlined in Writing Fiction for Dummies, even the steps that involve scene-by-scene details, and writing a 5-10 page synopsis of my story covering those scenes even though none of those pages will make it into the final draft, because I've realized that, for whatever reason, I'm not able to do this on my own, and I need help. So going to this book and going through all those steps is me giving it the college try. If I need to, I'll go to "office hours" by consuming more books on craft, or maybe even get some "tutoring" by other author blogs.

It might be Attempt #6, but I'm giving this the old college try, and failure is not an option.

Today I am pleased to announce that starting in 2018, I will be offering beta reading, content editing, and copy editing services to other authors. Because I know that being an indie author can be hard, and budgets can be very tight, I'm keeping my rates low.

My beta reading service will be offered free to anyone who would like to take advantage of it, whether they are looking to someday publish their book or just want someone to read it and give some constructive feedback.

My content editing services will start at only $50, although final price will be negotiated with the author depending on the length of the work and the state of the manuscript when I receive it. I will edit the first 3,000 words free of charge before giving the author an estimate of what the rest of the work will cost.

Copy editing will start at only $75, and comes with the same first 3,000 words free service as the content editing, and final costs will be mutually determined from there.

If you're interested in any of these services, head over to my services page to learn more and fill out a contact form. Anyone who contacts me before Jan. 1, 2018 will receive a 20% discount on my services. I will also be offering a referrals program, so that anyone referred to me, or anyone who does the referring, either gets bumped to the front of the line for a beta read or 5% off of their next paid editing service, whichever they choose.

Many, many moons ago, I wrote a blog post about why author's bible's are important. The gist of the post was that it helps to keep the story consistent, so that the hair color, eye color, or background story of your different characters stays the same throughout the whole novel, and you don't have to go back and read the whole thing every time you have a question about what Brittney's life was like in sixth grade.

What I didn't address in that post is HOW to make an author's bible. The reason I'm doing that now is that, as I'm working on the sequel to The Talented, I've adapted my bible-creating method to account for that change.

One of the things that I've always done, and still do, is put my bible in alphabetical order when it comes to names and places. It makes it easier for me to find them, and it also lets me know if I'm starting every name with a K or an M, which I'm not sure why I try to do but are definitely problems of mine. Here is an example of my bible early in The Talented​ process, back when it was still draft 1 or 2.

As you can see, there isn't anything fancy about this bible. It's stream of thought lists, and at this stage pretty sparse on the details. At this point, it even had the original spelling of my main character's name, Adrian instead of Adrienne, and for some reason omitted her last name, Rydaeg, completely. 

One thing that it did right, however, is have a nice timeline at the end of my bible that I could look at for reference. This is especially important if your book is stretching months instead of years, or if it is part of a series, because if you get the timeline wrong and a reader notices, it can really through them off. Here's a sample of that timeline, without any real spoilers for those of you who haven't read The Talented yet.

Again, this is a very simplistic timeline that just lists how long it takes for different events to happen. As I read through my drafts I would check the time in the novel against the timeline at the back and adjust accordingly to make sure everything measured up. If I was doing this by hand I probably would have drawn a linear timeline, but for me working on the computer this was easier. If the visual of a traditional timeline works for you, I suggest you make that. Anything that makes keeping your story straight easier helps.

One change that I made in the bible for the second book was to put anything new in bold. This helps me find new things faster, and also lets me know what can't be changed because it's already included in a published book. Here's a snapshot of what's new this time around:

The only downside to putting the new elements in bold is that it has the effect of making the bible look sloppier, not that I care, because for me it's easier to format it that way, and that's the key to an author's bible, it's there to help you.

​On that note, if you prefer a more polished author's bible, that is entirely up to you. Many books include indices at the back of them to help readers keep track of characters and places as well, and an author's bible can easily be adapted to that purpose, just take out the unimportant (to reader) details like hair length and anything that could spoil the plot or give too much detail too soon, such as a completed timeline.

If you want a more personal touch, or something that appeals to your crafty side, you can make your own journal to carry around with you. Here's a picture of an easy(ish) DIY journal, and a picture of one I made myself so that if I'm away from my computer I can plot story ideas in the front and keep track of characters and places in the back.

Recently, my sales for The Talented​ have been reather lack-luster, so I have made the decision to try out a new cover for awhile.

Unfortunately, before launching my new cover I did not have the time or money to hire a professional cover designer, although this is something that I plan to do in the future if I find that a new cover helps sales. Therefore, I had to work with only my limited graphic design skills, which did not produce the best cover imaginably. However, I am hopefully that it is good enough to garner some feedback. So let me know in the poll or comments below whether you prefer the old cover (left) or new cover (right) for ​The Talented.

A way that this can be applied might be starting your day with writing rather than sitting around and scrolling through Facebook and Twitter. Waking up in a new bed, not having to get ready for work, and no longer being surrounded by the things that would trigger that social media habit might make it easier, according to behavioral sciences, to start a new habit. Then, when you get home, refreshed from your vacation, you can set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier and start your day with writing.

What a great reason to plan a vacation soon!

The last thing that needs to be considered when developing your writing habit is how long it will take before writing every day becomes routine rather than a struggle. You may have seen or heard that it takes 21, 28, or 30 days to develop a new habit or break an old. The idea that it takes a month or less to develop a habit is probably one of the most exciting things you've ever heard; but you may have also learned for yourself that developing a new habit is harder than that "fact" implies.

The reason you may have been finding habit development difficult is because this "fact" is not a fact at all. An article by The Huffington Post, which investigates the origin of the "21 Day Habit" myth, also exposes the fact that according to a 12-week-study of people trying to develop new habits, the average length of time it takes someone to develop a new habit is 66 days. That means you'll need to consistently perform your new task of writing for two months before it becomes routine, and perhaps even longer. Don't be disheartened, though! Missing a day won't affect your habit forming long-term, as long as you jump back on that habit-horse in the next day or two.

As an added bonus, the more you enjoy a task, the quicker that habit will develop. Think about how long it took you to fall into the habit of checking your phone throughout the day, or listening to your favorite podcast on the ride home, and you'll see that it took you far less than 66 days to develop those habits. So when you sit down at your desk to develop that habit of writing, embrace the act with joy, and you'll develop that habit faster.

I'd love to hear any thoughts you might have on writing practices or how to get into the habit of writing daily. If you have questions or something to share, please comment below.

It does not escape my attention that rather than publishing this on December 1st, or even November 30th, I am publishing this update on December 9th, which isn't ideal. That said, I do have an exciting announcement to make...

I won!

Unfortunately, I did not come anywhere close to meeting my goal of 100k words. I spent a good deal of the month sick, which slowed me down, and then disheartened by getting so far behind, which only made it worse.  However, despite falling WAY behind, I was able to make a comeback in the last week and ended up squeaking by with just 50,349 words. But hey, a win is a win.

​If you want to see just how much of a stretch my win was, here's my stats for the month:

As you can see, I spent most of the month not writing. To fill you in on those long plateaus, I spent a lot of that time taking naps due to intense headaches and watching TV when my head didn't hurt. But while some of those days I was definitely not feeling well enough to write, for much of it the lack of writing boils down to lack of ideas and utter laziness. However, I kicked it into gear on the 26th and put in at least 5k a day from there to reach that final goal of 50k by the end of the month. And while I would have liked to meet my personal goal of 100k last month, in some ways I am glad to have finished the way I did. I really pushed myself in my writing last month and really had to stretch my imagination to keep my story going, which I probably wouldn't have done had I not had that deadline to meet. I'm happy to announce that writing is going better this month, and I think I will be able to finish my rough draft this month, which has long been my goal.

In the end, although this is not the first time I have won NaNoWriMo, I think I learned the most this month about the importance of deadlines and how they can motivate you. I highly recommend participating in NaNoWriMo to anyone who is interested in writing and is looking for a support group, because those message boards are gold. I'm sad that it only happens once a year, but I might look into Camp NaNoWriMo next spring and consider participating in that, or somehow coming up with challenges myself to push my writing throughout the year.

Did anyone else participate in NaNoWriMo this year? Have any stories, tips, or questions? I'd love to hear from you so go ahead and comment below.

1. Establish a writing practice

This one seems simultaneously to be very commonsense and the most difficult step to becoming a better writer. An established writing practice requires hard work and dedication, because it means writing on a regular basis, not just when when your muse is cooperating. Some people establish a practice of writing daily for a certain amount of time, pages, or words; others establish a weekly writing practice with the same goals. Whether daily or weekly, it is important to set aside a time for writing and stick to it if you truly wish to grow in your writing abilities.​

2. Silence your inner critic

Your inner critic becomes a great resource during the editing process, but can hinder you when it comes to creating new material, such as your rough draft. Finding a way to silence the voice in your head that tells you your writing is terrible, that you need to go back and make your last scene perfect before moving on, or that you should just give up and scrap the entire project is the only way you'll be able to keep moving forward and improving.

3. Make sure to recharge

Recharging means different things for different people. For extroverts, step away from the desk and go interact with real people; for introverts, find another quiet activity to distract you from your writing for a short time, such as going for a hike or indulging in your favorite show. Spend time with your family and friends, develop new interests, and get in some physical activity, as it's good for the brain, not just the body.

4. Read for inspiration

I have yet to meet a writer who didn't enjoy reading, but I have met many writers who don't take the time to read. I've been guilty of this myself as well, but if you take the time to read, even if that time feels like an indulgence that you can ill-afford, you'll often find yourself inspired. Sometimes, the story itself is inspiring. Sometimes, the writing style or tone can inspire you. Read poetry to get in touch with figurative language, read novels currently popular in your genre to see what readers want. Read popular novels outside of your genre to see what other markets are out there and what appeals to those readers. Read classics to find out what has worked for centuries. And if you end up reading a book that you don't like, analyze it to figure out why you don't like it and how you can avoid those same mistakes in your own writing.

5. Create a support network

A support network might be an extensive online writing group, a workshop or critique buddy, or just a supportive friend or partner. Having at least one person in your corner that you can turn to when you're discouraged can be the difference between success or failure. If you're nervous about talking to someone you know in the "real world" about your writing, find someone online. There are fantastic online communities of all shapes, sizes, formats, and purposes that can provide support and encouragement. A quick Google search or a jaunt through Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram can help you connect with like-minded individuals online. 

Today is Day 5 of NaNoWriMo and I am currently participating in the local write-in here for the first time. I'm possibly breaking rules by blogging instead of working on my novel right now, but I wanted to supply everyone with a quick update.

I am currently sitting at only 11,872 which is ahead of the pace I'll need to hit the 50k goal for NaNo, but behind my personal goal of hitting 100k. The reason I'm behind is because yesterday, my amazing boyfriend surprised me by taking me out to dinner at a Brazilian steak house where I ate way too much food and hardly had time to get in my 1,667 words before falling into a food coma for the rest of the night.

So far today, I've been busy meeting up with my siblings to celebrate my birthday and picking out my birthday presents from my boyfriend. He told me he wanted to buy me some books on the writing craft, because he's supportive like that, and he's also smart enough that he knew better than to try and pick them out himself :P

I obviously haven't read them yet, but I'll share a picture of what I got at the end of the post, then share reviews of them as I get around to reading them.

For now, I really have to start working on my novel and putting this write-in designated time to good use. With luck I'll reach 15k by tomorrow.

I'd love to hear about any other NaNo success stories or what your favorite writing craft novel is.

Ciao.

​

I'm in no position to lecture anyone on what to do or not to do in pursuit of their dreams, but it occurred to me today that we should all take a moment to be grateful for the good things in our life, big or small. Be grateful to participate in something fun like NaNoWriMo. Be grateful for the people in your life who support you. Be grateful for the amazing piece of technology currently at your fingertips that is more advanced than the computers that sent man to the moon. Be grateful that you are capable of imagination and the capacity to form stories in your mind and put them down on paper, or even just envision the words of others as you read the stories they have written.

It's day 3 of NaNoWriMo. I'm approaching 10k words and will hopefully hit it by tonight. But if I don't, if I fall short of that self-imposed goal, I'm still grateful today for all that I have and all that I am able to do. And I encourage you all to be grateful, too.