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The Difference Between Plotting and Pantsing (for me)

Not Going for the Easy Drama

Writing contests, baking cookies, and taking advice

Controversial Advice on Twitter Pitching

A "Regular" Writer Responds to That MFA Dude

I HAVE AN AGENT.

Why I Wrote My PitchWars Novel

Nov 2, 2014
3 min

Why I Wrote My PitchWars Novel

It’s all over. I’ve submitted my PitchWars entry and now I can do nothing but wait for the agent round to determine my fate. In the meantime, I’ve decided to participate in this little game everyone else is playing and tell you all about why I wrote my PitchWars novel. Back in 2012, I got the idea to tell fairy tales from the villains’ perspective, but not in a way that I had seen before. I’d seen retellings in which the villain tells the story, remaining truly evil, losing i

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Ten Tips for Twitter Pitching

PitchWars Mentee Bio

Aug 20, 2014
4 min

PitchWars Mentee Bio

About Me: I am a homeschooling mom. That takes up the bulk of my time. I have five children – all boys – two of which we just adopted from the foster system. Three of these children have special needs. Some of this is the natural result of two and a half years in the foster system, including five different placements, but the reality for us remains the same: The kids all need a ton of attention all day long. So that’s what I do. I teach. I do physical therapy. Speech therapy.

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Bad Query Contest

Leave it Out

The 7 Rules of Twitter Pitching

Oct 16, 2013
5 min

The 7 Rules of Twitter Pitching

Today was another twitter pitch party, and another day of people everywhere celebrating one another’s work. However, it was also a day of people everywhere headdesking as they watch others spoil the fun for everyone. I’m not the world’s expert on this, and I’m obviously not an agent. But I have participated in a few of these, I’ve read all the rules carefully, and I’ve gotten a disproportionately large number of requests from these pitch parties. Plus, I’m a total twitter-add

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Aug 22, 2013
5 min

How I Do It "All"

I kinda hate writing this post. But so many people have asked me the same question, and I feel like a big, fat liar when I shrug and pretend not to know the answer. So I’m answering it. The question? “How do you do it all?” First, I need to define “all” for the purposes of this post. I homeschool my three children, one of whom is is autistic. I am enrolled in a graduate program. I write fiction, and have finished two novels. I have a happy marriage that I dedicate time to. I

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Some Writing Advice Sucks

Aug 19, 2013
4 min

Some Writing Advice Sucks

I follow a lot of writers on twitter. I read their blogs. I follow a lot of agents and editors on twitter. I also read their blogs. Lots of people giving lots of advice and I read a lot of it. I’m going to say the word “lot” again because five times so far isn’t enough. Oops. Six. The advice is meant to be helpful, and it usually is. But sometimes. . . it sucks. Especially if you take all the advice and take it all literally. Here are some of the most common sucktastic ti

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Cell Phones in Fiction

Jul 15, 2013
4 min

Cell Phones in Fiction

I’ve been a beta-reading, critiquing fool the last several weeks. I’ve read through a total of five complete manuscripts, one partial, and I’m partway through another. Of those seven, six have been YA or NA contemporaries. And I’ve noticed a trend that is making me bonkers. CELL PHONES. Or, rather, the lack of cell phones. Young Adult characters tend to be fourteen to nineteen, and New Adult picks up around age eighteen and goes to twenty-five-ish. According to this research,

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Storytelling Tips Gleaned from HIMYM

Jul 1, 2013
5 min

Storytelling Tips Gleaned from HIMYM

I love the show, “How I Met Your Mother” for a lot of reasons. I love that it doesn’t paint marriage as a death sentence, I love that they balance reality with ridiculousness, and I love that they plant a dozen Easter eggs every season. But most of all I love they way they tell a story. Not just the big, overarching story of how he met his wife (which we are just barely getting to, eight seasons in), but the little stories, the ones encapsulated in a season, or a few episodes

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I did a thing.

Jun 14, 2013
4 min

Pregnancy and Childbirth in Books and Movies

This is something that has been getting under my skin for… well, since I had my first son in 2006. Pregnancy and childbirth are often represented in books and movies, and they are usually MISrepresented. Which, frankly, is really irritating. Pregnancy is a very diverse experience, childbirth is a diverse experience. Even one woman will experience multiple pregnancies and childbirths in radically different ways. This means there are literally MILLIONS of ways to get this right

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May 30, 2013
3 min

What I Learned at Storymakers

This post has been incredibly slow. That’s not fair. It’s not the post’s fault. I should rephrase that: I have been incredibly slow at writing this blog post. But, it’s for a good reason. You see, I learned SO MUCH at this writing conference, that I’ve been furiously polishing my manuscript. I polished it so much that I submitted it to the #PitMad contest happening on twitter. And I got some requests. So. Basically, this intro is to tell you I’ve been querying and I’m getting

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Pen Names, Women, and Fantasy Fiction

Apr 24, 2013
4 min

Pen Names, Women, and Fantasy Fiction

I’ve decided I need to use a pen name. Well.. sort of. I’ve sort of decided I need to use a pen name. A big part of me wants to see MY NAME on a book on a shelf someplace, but as I get closer to being ready to query this bad girl, I’m spending more time researching actual sales trends. You know, as opposed to the “I wish this was true and it feels true because of what I have on my nightstand currently” sales trends I’ve relied on up to this point. And I’ve noticed something t

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