Happy September, friends! You may recall a few months ago I talked about tackling a self-edit for my current manuscript. One thing I didn’t get into during those posts is that I had tried something rather ambitious when I drafted the book–and I already knew it might not work. In the first step I mentioned…
All My X’s Live in… The Former Twitterverse?
Greetings from the Lake of the Ozarks! It’s the last week before school starts, and I’m hanging out here with my family. I mostly wrote my newsletter–out today–before we left town Saturday, but finishing up the last few details on that and this blog post today while working in this lovely room is not a…
Easy Words & Phrases You Can Cut to Tighten Your Manuscript
How’s everyone’s summer going? I just returned from New York with my family, where we filled the week with Broadway shows and all the major tourist attractions you’d expect. It occurred to me on our return home that both of my books have ties to New York. Jenny (Your Life Has Been Delayed) boards a…
How I Self-Edit A First Draft
Happy summer! It’s in full swing here–at least schedule wise. The weather has been unusually cool the past few days thanks to a storm that came through over the weekend, but I expect the heat to return soon. Missouri is notorious for jumping from 60 degrees to 90 in a single week. On Friday, I…
Introducing the My Second Impression of You Book Club Kit!
I’m excited to introduce the My Second Impression of You Book Club Kit! I know I’ve told this story before, but maybe you’re new here so it’s new to you… Several years ago, my son and a friend hosted a book club. As they were in elementary school, I assisted with planning. You can probably imagine that…
Why I Stop Writing When I Reach My Daily Word Count Goal
Happy April! Spring is in full swing here in Missouri now–and it even feels like it! I took some visiting family downtown to the Gateway Arch yesterday, and it was lovely walking around, soaking in the sun. My April newsletter is out today, with a fun extra for My Second Impression of You readers. It includes a…
Why I Love Writing Out of Order
Who’s ready for spring? I know I am. It may not officially be here yet, but as of the end of the school day, spring break is! I’m so ready. As a result, my March newsletter is out a few days early. In addition to the writing topic here, it also includes a sneak peek…
Austen, Twilight, and Other Book-to-Screen Ramblings
Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you’re celebrating with loved ones. I’m celebrating by sending out my monthly newsletter and talking about one of my favorite topics–book-to-screen adaptations. In addition to this topic, the newsletter also includes a “Who’s Your Character Valentine?” quiz featuring the main characters and love interests from Your Life Has Been Delayed…
Don’t Get in a Rut with Your Writing Process
Happy New Year! Remember how I said last month that I always have to know where the story is going to get to the end? I mean, that’s probably still true. But this past month has also reminded me that I should never say I’m always going to do something a certain way, because then…
What I Read in 2022
Happy New Year’s Eve! Per tradition, I’m wrapping up the year by sharing my 2022 reading list and statistics. My reading was a bit down this year, from 88 books in 2021 to 80 in 2022. Those 80 books broke down to: 12 middle grade 54 young adult 14 adult Most of those adult books…
All About Brainstorming
What’s the first thing you do when you start working on a new project? Do you dive right into writing, do you let the idea simmer, or do you start somewhere else? For me, the starting point is brainstorming, then outlining, with research sort of wrapped into both of those steps. For the writers following…
FLIRTING WITH FATE Plus a Few Other YA Books You Should Read
Happy Cyber Monday! Looking for some books to order? I have some suggestions! Of course, if you’d like to order mine, that would be awesome too, and signed copies make extra-awesome gifts! You can get signed copies of MY SECOND IMPRESSION OF YOU at The Novel Neighbor, Main Street Books, Left Bank Books or Parnassus…
Welcome!
Welcome to my blog, where I offer writing tips and share thoughts about reading, my writing journey, and other random stuff. If you subscribe, you’ll also receive news about my books and upcoming events. Check out the categories in the sidebar to narrow down some of my older blog posts, including book reviews, or if you’re a writer pursuing traditional publication, visit my Resources page for more targeted links. If there’s something I haven’t tackled on the blog that you’d like me to address—including questions about my books!—please contact me and I’ll do my best.
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