Author of Young Adult and Teen Books
With my ADHD, my desk usually falls into the realms of absolute chaos when it comes to organization. I can clear out the clutter, but things usually return to a state of disarray in less than a day. I can’t blame it all on my ADHD because I also have several businesses that I run …
When I start to write, I like to keep everything neat and organized. In fact, I’ll keep a nice folder with my characters taped into it along with any notes or print outs I’ve had. Even changes to the outline are kept in my folder. At the end of writing, I’ll usually put the publication …
On the last day of the school year, I was able to present two of my students a signed copy of my latest book, Romancing Mr. All-Star. The first thing that they did was flip through the pages to find their names because I used their names as characters in the book. They asked me …
The best tip and advice I’ve ever received (and given to my students) is to read as often as you write. Reading the same genre as you are writing can help ideas flow, whether it is paying attention to how another author develops a character’s arc or how the plot develops. One thing that I’ve …
After near burnout from trying to keep up with writing content for 10 websites, I decided to do some analyzing and determine my next best course of action. The biggest change of all had to do with 3 of my online stores. I merged them all into one, and it has been the most liberating …
I’ve been trying to find the right amount of time to write along with all of my other responsibilities. That’s not always easy because I know that I write better first thing in the morning. I suppose that has a lot to do with the fact that I always did the majority of my writing …
At the end of the school year, I showed my students a short clip and asked them to notice what they saw. Out of everything that they observed, the one thing differed: the number of mice present. In actuality, there was only one, but many swore that they saw 3 or even 2. It depended …
I have to admit that for this Work In Progress (WIP) Wednesday, I am currently stuck in my writing. I went back in and added a few things and thought for sure this would trigger me to be able to finish, but it isn’t working that way. I am leading up to the big climax, …
One of the best writing tips that I received came from James Patterson. He recommends that when you are writing scenes, you have one scene per chapter. Each of your chapters should be a single scene, and when you are planning out your book, you should be able to outline your book easily. The downside …
Character profiles can be lifesaving when you are trying to determine how your character would react to a certain situation. Keeping your character consistent throughout your story and even planning out their character arcs ahead of time can help you in plotting your story. Perhaps you don’t want an event that changes your character to …