Confidence in my writing ability has been hard to come by. The power of my pen served as a primary source of expression. I’ve received positive feedback about my work from family and friends, but none has stuck. No matter how much they praised me, I still couldn’t find the enthusiasm to say, out loud, ...

The archenemy of any author is their own brain. It seems contradictory because that’s where ideas are born. That’s true, but writing is the equivalent of putting a treat on a dog’s nose. Brilliant stories that have potential to change the world are within reach, but they seem impossible. One of my teachers in college ...

I’ve long been disappointed with the lack of diverse characters in popular fiction today. My current work in progress is an attempt to shrink the gap. However, yesterday I almost stopped. My current project is an interracial fantasy romance. My female main character is Afro-Latina, and her love interest is Asian. Oppression is seen as ...

It’s that time of year again. The leaves change color, people wear more layers of clothing, and they consider it socially acceptable to drink hot chocolate. It’s November, which means it’s time for National Novel Writing Month or NanoWrimo.  The goal is to write at least 50,000 words during the month of November.  Technically, you ...

Sometimes, writing is like pulling teeth. The words don’t come. Every sentence is garbage. Advice always says, “Write a few sentences to get started.” Those sentences are “Who wants to read this, anyway? Why am I doing this? Can I crawl under a blanket until the ideas come?” Jobs won’t let you take breaks if ...

Embrace the Creative Spirit I indulge in creativity during summer. I have are two modes of operation: Read several books or write a portion of a novel. Go back and reread after a few months and restart from a new place.  Break the Habit College helped me break that pattern because we had to read ...

I have written nothing for any of my stories in a while. Writing took a slight backseat while I started learning about my mental health. My characters have still been wreaking havoc in my brain, but the doubts prevented me from writing my ideas on paper. Next, came the inevitable thoughts about not being a ...

I’m awakened by the piercing sound of woeful screams The wind has stopped in recognition of a loss The sun has dimmed her smile in response to a man’s pain An exchange seems to have been made A soul has left a home And is being replaced by wondering and tears What is life? It’s ...

Recommit Yourself We are two weeks into November. I’m supposed to have over 25,000 words. My document has a pitiful 200. Most people would give up. The average word count to win would be 5,000 words or more daily. My best day is 2,000. The next step for me is to recommit to my story. ...

November is a time for good food, embracing body hair, and the start of the holiday season. Starbucks comes out with their holiday drinks just in time for me to drown my writing woes in Caramel Brûlée. Nanowrimo is here. The time of year when I question if this was the correct career choice because ...