I shelved a piece of my heart
I recently had to make a tough decision in my writing journey. After spending four years writing and revising a manuscript, entering almost every writing contest with it (and not getting in), two solid rounds…
MOTHER WRITERS: 9 bookish things you can do with your kids
Readers become better writers. Your kids deserve this same opportunity. I try to read to my 4-year-old every night while my almost middle-schooler reads for at least 30 minutes every day. However, there is a…
MOTHER WRITERS: Morning Larks vs. Night Owls
Finding the TIME to write is an under appreciated treasure for parents. A treasure that is typically unplanned and unscheduled. When we unbury ourselves from the mom life and have our own time, we hope…
Story Structure: Utilizing the Hero’s Journey
A little over year ago I queried my second manuscript for the first time. After receiving rejection after rejection after rejection, I decided to reevaluate my submission package and my story itself. It got to…
MOTHER WRITER: Kill the Superstition, Save the Writer
By Justine Manzano “I can’t write unless I have a cigarette, am sitting in a particular room in my house, on a particular chair, writing on a yellow legal pad with a red marker pen.” The…
MOTHER WRITERS: Uh, what writing space?
As a writer, your creative space is sacred. You may have a space in your home dedicated to display your awesome books and a desk surrounded with all your treasured inspirations. Maybe you have a…
Announcing MOTHER WRITERS blog posts
Being a writer comes with its own set of challenges no matter what stage you are in. Published. Unpublished. Your writing journey is your own and what you make of it. We’ve all had our…
Announcing my Seasonal Book Giveaway (SBG)!
The writing community continues to be an incredible source of encouragement and inspiration for my writing journey. Having participated and won some giveaways in the past, I decided to do one of my own. You…
Quick resources for creating names
One of my favorite parts of writing is coming up with character names. There’s just something about naming a character that also makes them come alive. I wanted to take a moment to share three…
Writers. It’s okay to take a pause.
[Thanks for reading. Here’s a fun post filled with gifs and thoughts on taking a break.] The writing journey is a winding trail of moments and emotions, both positive and negative. When the path encounters…
If I can pitch live and survive, so can you!
I wrote thousands of words, edited thousands more, and now you want me to tell you about my book in one or two sentences? Okay. Would you like to read my query letter? Oh, that’s not…
We all need heartbreaking critiques
Writing is a tough journey. The path in a real writing to publishing journey must be long, treacherous and challenging. If it’s none of those things, you are on the wrong path. After a bazillion…
When Life Happens, Writers Keep Writing
So when major life things happen, I don’t know about you, but my writing stalls. My mind goes fuzzy and I lose my creative focus. Just in the last three months, my life has included two…
World building over beer
Your story is YOUR story. Doesn’t it sound like a marvelous free-for-all, especially when it comes to world building? Oh, how I wish it were only that simple. I’m a very visual person and love…
You can’t be an author without being a reader
Every writer needs a reading break. It is my belief that you have to be a reader before you can be a writer. And how can you improve your own writing if you don’t take…
My Manuscript is a Victim of Distraction
I’ve been working on my manuscript for two years and am currently in my third or 10th draft of revisions. I honestly have lost track. Writing is a tough process, but getting published is way…
What kind of writer are you?
Every writer’s writing process is personal. There is no one way to do it and it may evolve as you move forward. All of my writing depends on so many factors, such as my environment, my state of…
#PitchWars is over, but my journey continues
There is nothing like diving right into something you are passionate about head first, but I was completely naked with flailing arms. Like other writers before me, I had a story in my head that…