-
Sharing Sunday – Jorja’s Poem
This weeks Sharing Sunday piece is one by a family friend of mine. His daughter, Jorja, has Angelman Syndrome and hasn’t had the easiest of starts to life but that doesn’t make her any more beautiful. I’ve watched her grow from a baby and it’s astounding at how tall she is and how gorgeous and room brightening her smile is. She truly is a joy to be around. I should warn you, this poem made me teary, so make sure you bring some tissues along for the ride. Leave Vange a message in the comments and if you’re interested in helping find a cure, reach out, educate people, it helps.…
-
Counting Your Words: Tips on How to Get a Writing Habit Healthy
I’ve been told by many, that I write a lot of words. My record is 1.4k in 15 minutes, I’m not bragging but my fingers and wrists were killing me after, it was stream of consciousness and I’m not sure how it even happened, but it did. Do you know that writing is actually quite easy when you set goals that start out small, then gradually you build on it? NaNoWriMo is starting soon (and by soon I mean November, you’ve got time Dreamers) and it means it’s time for the plotting to start, but the writing frenzy of a month is built around the simple truth to writing: you…
-
Writing Process Blog Hop
Thanks to the gorgeous soul that is Steph, I’ve got another blog hop. I sort of love these, purely because I have the chance to write more about my practice but also get to learn more about others. So watch out for the tags below, you might be one of them. Tell us a little about yourself My name’s Amanda Kontos, but I go by Mandi, and I’m a writer, editor and writing coach. I’m originally from Adelaide but currently reside Melbourne, where I’ve fallen in love with the city’s charm, hipster nature and great cafes. I write urban fantasy and enjoy breaking the mould with mythology and modern twists.…
-
Camp NaNoWriMo
So I’ve spent the last month writing, editing and trying to get two books (maybe three?) done at once. I’m pretty sure I’m burning myself out and it’s actually starting to seem like a bit of a struggle, but I did it for the soul reason that I’m actually doing something to change the rut I’ve been in. It’s made me not want to write a blog post (which means I’ve missed bits and pieces) but here I am, writing about not writing posts, what a conundrum. So with Camp NaNo this month, I was confronted with the fact that the last one I did was cut short because of…
-
Writing Wednesday
I almost forgot about today’s post. I’ve been having a hard time with catching up on sleep and managing some of my stress levels, but I promise I’ll try and get better. Today’s Writing Wednesday is spawned by the song I’m listening to right now. You’ll be thankful. Burning, crashing, the place is coming down…how are you getting out of it? Use this prompt and tell me how you go. Sometimes fire can be cleansing. In case you haven’t seen it, my writing journal is now free with a subscription to my newsletter. What are you waiting for?
-
Sharing Sunday – Drugs Were Involved
Today’s Sharing Sunday piece is by Zack (and he’s an American, yay look at that DFA’s second American!) Drugs Were Involved is the second chapter in his psuedo-noveL, a series of short stories loosely attached to one another. The premise came from a lingering through he’s had – a sneeze so mighty it sends the person into an alternate reality. Without further ado, here it is! Give him some love and enjoy the read. Drugs Were Involved I have devised a means of hitchhiking through the multiverse. Drugs were involved from the start. If this threatens my credibility with you, so be it. It began with a nasal infection. Through careful studies I…
-
Writing Wednesday
Oh look at that, new picture for Writing Wednesday. Yup! I’m bringing out some of my own prompts too. I really don’t want to have my butt kicked for posting too much of stuff I can’t get permission for. So this fixes it. Bare with me a little, this is a little rusty. Today’s theme is light. Start at the end of a tunnel and work your way back. Use the words light, glow, free and nearly there within your writing. Steer clear of cliches. Can you do that? I’m sure you can. Good luck! Send me a link of what you’ve done in the comment or email me!
-
Rise Up: Going Pro
When do you sit down and call yourself a writer? A serious, no bullshit, fucking writer. Some never do it. I know I already did. I admitted to it, while I said it. I never actually believed it. Until today. I sat down and opened Scrivener and was like, okay it’s time to really do this. And by this I mean finish this edit so I can send it off to my beta readers. I’ve been resisting really hard with this. Purely because I think I’ve been scared to really show them what I have. This book is my baby, it has been for the last 11 years and I’m…
-
Sharing Sunday – The Gypsy Curse
Today’s Sharing Sunday piece is by Susan again! This is an excerpt from her series Astro’s Adventure. The books are based on the lives of real dogs and cats. They’re a bit zany and a little whacky but oh so great. The basis of the books in the series is raise importance for animals in shelters and a percentage of the sales go towards Susan’s local animal shelter. She’s currently working on the 7th book! Check out a link to her site down below. The Gypsy Curse An Excerpt In the front seat of the Dog Catcher’s van a small corgi sat listening to the latest call. “Did you hear…
-
Character Interview Part two
I had a thought, while I’m going through and fixing up my second draft I remembered the character interview that was one of the exercises for my writing project class a couple of years ago and I had it on file, I had every little bit of motivation to copy and paste a little bit from it every couple of weeks, but it seems like I forgot about that (oops!). I was digging around on my blog today and I stumbled along it. I feel like it’s the perfect thing to pop up in a pinch. So look out for more of these. I want you guys to love my…