Great question. It’s a bit of a murky journey. Here’s a fun fact about me as a writer: most of my story ideas that I’m actively working on came to me in high school or earlier. Unfortunately, though, it’s difficult to determine when an idea first occurred to me or when I started working on …
Tag: writing process
What I Write
Every year around my birthday (August 11th), I try to write a self-reflective, personal post for the blog. This year, I decided to take a step of courage and talk more in-depth about my current writing projects–something that is, surprisingly, difficult for me. I was on the fence about doing this because I didn’t want …
Writing with a Day Job: Drive
Drive. Motivation. Perseverance. That’s the topic of today’s fourth and final post in my Writing with a Day Job series. If you’ve been reading along all summer, thanks for sticking around. I hope that my fellow busy writers have gained some wisdom, encouragement, or motivation from this series. Let’s end it well. First things first: …
Writing with a Day Job: Wise Rest
Greetings yet again! This is part three of four in my series on busy writers. Trying to write a novel but only have an hour (or less) a day to write? Working a job you can’t stand but really want to be a novelist? Or shuffling between parenting your kids, managing a house, and working …
Writing with a Day Job: Find Your People
Welcome back to part two of four on “writing with a day job,” or writing for busy people. Whether you’ve got a non-creative or creative fulltime gig, you’re a freelancer seeking to make a living while working on your novels, or a parent with a novelists’ dream, you’ve come to the right place. Two weeks …
Writing with a Day Job: Productivity
I long for a time where I can be a full-time writer. Anyone else? Instead, I’m what some might label a “Midnight Novelist.” (Well, really more of a “Lunch Break Novelist”—I don’t have the stamina to stay up late after a long day of work.) Or, as I like to call it, a Writer with …
Patience, Persistence, and Practicality: Initial Thoughts from Pitching The Queen of Whitman Court
I entered into 2022 with high hopes: it’s time to pitch my novel, The Queen of Whitman Court! I planned to dive right into it, sending out letters left and right and every which way to any editor or agent who might possibly give me a chance— But if you’ve been following along with my …
April 2022 Writing Update: Secret Project, SCBWI Conference, and More!
I’ve got a lot of ground to cover with this overdue writing update, so let’s dive right in! There’s a lot going on with my writing projects, plus I attended a regional conference with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) last weekend! Writing Updates: The Queen of Whitman Court: Back in March, …
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Rereading the Tolkien Canon (The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, & The Lord of the Rings)
It had been a while since I last read The Lord of the Rings—just about four and a half years, to be exact. Same with The Hobbit. And, to be honest, I couldn’t give a timeline on when I last read The Silmarillion; I just know it was sometime in high school. Since I’ve been …
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The End: Writing Farewells & Finales
I’ll admit, I’ve written more beginnings than endings, to the point that I’m tempted to say that writing the first chapter of a book is significantly harder than writing the last. I don’t necessarily disagree with that statement—I myself struggle most with how to best start a book—yet I do certainly think that a misstep …
By Madelynn Orion 