My Muse is a Place, a Feeling
About a month ago, D.D. Falvo wrote the most charming post on Hugs and Chocolate about her muse, a purple dragon named Zeb. I laughed along with her personification of the moody and sometimes elusive inspiration. I know all writers can relate. Being that most of my friends are now writers, the muse is a common topic of conversation and I’ve heard it personified in many ways. Writers talk about how their characters speak to them and have a mind of their own. I smile and nod and agree, but...
Read MorePerformance Pressure and the Diamond in the Manuscript
Originally posted on Hugs & Chocolate Have you ever finished writing a manuscript, and after months of blood, sweat, and tears, you realize that even after all that work, your story doesn’t look at all like you imagined it in your head? In fact, after a second glance, you’re sure a toddler temporarily overtook your brain and scribbled 400 pages of crayon doodles? Of course you have…you’re a writer. You’ve probably felt that way about everything you’ve...
Read MoreNaNoWriMo = Draft Zero
Originally posted at Hugs & Chocolate November is just around the corner and after four years of participating in National Novel Writing Month, even the change in weather has my nerves buzzing with anticipation, like my internal editor is well-prepared for her yearly vacation. In my excitement, I can’t help asking every writer I know if he or she is participating. Misery loves company. I’m getting a lot of mixed responses–some are die hards like me who are raring to...
Read MoreHow Reading is Important to Writing
Originally posted on Hugs & Chocolate In On Writing Stephen King said, “if you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.” Clearly, Stephen King wasn’t nursing a baby twice a night and taking a toddler to the ER for stitches. These days, our responsibilities are endless. Most days, I don’t have the luxury for both reading and writing, and for a girl who has dreams of publishing one day, the writing has to get done. Even so, I have been...
Read MoreIt Takes a Village
Originally posted on Hugs & Chocolate Back when storytelling first began, it took a community to write a tale. One person started it and told it to another, to groups over a fire. It got passed on to friends and family members, generation after generation. Each time the story met new ears, the telling got smoother. Each person augmented it with their own knowledge, improved it with their own experiences. And now, those timeless stories are the flawless fairytales and legends we know...
Read MoreWe Don’t See Our Own Writing
Originally posted on Hugs & Chocolate Writer envy. Yep. I recently discovered Barbara Freethy and experienced a serious case of it. How does she write such flawless story? How does she keep consistent tone? I’m reading The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue by Barbara Samuel right now and I am in awe by how mature and experienced her writing is. Why can’t I seem to create such diverse characters with such detailed backgrounds? During a meeting last month with my lovely writing...
Read MoreLetting the Story Lead
Originally posted on Hugs & Chocolate In this age we live in, productivity is the name of the game. We take hold of our stories by the balls and get them written now, get them written right, and get them out the door. I don’t know about you, but to me, this is intimidating. I read blogs all the time about authors who write several books a year when I can barely finish one over two years. When writing that quickly, there seems to be so little time to let the story grow organically...
Read MoreWriting is More Than the Rules
Originally posted on Hugs & Chocolate I’m really bummed that I’m missing the Olympics this year. A couple of years ago, my husband I decided to cut the cable bill because we spent more time channel surfing that watching any shows. This is the first time I’ve really missed it. I’m not big into sports in general, but I have a couple of favorites. Namely, gymnastics and diving. In the winter, I go crazy for ice skating. My favorite thing about all of these sports...
Read MoreBeing Emotionally Prepared for Critiques
Originally posted on Hugs & Chocolate Yesterday I went to my first meeting with my new critique group. I used the term “group” loosely since right now it’s just me and one other writer. But we have plans to expand. It’s always interesting to meet other writers for the first time since you don’t know how they write, if they’ll like your writing, if you’re all at a level that will benefit each other, etc. The scariest part, of course, is opening up...
Read MoreInstruction Manual for a Full-Time Writer?
Originally posted on Hugs & Chocolate One day a couple of months ago, I had an awesome day. I worked on my novel, wrote two blogs and was a social media ninja. When my husband came home, I said (with a slightly elevated volume and enthusiastic hand gestures) I should be a full time writer because I own this biz. I believe he followed my exclamation with a roll of the eyes and left the room. Today, that dream has come true. When I left my home business behind in my last town, I decided to...
Read MoreJamie Raintree
I write Women's Fiction, or what I like to call everyday fairytale love stories, appreciating the seemingly mundane moments in life that are truly magical. I am currently working on completing my first novel and until then, I post original fiction online. I live in Northern Colorado with my husband and two young daughters.
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