Writing Tips & Tools

Technology is a good thing…except when it is not. Our heads are so buried in our phones and other technologies that we need to step back and just smell the roses so to speak. What happened to simple human kindness. A smile as you pass someone on the street or a thank you when someone…

I finished my first draft of a contemporary romance novel. It’s rough. It’s messy. It’s down on paper. And it is an amazing feeling. Now the editing begins. I am part of a group, Monday Morning Manifestors, that meets each week, and we all submitted our polished first chapter for critique by our peers. There…

Do you find yourself making the same mistakes over and over when you are writing? I did until I developed a self-editing checklist. This checklist can be used each time you edit a blog post, a personal experience essay, a picture book or novel. It sounds simple but it can make a big difference. Everyone’s…

I recently started blogging once a week in addition to other items I am working on. I was having trouble keeping up so a fellow writer shared their editorial calendar and I modified it for my use. Excel is my choice to plan my posts because it is user friendly. You can add a table…

Is technology sabotaging your writing? Are you spending too much time searching for new tools and systems to “help” you? Do you find yourself going down a rabbit hole until your head is spinning? You are not alone. I am always looking for something new to help me work smarter and not harder. Scrivener, Evernote,…

Regular Writing I heard this over and over but I just couldn’t seem to get into a writing routine. I tried to set a daily routine but I still work a full-time job and a lot of days I write when I have 15-30 minutes but it was not on a regular basis. Then I…