2021 Recap
After the major highlights of 2020 (and you know, the bitter dregs of a global pandemic), I'll readily admit that 2021 had big shoes to fill in terms of life achievements and the highs/lows really cancelled one another out so it was neither the best nor the worst year of my life. It was definitely a catalyst to a whole mess of needed change. 

You'll see how that unfolds over the next few months. ;) 

Spring 2021 saw the publication of the final book in the Metal Heart trilogy, Iron Curtain. It died a quiet death and I'm guessing from the lack of response from those who did read it, that it didn't quite hit the mark in terms of wrapping up the trilogy. I guess, eventually, I will go back to the books and re-edit/re-release them. 

Mostly, I got to a point where I just wanted the trilogy DONE so I could move on to something else. Which didn't end up being Astrid vs. the Asteroid like I'd predicted and hoped. 

Actually, 2021 sort of sucked in the first half, not gonna lie. I FINALLY got vaxxed (whee!), self-published a book (whee!), got fired from a job I hated (whee?), moped around on unemployment and DID NOT write ANYTHING (wait, what?), got another job that paid more than my last one (well, alright!), started my editing side hustle in earnest (Okay then!), was invited to a writing group (yay creative friends!), wrote 60k words of a NEW book (well, that's more like it!), and got a puppy (omg! A PUPPY!). 

By the end of the year things were definitely looking up but also REALLY chaotic and the first half of 2022 is going to be sorting through some amount of mess. But, that's an entirely different story...

So, what's on the writing docket for 2022?

Resolution #1: Finish Drafting Rosita Ruins the Heist (Winter 2022), Revise (Spring/Summer 2022)
My lovely little heist book about a memory stealing bank robber. I'm sitting pretty at 60k words at the moment, with plans to hit 90k by the end of January 2022 and keep on rolling until the book is finished. I've already made notes about what to chop (cut, cut, cut, and SAVE THOSE SCENES), and what to alter (SO MUCH), and I'm feeling pretty good. 

Not gonna lie, it's a whole lot easier to write a single stand-alone book than to try and plot out three books and do I regret writing a freaking trilogy my first time out the gate? A little bit, yeah. But it also means that I'm hitting a way better stride and feeling more confident in my storytelling abilities for everything else that has come after. 

Perhaps it's false confidence. How the hell am I supposed to know? I just feel the drive/pull to create.

Resolution #2: Finish and MAYBE Publish Astrid vs. the Asteroid (Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall 2022??)
Or maybe shop this one around to an agent/publisher? I'm sort of on the fence with the best approach to Astrid. I was asked to submit a whole MS way back in 2019 at a writing conference, but it's been SO LONG, and I just don't really feel like I know where the publishing industry is at anymore, as a whole. I've read rumors on the Twitters it's steering away from YA in general and unless someone is gushingly enthusiastic about it--I'm not sure I want anyone else to have it. I am very selfish that way. 

I'm excited by the prospects of writing two endings (the good and the bad), and I've been considering doing some blind tests on beta readers to see which one really resonates. That could be fun! Who wants to sign up to beta read?

But first, it does need to be completed, which is the goal for Winter/Spring 2022. Then revised. Then beta read (blind testing both good and bad endings, tho). AND THEN, once I've decided it's fate, I will be hiring a DE/Copyeditor before self-publishing. I might even hold off on self-publishing if I decide to submit to the Library Writers Project for 2023. Who knows?

Resolution #3: Draft Untitled Horror Novel (Fall/Nanowrimo 2022)
I have a handful of different horror novel ideas, and it's about time one of them floated to the surface and saw the light of day. My biggest beef with most haunted house stories is that they take place in these GIANT labyrinthine mansions with endless spooky corridors with doors that open to giant dusty rooms. They're almost always situated on huge sprawling estates with tunnels and trapdoors and haunted greenhouses or something. I say thee nay! Give me seedy, creepy little houses in a neighborhood littered with needles and condom wrappers and graffiti and poverty. I want a story set where the bus line ends and drug dealers hang out on the street corners and everything smells like weed.

Those are all the writing goals fit to print at the moment. As always, they are probably loftier than their practical and realistic application. I will be lucky if I can finish Rosita, finish and polish (and publish?) Astrid, and maybe draft another MS in late fall. I'm still committed to my goal of publishing at least one book a year. 

Rosita is destined for 2023. 

Horror novel is destined for 2024 (with a possible horror anthology sprinkled somewhere before or after). 

And that's, of course, not counting any of the other goals I have for my editing gigs and we can't forget the writing workshops and critiques and social media marketing, blog posts, eventually putting out that newsletter I keep teasing/talking about, plus thinking about converting some of the books to audio... 

There is always a lot to do. But without the writing first... none of that other stuff matters as much. 

DID YOU WATCH ME? 
Do you remember the chaos of the first part of December 2021? Did you know that the chaos of the last part of December has included multiple medical procedures, attending and hosting holiday events, preparing to bring home a puppy, house hunting, AND a trip to the coast in wintery weather? 

And remember how I said haters and rational people would say that I couldn't possibly write 60k words this month, THIS PARTICULAR MONTH??

WELL, I DID
I did the damn thing that no one thought could be done (I mean, I figured I could work hard and make it happen). Insert Snoop Dogg "I want to thank me, for believing in me" quote here. I've learned a ton of new things about my characters and the direction of the book. Some new ideas surfaced. Some old ideas were abandoned. I am now eleven chapters deep into this exciting new world and at the point where I'm REALLY ENJOYING spending time with these troubled, lovable goofballs. 

I underwent those medical procedures which involved a ton of fasting. I survived the holidays (got a sweet-ass record player and Beatles albums). We are at the tail end of our beach trip,  tomorrow we're driving to Springfield, OR to pick up our new doggo, and I'll be hosting at least one more event this weekend.

Yes, the madness forever continues. Would that I could hole up in a cabin in the woods and spend all my days writing like some forest hermit. Tis not possible, I'm afraid.

WHAT HAPPENS IN 2022?
The next phase in my evil plan is to reach the 90k threshold with Rosita Ruins the Heist by the end of January. This might be a little bit trickier as I have two editing side hustle projects to complete, the housing search continues (seemingly in vain), and I may or may not be taking a work trip depending on what my work status is (that is still TBD).

I'm also unsure if reaching 90k words will actually complete this novel. The goal is to hit 90k, but I'm starting to wonder if this draft might surpass that final word count. I'm definitely aware of where I need to trim the fat. But sometimes you just need to write the words. I find myself, most times, feeling like I'm writing things at a snail's pace within the manuscript itself. Does anyone else feel like this? I don't know why all the scenes seem bloated. There's so much bloat! 

Every time I finish a chapter, I can't wait to cut it down. Create and destroy. No, that's not quite it.  Create and recreate. 

As of right now: I've logged 60,799 words. Reaching 90k words by the end of January is feeling a little bit shaky as I move into 2022. Stay tuned, dear readers. Things are somehow about to get EVEN MORE interesting? 

A PROMISE WAS MADE
Late in November 2021, feeling good about smashing my revised Nanowrimo goal of 30k words, I decided that the only way to ensure I achieved a properly completed first draft was to continue the goal of writing 1k words a day on the manuscript through the end of January. A lofty goal, but one that seemed attainable. I'd even logged a few words over the 30k mark and had some extra padding in case I missed a few days or the holidays went sideways. 

What a fool I was back then. 

WELL THEN, WHAT HAPPENED?
It started to go horribly wrong fairly early--the last day of Nanowrimo even--when I knocked out a job interview. The wheels were set in motion for this opportunity to possibly coalesce into a straight up job offer (still pending).

I'd also submitted an adoption application at the Multnomah County Animal Shelter for a bull terrier named Scarf. So, the first weekend of December, I had another interview for the role of adopted dog mom and got the job. My spouse was gone for about five hours playing DnD and arrived home to quickly prep the house for the arrival of a 50 lb. dog who was deemed not appropriate for interaction with our rabbit. We had to install gates, build a crate, and purchase a few other dog related items. *phew*

Scarf met our boston, Oreo Cookie, at a neutral location and they seemed to get along fairly well outdoors. That changed a bit at the house, so we were monitoring their interactions. He was a big dumb idiot and bowled over our daughter a few times, so we were monitoring those interactions as well. 

It was all going swimmingly until Scarf developed some serious sleep and territorial aggression that was a complete 180 from his previous personality. It all ended in my husband being attacked (with multiple bites) and Scarf being removed from our home by animal services because post-attack he was still highly aggressive. It was just no longer safe or reasonable to have him in a home with our seven year old. It was an extremely heartbreaking situation (we were all so excited to have him join our family) and I spent the next two days crying intermittently. 

​AND THEN WHAT ELSE?
At the very same time, I was getting closer to a job offer at a location south of where I live--Salem, Oregon--and my therapist declared that she wouldn't work with me on an ADHD diagnosis until I moved out of my current location (for a variety of reasons). 

So, we drove down to Salem this past weekend to scout around the neighborhoods and get a "boots on the ground" lay of the land. The housing market is much more affordable than Portland, Oregon--but not THAT affordable. We are still considering our options and putting any serious efforts at moving on hold until after the holidays.

BUT ALSO
A trip to the emergency room last month kick-started a bunch of appointments with my GP and some specialists to determine what the heck is going on with my GI system. I now have an endoscopy and an imaging appointment set up for next week--both of which include TOO MUCH fasting. I've also undergone serious dietary changes which means there are more foods I cannot eat than foods that I can eat. It's hard--I love to eat. This all very much sucks.

OK, JUST GIVE ME THE TLDR
We adopted a dog that attacked my spouse and he had to be returned and I cried for two days straight. I might get a new job and move. I'm undergoing multiple medical procedures next week. Also, it's the holidays? I mean, all the other life stuff applies like hosting multiple birthday and holiday events, raising a child, decorating/wrapping gifts. Keeping our LFL stocked (AND FESTIVE). Also day-job has been WILD the last few days. Like, cut me some slack Universe? 

BUT DID YOU WRITE?
I did. And I didn't. Mostly, I didn't. But the act of not-writing didn't stop me from playing around with cute graphics for Rosita. It didn't stop me from logging over a page of notes during the mental/physical health walks I tried desperately to take every day with no regard to weather conditions (bring it, PNW).

I managed to pull myself away from Reels long enough to tap out an additional 3k words last night so I'm not anywhere close to 60k right now but I'm closer than I was this time yesterday. I will write more. I am actually enjoying the dorky little chapters I'm scribbling away at right now. I am giving myself permission to just fucking enjoy it because everything else is chaos.  

I also had a great writerly meetup with my buddy Giacomo who gave me the ultra GOOD suggestion on how to break my block for the ending of Astrid. The idea is one I've been batting around, but it was nice to have someone outside myself confirm and support it. I'm going to write TWO endings--a "good" ending and a "bad" ending because my head and heart have been battling.

​It's lowkey a metaphor for our current times and I've been feeling low about our optimistic outlook and couldn't bring myself to write something that cast such a glowing light on humanity. Giving myself permission, and having someone else support/reinforce the idea, has given me a lot more motivation to knock it out when I'm FINALLY done with Rosita Ruins the Heist. Which means finishing Rosita. Which is, A LOT.

Honestly? It's all been a lot and in my life, it will probably ALWAYS be a lot. That's just my particular journey. BUT--I'm still here, doing the damn thing. 60k words by the end of the month. Haters will say it can't be done. Rational people will probably also say it can't be done. But I'm neither. ;)

As of right now: I've logged 37,661 words. I should be at 45k right now, so I'm operating at a serious deficit at the moment. BUT I'm gonna hit 60k by the end of the month (taking the week between Christmas and the New Year off for a trip to the coast). JUST WATCH ME.

HOLIDAZE
As predicted, the holiday weekend threw my writing game for a loop. I somehow managed to hammer out a few thousand words before descending into the madness of Thanksgiving weekend and the Oregon coast--at least enough to tide (get it) me over until I could sneak away for a few hours and hammer out some quality literature.  

And then we hosted Thanksgiving on Thursday, did a little holiday shopping on Friday, packed up our car, and drove to our timeshare with my immediate family and "the Grandmas." Which means our one bedroom condo was brimming with five people and not exactly the alchemic conditions for writing magic to occur. 

LATE AFTERNOON FLOW
And still, and yet--I managed to sink into the writing flow on Saturday right after our brisk, brief, and VERY WET walk on Rockaway beach, while everyone was recovering near the heater and playing cards or doodling on paper towels. I wedged myself into a spot on the couch and hauled out my laptop. 

THE TRUTH IS: I didn't exactly write so much as copy and paste a scene that I'd previously written into the exact place it needed to be. I then wrote around that scene to a somewhat satisfying conclusion--except I sort of hate what happened and what it has turned into and I'm just not really feeling the heavy-handed romantical intrigue that had been buzzing around in my brain for these two characters. It's not quite ripe yet, so the likelihood of me slashing and burning most of their interactions and completely rewriting them in the next draft is pretty damn high. 

TO CHAPTER SIX, AND BEYOND
Six chapters in, and not gonna lie--this last chapter felt the best. I think I've figured out where I want to place the emphasis and it's not really on the romance, as I thought it might be in early chapters and in daydreaming about the characters and the plot in the last year. Romance adds some fun zest to a plot, but it's not a plot in and of itself. 

However--pages and pages of interactions between these characters have given me loads more insight into who they are, and I'm feeling more confident about where they're headed. 

So much so, that I'm planning to continue my "1k words a day" goal through the end of January 2022. I have my day job, the winter holidays, and editing side gigs to keep me busy, but I think there's been some validity in trying to carve out time to write every day, even when I really don't want to. And/or realizing that some days it's just not going to happen, and being okay with that. It's about embracing the days where the muse really takes me and I truly have enough time to "flow." And then some days just putting my fingers on the keys and barfing something out as a placeholder for something better.

I plan to keep on writing Rosita Ruins the Heist until the entire first draft is finished, and my guess is it will log in around 90k words or so. Between 18-20 chapters feels about right.

As of right now: I've logged 30,280 words--ACHIEVING MY REVISED GOAL. WOO HOO!! I've also got concrete plans to continue on this path through the next few months until the manuscript is complete. 

THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING
The previous week it was the "atmospheric river" and this past week it was health complications that arrived to distract me from achieving my goal. Wheeee! Those health complications actually carried over from the beginning of the month when I had a medication disruption and I thought everything had righted itself. Little did I know... this last Sunday my health issues would erupt into a trip to the emergency room. Not the most ideal writing conditions. 

THE GOOD NEWS?
I've somehow managed to magically stay on track with my writing goals on Rosita Ruins the Heist. Am I always writing every single day? Absolutely not. But when I am writing, I'll have bursts of logging 2-3k words, and that will make up for the days where I know that it would otherwise be difficult to sneak away and tap ANYTHING out on my keyboard. 

Or when I arrive at the appointed writing time and my brain is just a pile of mush that barely manages to make any kind of electrical pulses whatsoever. Happily, I am, for the most part--getting out on a daily walk and having that solo time for my brain to ruminate on the story is crucial and essential.

As of today, I'm sitting pretty in the midst of Chapter Five during a pivotal scene between my two main characters and sort of luxuriating in the interaction and the mysteries that are unfolding as they work together towards a common (but foisted upon them) goal. Having most of the plot points together means I can really delve into my FAVORITE aspects of writing which is the personal drama and characterizations. You know, the juicy fun stuff!

THE HOLIDAYS, THOUGH
Not gonna lie, I'm a little concerned about the impending holiday weekend. I will be hosting about a dozen folks at my house on Thursday, then doing some holiday shopping on Friday, taking down the Thanksgiving decorations, and then packing my bags for a last-minute trip to the Oregon coast. 

This is a super exciting development on a personal level, of course, because who doesn't love a fall excursion to the grey, surly waters of the Pacific Ocean? I'm certain it will rile up SOME kind of inspiration. I will be with my immediate family, so that decreases the chance to escape and cloister myself up to write. But we do have a separate room with a door that closes, and the pool at our timeshare is FINALLY open (in this "post-COVID" world), so there's a small chance that I could convince my spouse to take our daughter to the pool while I log a few hours on my laptop. *fingers crossed*

Mostly I'm looking forward to feasting on turkey and fresh seafood, relaxing in a hot tub overlooking Rockaway Beach, and hopefully hitting some semblance of my word goal. 

As of right now: I've logged 22,584 words--with concrete plans to write more this evening. We'll see what happens from there.

DAYS OF NOTHING, DAYS OF SOMETHING
Another fairly rough week, but for seemingly entirely different reasons than the last week *sigh*. I blame the daylight savings time switch and the "atmospheric river" which foiled all my "healthy living" plans. I was faced with a busy weekend November 5-7 and ended up opting not to write the short horror story. I also ended up not getting much writing done at all. Monday at my day-job was busy but I managed to channel a thousand or so words into the book.

And then it all fell apart from there. For a time.

I also hit a chapter that I didn't love--the second chapter--because it features the main character (MC) struggling with a relative suffering from a disease that I have virtually NO experience with. It's a somewhat pivotal scene and will involve more research than I could muster together while NANOWRIMO-ing, so I started digressing into other character backstory and exposition and then ended the entire chapter with an unsatisfying flourish just to be done with the damn thing. 

WELL, ACTUALLY
Before I finished Chapter Two--I started on Chapter Three of Rosita Ruins the Heist. I was taking a rainy/windy walk about midweek and a particular song lyric struck me. In fact, it inspired a whole new playlist and gave me that little visual window into the entire third chapter. Tennessee whiskey, y'all.

THE NEW PACE
It became clear, pretty quickly that I wasn't going to succeed in my goal of hammering out 2k words a day. I should have all the time and brain space in the world, but I'm just not there yet. I commend those who are! But that's not me. I have to reset to a more realistic and achievable goal for myself, in order to keep my spirits up and be able to focus on the writing rather than just vomiting out words in a frantic daze which leads to pages of helpful (as backfiller for my brain) but not entirely useful exposition. 

THAT FRIDAY FEELING
I got through some fairly lengthy work and personal life challenges (that SAD started hitting hard, but I decided to hit back this year with daily walks AND Vitamin D supplements) and by Friday, I was feeling able to focus. I decided to do a little extra writing hustle, and managed to move my needle to the point where I was at least back on track to hit my newly revised 30k word goal by the end of the month by logging 1K words a day.

I made even more progress on Saturday (hello Chapter Four), but all that was derailed on Sunday when I slept very little, decided to obsess about a current event by absorbing all the available content about it--completely wasting a VALUABLE chunk of writing time where my entire family was gone and I had the house to myself. 

* yet another weary sigh*

It's Day 15 and I'm proud to say that I'm 15k words in. This has not been the year for charting consistent daily progress, but I'm embracing the chaos and my newly revised 30k word goal which feels substantially more achievable and actionable. Let's gooooo (again?)!

THIS WEEK WAS A WEEK
Fairly early on the week, I distinctly remember remarking to my supervisor at my day job that this has been a "week of Mondays." And boy was it ever. Just, A LOT going on professionally and it definitely hit home on Wednesday night when I crashed out unusually early for me (10pm). 

Needless to say--I didn't get ALL the writing done on Rosita Ruins the Heist this week that I truly wanted to. I started out strong on Monday with 2k words, decided to rethink and revise some of the opening sequences on Tuesday (1k), logged another 1k words on Wednesday before crashing out early, and then took last night completely off after a raucous and thought-provoking writing group meeting.

A TRICK
When I had some errands to perform, but wanted to keep the book in my headspace and do a little draft revising--I had Google read the text aloud to me while my hands/body were otherwise busy/occupied. I've done this before and it's actually really helpful to hear the story aloud because you quickly realize what is working and what is definitely NOT working. I'm now fully aware of all the places I want to cut when it's time to second draft. And I'm only one chapter in. 

I've also just generally had a more difficult time connecting, on an emotional level, to my writing. Specifically, in the last few years. Part of the stories I tell are usually a greater reflection of things that are happening around me, or my projections of the future. 

As you can guess--the future has been quite uncertain lately, and many of the things I'm feeling aren't necessarily reflected in the worlds I'm attempting to escape into. Much of the emotional weight I'm carrying right now feels heavy and dark and that's somewhat a part of the world I'm writing, but also not really? 

WRITE SOMETHING ELSE
It was suggested last night by a fellow writer that maybe I just needed to give myself permission to write something that would help expel all the negative emotions that are blocking me from truly accessing my imagination and empathy--in a short story horror format. I found the idea intriguing, but just wasn't feeling up to doing much last night except watching a YouTube video series I've recently become obsessed with, and then passing out. 

I've been toying with the idea of a horror anthology for a while now, and tossing out a short story (which I could include in my word count) just might be the cure to my writerly ails. I'm going to try it today and see how it goes (along with attempting some more writing on the designated Nanowrimo WIP. 

It's Day 5 and I'm only 4k words in. Let's see what kind of shenanigans I can get up to this weekend. *fingers crossed*

It's that time of year again. Nanowrimo time! The time when I take stock of my writing goals for the year and determine how I best want to use the next 30 days of time to piece together at least 50k words of a draft. 

THE PAST IS IN THE PAST
The last few years I have used this time for editing/finishing pre-existing drafts of the Metal Heart trilogy. This year I'm returning to form and committing to drafting a new book titled Rosita Ruins the Heist.

I wish I could say that I was giving this time over to Astrid vs. the Asteroid and completing the final two chapters of that book but I just...I can't do it. I've had a mental block for months and decided the best way to shake things up is to concentrate on my latest passion project: Rosita. 

ROSITA RUINS THE HEIST
I've made Pinterest boards. I've made playlists. I've even done something entirely brand new for a pantser/plantser like myself and drafted a whole freaking OUTLINE. Not just any old outline either. I've got TWENTY freaking pages of character sheets and three-act structure plot breakdowns and chapter breakdowns, along with copious brainstorming notes I took when the story was sliding all over the place and going in numerous different directions. 

The end result is that I have a main character who absolutely knows what she wants as well as side characters with interesting backstory. AND HEISTS. The entire book is devoted to heists. There are three main heists that drive the story. But also technology and romance and intrigue!

GOALS, GOALS, GOALS
My goal is 2,000 words a day, but I'm willing to settle on 1,600 (the bare freaking minimum). I have carved out space from 9-11pm every "school night," along with at least two full days devoted to writing on Nov. 14 and Nov. 28. The trickiest days will be Friday and Saturday, as both are usually reserved for socializing/family time.

But I'm not feeling too daunted yet, as I *might* have already started drafting one scene, which means I'll be starting out a little bit ahead of the curve. And some of the scenes are caught-in-4k clear in my brain, so it will be a simple means of transposing. I'm also tempted to write out of sequence since I already have a chapter outline/breakdown, in order to work through the inevitable road-blocks that will present themselves. 

*fingers crossed* Here goes something!

We've all been there. You're about halfway through the first draft of your current novel. Or maybe you've even finished the rough draft and you're sitting down to revise and you're just... a little lost. You're not sure what to tackle first and you're not even sure who your characters really are. 

Maybe this isn't as much of an issue for the Plotters out there, but for us Plantser/Pantser set, it can be a little more challenging when trying to tame an unruly first draft or whip a second draft into shape. 

Here is one tried and true strategy that I've leaned on in the past, and has helped tremendously in rekindling inspiration, or just better understanding who I've created on the page. 

What is a non-canon scene?
It's a scene that has nothing to do with your plot. You know, the kind of scenes you end up trimming from a first draft during revision or editing. Sure, you like it. Hell, maybe you even LOVE it, but it doesn't fit in with the current theme or arc of the story and you trimmed it. You gently, but decisively decided to copy/edit/pasted it into a separate word document and it lives there now, forever in your memory as a beloved treasure meant only for you and maybe your beta readers, never to see the actual light of day. 

If you don't already have one of those scenes, then it's your lucky day my friends, because it's time to WRITE THAT SCENE.

I dashed one of those off because the idea and the imagery arrived fully in my brain one day and it would not let me go. It didn't work with the story structure at the time, but I wanted to get to know one character in particular, a little bit better, so I cracked my knuckles and hammered it out.

And now it's chapter 2 of Metal Heart. It felt like, at the time, it had literally nothing to do with the story and it was pure fan-service for myself. And then I was like, OK, but I like this character interaction. For some time, it lived in a different section of the book and now it's chapter 2 and it does everything I've asked of it. 

And I didn't even know at the time that I needed it for the story. I just knew I needed to write it. And once it was typed out, I l fell in love and was like... "this needs to go somewhere." It inspired me to find a home for it in the book, but most of all, to keep WRITING the rest of the book so it had a place to live and flourish.

Why should you write a non-canon scene?
First of all, because it's fun. What's better than no-pressure, zero-expectation, responsibility free writing? What's better than a scene with characters that you already love, doing something wild or inane, that has no actual bearing on or consequences for the rest of your story? 

I promise you, you're not going to break the back of your book with this scene. There's nothing riding on this moment. It's just for you and the characters. You're taking a little breather. You're trying something new and invigorating. 

In essence, it's a bit like writing a little fanfiction of your own book. And who doesn't love fanfiction? 

It will put you in a different mindset or mood. It will let you be creative, and still live in the world of your story, with the people who populate it, without feeling like you're going to mess everything up if you write the wrong words or have them do the wrong things. 

It's the writer equivalent of a sandbox, where you can build a beautiful castle and "destroy it" without worrying about the effects it has on the structure of the story, or the canon progression of the characters. 

How to write a non-canon scene.
The two biggest tips here are to pick either some outrageous scenario like fighting a dragon or something super mundane like cooking a dinner together. 

You could also have them do something canonically in-world, but still not story-canon. For my non-canon scene, I chose an activity that I imagine Eleni Garza would have done on an annual basis. I didn't even know that Rabbit Santiago would interrupt her until he showed up and then I was like, "of course he would." 

He would also be the kind of guy who would go to confession or to pray on a quiet Tuesday because he was guilted into it by his mom. 

You want to keep some of your character quirks and motivations. The point isn't to write them so completely off-base or off-character that you don't recognize them. The idea is to place them in a different scenario, completely different to the scene or plot hole you're stuck in, and let them do their thing. 

Be creative and write. I promise it's a whole hell of a lot easier when you take away the anxiety of thinking that it will one day be spit-polished for public consumption. 

Final Thoughts
You write because you love to write. But when you're writing a book and trying to get published, you often find yourself writing for someone else. For an audience. For your ideal reader. For fame and fortune. 

It's helpful to have a little tool like this in your belt. Take it out when you need to, dust it off, and don't let anyone else's expectations determine what you create. This scene and moment is purely for you, for your process, and for no one else. And hell, if it's good enough, maybe it DOES become canon. 

But that's not the goal. The goal is to make it. Get it out of your system. And in the process, see what kind of new understandings of your characters and of your world unfolds.

Other Writer's Block Strategies

• #1: Creating Characters Sheets (BONUS Character/Beat Sheet Templates)
• #2: Making Music Playlists
• #3: Making a Mood Board

We've all been there. You're about halfway through the first draft of your current novel. Or maybe you've even finished the rough draft and you're sitting down to revise and you're just... a little lost. You're not sure what to tackle first and you're not even sure who your characters really are. 

Maybe this isn't as much of an issue for the Plotters out there, but for us Plantser/Pantser set, it can be a little more challenging when trying to tame an unruly first draft or whip a second draft into shape. 

Here is one tried and true strategy that I've leaned on in the past, and has helped tremendously in rekindling inspiration, or just better understanding who I've created on the page. 

What is a mood board?
A mood board is a collection of quotes or images that remind you of or reflect either the characters or the world that you're building in your latest creative endeavor. 

Sounds simple enough, right? Pinterest boards and mood boards come in all shapes and sizes and varieties and they are either manifested in digital or physical form. Mine are all digital -- the wily world of Pinterest is where I do all of my world and character building via mood board.

Why make a mood board?
For me, personally, it's an integral part of the character, story, and world building process, and it usually starts somewhere between the inception of the idea, putting a very loose paragraph outline down on paper, and the actual act of writing or building out a plot outline. 

For instance: the idea of Rosita Ruins the Heist has been kicking around in my brain for at least a year or two. I wrote out a short plot outline/summary a few years ago, and in that time I have been slowly adding quotes and visuals to a mood board whenever the inspiration strikes me. Check out my Rosita mood board. It has definitely evolved over time and you can see the visual pivot shortly after it was created. 

I also like Pinterest, because it allows me not only to load up inspirational quotes and images, but it's also helpful to have in the process of actually writing the book. 

For instance: while writing the first draft of Astrid vs. the Asteroid, I needed to do a TON of research. Having a Pinterest board made it easy to store all the research in one location. The end result is a board that's a mix of scientific/space facts, dresses, character images, inspirational quotes, and ethereal images that map to the emotional mood of the story. Check out the Astrid mood board.

How to make a mood board.
​If you already have a Pinterest account, just hop on and load up a brand new board. The easiest place to start is with the images you have in your head for what your characters look like. The nice thing about Pinterest is once it sees you adding/liking one kind of image, it likes to feed you a bunch of that same thing, so it's incredibly easy to build up a board rather quickly once you've indicated what sort of content you're searching for. 

For the more crafty among us who like tangible objects vs. digital ones, there's always an IRL mood board. That involves designating an actual board, or a section of wall in a room or an office and tacking up physical images or items to fully expand on the aesthetic. 

The great thing about mood boards is they can be anything you want or need in order to keep you inspired or help you better create your story. 

For instance: my Metal Heart mood board primarily started out as a way for me to visualize the main characters, after I'd already written a few drafts and knew who they were. It wasn't about character building so much as seeing the characters I'd already brought to life on the page. I mean, who doesn't want to cast their own stories with beautiful people in Hollywood? And then it picked up steam with images of cybernetic implants and really took off as I was building the character of Alpha, an artificial intelligence. It's a delightful mish mash of many different elements of the series. Check out the Metal Heart mood board.

Final Thoughts
You can and should approach mood boards in whatever way makes the most sense to you. Having one board per character perhaps? Maybe one board for the setting? One board that's research based? The sky is really the limit and it's up to you to determine how best to use this tool and resource to your advantage.

Other Writer's Block Strategies

• #1: Creating Characters Sheets (BONUS Character/Beat Sheet Templates)
• #2: Making Music Playlists