#AuthorToolboxBlogHop: Writing in the Lazy Days of Summer

I don't know about you, but writing in the summer can sometimes feel like a daunting task. Summer is a time to be outside and to be a little lazier than usual, or so my tired mind tries to convince me. Not that summer can't be an amazing source of inspiration, summer adventures and beautiful sunsets can end up being the perfect set up for your story.

BUT... what do you do when you feel the lazy days calling for you?

1. Answer the call. Take a short break. Let your vacation be a real vacation (though make sure to pack a small notebook in case you get inspired.) I am a big proponent of writing every day, but if you feel like your writing is suffering, take a couple days off. Honestly, you might come back recharged and ready to knock out that plot you've been working on forever.

2. Take your work outside. I love my laptop because of its portability. But I also travel with a small notebook and sometime writing by hand is the best. A change of scenery might be the thing you needed all along.

3. Listen to music. Sometimes the perfect song comes along and sets the tone for a scene. Bands/Artists that have been my inspiration lately are: The Strumbellas, The 1975, The Moth and The Flame, Billie Eilish, Amy Shark, Young the Giant, and The Matthew Good Band. Make a soundtrack for your story. It's fun and can keep you on track.

4. Schedule a time each day for writing and stick to it. Lock yourself in your office or living room or bedroom or wherever you write and just do it. Just write. Make it a habit and stick to it.

Summer is a hard to time stay motivated. There is so much to do and so many adventures to be had before you get trapped indoors by winter. So definitely enjoy it and soak it all in, it just may be what inspires your next story.

To continue hopping through other great blogs in the monthly #AuthorToolboxBlogHop or to join, click here.

Author Toolbox Blog Hop: Plot Armor

Plot armor isn't just a TV show trope, it occurs in fiction as well. 

What is plot armor? Plot armor is is when a main character's life and health are safeguarded by the fact that he/she is the one person who can't be removed from the story. Plot armor isn't just that the main character survives through so many unrealistic scenarios, its that they survive without injury or loss. 

So how do you avoid plot armor? Show the main character's damage and loss. If they're shot in the shoulder, don't have them using that arm frequently afterward (unless some magic is involved and they heal quickly.) If the main character has lost someone they cared about, don't bring them back (I dislike this, even in sci-fi novels... it lessens the loss.)  Basically, make your character's decisions matter. If the character makes careless or reckless decisions, make sure they suffer real consequences. 

The best way to avoid plot armor... follow George R. R. Martin's lead and allow main characters to die and to suffer extreme loss (if your story calls for it.)

Thanks for reading. I'm sorry this is so short. I have recently landed a new job and have become so busy!!

To continue hopping through other great blogs in the monthly #AuthorToolboxBlogHop or to join, click here.

The Night Before NaNo

Well, tomorrow is the big day. I have to admit that I am pretty nervous. I have an idea and I have my characters, but man, I'm not sure how I will pull off this National Novel Writing Month. The important thing is that I am going to try my hardest.

Things I am going to do tonight: 

• Take my kiddo treat-or-treating
• Eat some candy
• Watch a scary movie
• Outline the scene I will be writing on November 1st
• Sleep

Tomorrow I am going to:

• Go to work
• Write at least 2,000 words (I prefer to start off over the 1,667 words a day just incase I fall behind.)
• Outline a scene for the next day
• Sleep

I would like to wish all my fellow NaNoWriMos good luck! I hope that you find the story you want to write. I hope that writer's block never rears its ugly. I hope that you get the crazy awesome rough first draft that you need!

Remember, the world needs your novel.

(P.S. I will try to post things to inspire you throughout the month, good luck again.)

Tips from my Queen, J.K. Rowling!

1. Write About What You Love!

“What you write becomes who you are… So make sure you love what you write!” I love this quote from Rowling. It is very true and maybe that is why academic writing kills me slowly unless I happen to care about the subject! Rowling definitely follows this, whenever I read any book she has written, whether it's Harry Potter or one of her stories written under her pen name, I feel her love for the story and its characters.

2. Write Whenever and Wherever and However!

J.K. Rowling had to work and had to take care of her young child while she was writing Harry Potter. She was even pregnant during the crafting of The Order of the Phoenix. She sadly couldn't just write whenever she wanted to. “Sometimes you have to get your writing done in spare moments here and there," she said, and she is one hundred percent right!! I personally keep a notebook with me at all times, you never know when inspiration and timing will work together.

3. You Must Plot and Pace.

My Queen plotted a series of seven books with little to no plot holes. That takes some series thinking and crafting ability. I mean, it would have been impossible to write had she not done the necessary planning. Also, planning ahead will lessen the chance of spoiling the story for your readers.

4. You Must Have a Plan!

J.K. Rowling got the inspiration for Harry Potter on a train, but she didn't just start writing paragraph one, she outlined and created Harry's world. She wrote new words and gave them meaning. She scribbled down every minute detail that would be essential to the story and every detail that wasn't. She also outlined all of the events that would take place throughout the series. She didn't officially begin writing the series for almost five years while she was working on the details.

5. Criticism and Rewrites.

Queen Rowling rewrote the opening chapter of The Sorcerers Stone fifteen times before being happy with it. You should never expect your first draft to be perfect, it won't be and that is fine. Also, don't fear rejections. Harry Potter only became what it is because Rowling wouldn't stand for rejection. "It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not lived at all--in which case, you fail by default."

The World Needs Her Novel

I would like to ask for those who read this to help out my friend so she can self-publish her book! She has a Kickstarter set up!! Please help her out!! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/988917752/life-at-the-register-working-book-title

It's a memoir-esque novel full of stories about the life of working retail. To quote Rhonda it's a, "A story of the unique experiences I had in a dept store that are hilariously hard to believe and the true friendships made in the fray."

Here is the link again!!!!  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/988917752/life-at-the-register-working-book-title