Expanding My Career

I’ve found a new passion and can’t wait to share it with you!

Writer and Blogger

Since starting this blog, I’ve spoken about my writing. I am currently working on two contemporary fiction manuscripts. Both projects feature Black main characters.

I am also a food blogger. On Instagram @diningwithLamesha, I share positive restaurant reviews. If I didn’t enjoy the food, I typically don’t post it. I also include homemade meals made by my family. Some of those recipes can be found on here too.

Hand Lettering and Calligraphy

For several years, I’ve wanted to learn calligraphy. I attempted calligraphy on my wedding invitations – meaning I bought a calligraphy pen and wrote pretty. Though learning this skill was slightly intimidating, I never gave up on my desire to become a calligrapher. In April, I took a four-day course that focused on calligraphy using a pointed pen. This class was very fast-paced. But I walked away realizing that I really wanted to learn more. So this summer, I took several online modern courses. I’m learning hand lettering using different sized brush pens, and I’ve transferred those skills to digital lettering. The two graphics on this page were created by me. I lettered them using my stylus.

I am a writer and a hand lettering artist!

New Career

So, in addition to writing and blogging, I will be pursuing a new career as a lettering artist and calligrapher. I am looking forward to sharing more about this journey with you on this blog and social media. You can see some of my work on my Instagram @LameshaJunior. And I will soon be offering calligraphy and lettering services. I’m super excited!

Question:

What’s your career or passion project?

~ Lamesha

Revision Plan for Current Fiction Project

Remember the book that I wrote during November 2021? Well, I have let that book simmer for several months, and now I’m ready to begin revisions.

Current Fiction Project

Initially, I called this project Book 2, but I have no idea if it will be the second novel that I will get to release. While trying to come up with a catchy name for it, every other name that I considered for this project contained spoilers. And since the title isn’t set in stone, I don’t want to use it. So, I settled on #CurrentFictionProject until it has a clear title.

Info About Current Fiction Project

The genre is contemporary women’s fiction. The setting is Houston, TX. The book contains lots of family drama and secrets. It’s told from the perspective of a man and woman that share an interesting connection.

Projects Recap

  • Book0 – the novel that I queried in 2018. I took a few scenes from it and shelved this novel.
  • #LameshaJuniorDebutNovel – I started this novel in 2019 and finished its first draft in 2020. After several rounds of revisions, I decided to start querying it to literary agents this year (2022). I’ve decided to not write about my experience querying this book until much later. But I can share that I have received some full requests! YAY!! I believe in this book and am hoping for the best.
  • Current Fiction Project – my current work in progress

Revision Plan

  1. Write the first draft
  2. Don’t work on the book for several months
  3. Start Revisions

Step Three

Now that I can check off the first two steps of my revision process, I can begin step three. I remember the main plot points of my novel, but enough time has passed that I don’t remember everything. So I plan to read the entire draft before making any major changes. Yes, this will be challenging for me because I sometimes want to edit while writing. Of course, if I notice a typo or change in the character’s name midways through (yikes), I will make those changes.

Everything else will have to wait. As I read, I will make notes. I’ will note scenes that need to be deleted, things that need to be added, anything that will make this book better. In this first revision, I’ll define character motivations and ensure the stakes are high.

Once I have made notes for the entire book, I will start rewriting.

Deadline

So how long should this take? I am a slow reader. A book that takes one reader a day to finish might take me a few days or longer depending on what’s going on in my life. Since I need to make notes while thoroughly reading each scene, I’m giving myself two weeks to finish reading my novel.

Updates

Follow me on Instagram for updates about my writing. Also, I’d love it if you joined my newsletter.

Question:

What topics would you like to see in my newsletter?

Readers: Do you enjoy reading women’s fiction?

Writers: How long do you let your drafts simmer before beginning revisions? What’s your first day of revisions like?

Thanks for reading!

~Lamesha

Learn New Things

Last year, I challenged myself to try again. There were a few goals that I hadn’t finished, and I wondered if I should continue working on them, prioritize something else, or move on. After praying about it, I knew that it wasn’t time to move on and that I needed to keep trying. And I am glad that I kept working on those goals.

I’ve decided to carry that goal into 2022 because I will never give up on my dreams. When I wrote my goals for 2022, I realized that in addition to trying again, I will also try something new and learn new things.

Learn New Things

Today I began working on a new project. I have decided to not divulge what it is because talking about things prematurely is sometimes stressful for me. I’ve had situations where people have made negative comments once I told them something that I wanted to achieve. Sometimes I have used their negative words as fuel to finish. Other times, it has hurt my feelings and I’ve had to cry a few times before I can get back on my grind. To protect my confidence and not put myself under unnecessary pressure, I will only say that it will take me a while to finish working on this project and I’m super excited about it.

What’s up with my writing?

I hope to start querying #LameshaJuniorNovel soon. Book 2 has been on my mind a lot. Before beginning revisions, I want to outline a children’s book. I really want to write something that my son can read soon because my novels are for grown folks lol. 

Reading

The genres that I read the most last year were women’s fiction, romance, and children’s books. Since I did not read fantasy and science fiction, I’m looking for suggestions. 

Wellness

Cardio is still my favorite form of exercise. I want to learn a few yoga poses, start journaling again, eat healthier meals more often, and meditate.

Food Blog

I have met some cool food bloggers. This year, I would like to visit more restaurants, try a few new recipes, and post more.

Question

What’s something you’d like to do in 2022?

~Lamesha

2021 Recap

It’s the last day of 2021. This year has been filled with many ups and some downs. A few of my family members passed away. There were devastating stories that were covered on the news. I didn’t complete a few personal goals. On the positive side, I saw many positive stories filled with hope and spent more time with my family. I talked to God more, I appreciated my blessings more, I dreamed more, and I never gave up.

A few of my highlights from 2021

Writing

  • Finished six revisions on #LameshaJuniorNovel
  • Received feedback from a critique partner on two chapters of #LameshaJuniorNovel
  • Gave my entire book (#LameshaJuniorNovel) to a beta reader and received positive feedback
  • Made new writer friends
  • Participated in a reels challenge on Instagram
  • Received feedback on my query letter from a critique partner
  • Won a query critique contest with a literary agent and received positive feedback about my query.
  • Completed the first draft of Book2 during the month of November
  • I plan to query #LameshaJuniorNovel in 2022

Lamesha’s Fitness Journey

  • Gained weight
  • Walking and exercising at home has become my favorite form of exercise
  • I love my body and will continue working toward my fitness goals in 2022

My food blog

  • Made new friends on DiningwithLamesha
  • One of my reels had more than 19,000 views
  • Tried new restaurants
  • I enjoyed cooking and sharing with my blog community
  • Note: I made this golden cookies and cream cake with my son

Question: What’s one highlight from 2021?

Make sure to celebrate your personal journey!

~Lamesha

I Wrote a Book in 30 Days

This year I joined the #nanowrimo2021 challenge to complete a 50,000-word first draft during the month of November. And… I completed the challenge! I wrote 51,372 words on what might become my second released book.

Background on Completed Books I’ve Written

  • Book 0 – the book that will never be released. I took a few scenes from this book and put them in #LameshaJuniorNovel
  • #LameshaJuniorNovel – my finished manuscript that I hope to start querying soon
  • Book 2 – the book that I drafted during November 2021

About Book 2

Book 2 has a title but I am not sure if it will stick. Its genre is contemporary adult fiction. The setting is Houston, TX. The book contains lots of family drama and secrets. It’s told from the perspective of a man and woman that share an interesting connection.

What I Learned

The closer that I got to my goal I reflected on my experience drafting this book. In this blog, I will detail a few things that I learned while writing the first draft of my book in 30 days.

Drafting Does Not Have to Be Perfect

In my previous blog, I wrote about my struggle to work on my draft without revising it. I spent the second day of the challenge rewriting what I’d written the first day. That caused me to be severely behind on the daily word count goal of 1,667 words. Giving myself permission to draft without worrying about whether I’d written the perfect scene was freeing. I know that I will have to revise anyway, so there was no point in trying to create the perfect draft.

Expect Things to Happen that We Cannot Control

I have extremely painful menstrual cycles. Though my periods usually prevent me from taking on strenuous tasks and can confine me to the bed, I thought I would be able to power through the pain and write in bed. The first day, I tried through tears to concentrate on my book and make something happen. But I could not. This was the time that I needed to listen to my body and just rest. So, I probably only wrote a thousand words while on my period. That seriously put me behind schedule.

I Should’ve Planned More

About halfway through the challenge, I realized that I should have planned more before beginning my draft. I thought it was sufficient to complete a character profile for my two main characters and sketch a few scenes that I’d envisioned for the book. But I started to feel lost. I had no idea where my characters were headed. So I took a day’s worth of writing time and wrote a brief outline for my book. By this point, I knew my characters more and understood the journey that they needed to take for this book.

I Did Not Always Make My Word Count

By November 22nd, I had only written 23,000 words. I had a spreadsheet detailing my word count and how many words I should have written if I wrote 1,667 words each day. Looking at that spreadsheet and realizing that I was more than 15,000 words behind was discouraging. I cried again, but I did not give up. I wrote 7,200 words one day! To put that in perspective, my previous record for most words written in a day was 2,300 words.

Some Days I Felt Discouraged

On November 29th, I had 6,000 words remaining. That was a doable goal, but I felt super stressed about not being finished. I saw other writers had already finished and some had written more than 50K words. Instead of working toward my own goal, I came close to giving up. My son overheard me talking to his dad about feeling discouraged, and he reminded me to do my best. That was just what I needed to hear. So I got back in my own lane and ran my own race to finish the challenge.

Would I Do It Again?

Maybe! Writing a book in 30 days is a very tough challenge. I will no longer take several months (with several long breaks) to write a first draft. I now know that I can complete this process in a shorter time span. Ideally, I would like to take a few weeks to thoroughly plan my book and six weeks to write the first draft of my next novel.

Questions

  • Writers: How long does it take you to draft?
  • Readers: What are you excited to read this season?

~ Lamesha

I’m Writing a Book in 30 Days!

Every year, many writers accept the challenge to complete a 50,000-word novel during the month of November. I’ve never seriously attempted this challenge for writing a new project. Previously, I’ve used this time to work on revisions for a project. But this year, I decided that I wanted to try to write my first draft of Book 2 during November.

What About #LameshaJuniorNovel?

I’ve finished 5.5 revisions on #LameshaJunior Novel. I’m pleased with the progress that I’ve made on it and will post a new blog on that project once I decide to start querying.

Pressure

After I announced that I would accept the National Novel writing challenge, I felt a lot of pressure. What if I don’t finish the book? What if I don’t make the daily word count? What if I write 50,000 words but my draft isn’t finished? What if this takes away from the progress that I’ve made with #LameshaJuniorNovel?

Comparisons

It’s hard to not compare my progress when I look at other writers updating how many words they’ve written. The first day, I didn’t make the word count goal, but I saw so many other writers post that they’d written more than double the suggested word count. I had to put things in perspective. Yes, someone else wrote more words than me, but I had 0 words the day before. I chose to be proud of my progress and take steps each day to write more words. I chose to be proud of other writers who achieved their writing goal. Being negative won’t help me finish this book. Feeling discouraged won’t help me finish this book. But encouraging myself will put me on the path to finish my book.

Community

Just like I initially felt discouraged when I didn’t make a goal, I also felt comforted by other writers when I could tell them missteps that I made. Someone else didn’t make their word count and we could encourage each other. Someone that did make their word count could give us tips. It’s been really helpful having other writers to chat with on social media.

Feeling discouraged won’t help me finish this book. But encouraging myself will put me on the path to finish my book.

Lamesha Junior

Excitement

I’ve been super excited about writing this new book. On the second day of the challenge, I broke a writing rule. Writing Rule: Don’t edit your draft until you’ve finished. I spent most of that day revising the first chapter that I wrote on Monday. I couldn’t help it. There were so many new ideas I had for my characters and how to improve the scene. I dreamed about them and just couldn’t resist. And we’ll…. I again didn’t make my word count.

It’s so hard to just write and not revise. To help me, I’m going to set timers and only challenge myself to write during that time period. I posted about breaking the no revising rule and other writers reminded me to give myself permission to write badly. If I let go of being a perfectionist during my writing time, I will hopefully be able to complete my daily writing goals.

But what if…

What if I don’t finish this challenge? I refuse to consider not making this goal. So I’ve flipped every negative thought and turned it into something positive. I’m too excited about working on this new book!

My goals for the week

  • Write without revising
  • Allow my draft to be messy
  • Stay positive
  • Encourage another writer

All the best

~ Lamesha

Revising My Novel: Draft 5

#LameshaJuniorNovel has undergone five revisions. Pause. I completed five revisions! And with each draft, it’s necessary that I celebrate my progress.

Recap

#LameshaJuniorNovel is my novel that I’ve been working on for more than a year. I finished the first draft in July 2020. The pandemic has slowed me down a lot, but I’m very committed to this project. My novel’s genre is women’s fiction. It’s written in first person point of view and my main character is a Black woman. If she were real, I’d want to be friends with her and her sister.

Five Drafts

I’ve taken my time with each step of the writing process. When it came time to revising my novel, I initially set an unrealistic goal to finish revising the second draft of my novel in a week. Unrealistic goals only leave me disappointed. And disappointment sometimes births a host of negative feelings. Negative thoughts only serve as roadblocks that slow me down. One thing that I’ve learned to do is replace the unwanted, negative thoughts with positive ones.

To finish draft five, I knew that I needed to be positive. So set a firm realistic goal. Something that I could attain but also would keep me disciplined with my writing. I knew that my writing process isn’t fast paced. I knew that I would take my time revising my novel. And last week when I finished this latest revision, I was so proud of myself for not giving up and making my goal.

Unrealistic goals only leave me disappointed. And disappointment sometimes births a host of negative feelings. Negative thoughts only serve as roadblocks that slow me down.

Lamesha Junior

Two Tips to Revise Your Novel

  1. Create a checklist before you start
    • What do you want to revise? Dialogue? First scene? Ending? Characters motivations? Entire book?
    • Use and update this list as you revise
  2. Read your book
    • For every revision, I read my entire novel.
    • You can read it yourself or use the ‘Read Aloud’ option in your word processing software.

What’s next?

I will now begin working on my synopsis and query letter. The synopsis is a one or two page summary of my book. A query letter is a short letter that I will send to literary agents. It will detail information about my book and provide a short synopsis or blub.

Questions

Writers: What’s one tip you have for revising your manuscript?

Readers: Do you read women’s fiction?

~Lamesha

Creating a Writing Schedule

I tried writing at 5 AM. I joined the late-night writers for a session. And don’t forget about the hour dedicated to writing on my lunch break. Whenever a writer suggested the optimal time to write, I gave it a shot. But I learned that what worked for one writer didn’t necessarily work for me. I learned that it wasn’t about writing at a specific time but making sure that I scheduled in time to write.

Write Whenever You Can

Scheduling in time to write has worked best for me. My schedule has varied each day, especially while my son was enrolled in virtual school. Even though we’re on summer break, much hasn’t changed. As a stay-at-home mom, I have to make sure that he has a balanced day filled with fun and learning, independent time and time with me, outside time and adventures at home. And of course, we have to explore places in our city.

The only way that I can get everything done is to check my schedule ahead of time and figure out when I can write. Before he wakes up or after he’s gone to bed. Some days I might be able to write while he’s enjoying his independent time. Though each day may look different, I have to figure out when I can get in my writing time. Then I put it on my calendar. This has been the only way that I was able to start writing consistently.

Basic Schedule

The easiest method to create a schedule is to write a list of everything we have to accomplish in a day.

Example

  • 6 am Wake Up
  • Add whatever we need to do
  • Add details
  • More details
  • Yep more things that we need to do
  • 8 pm Write (***Whatever time we can write)
  • 10 pm Bedtime

Grace

One of the best nuggets of writing advice I’ve received is to remember that it’s okay if I can’t write every day. I’m still a writer if I can only write one paragraph on Monday, zero words on Tuesday, an entire page on Wednesday, a sentence on Thursday, 2,000 words on Friday, three chapters on Saturday, and nothing on Sunday. Giving myself grace to rest has actually brought more joy back into my writing. Before I was stressed and felt if I didn’t produce as many words as another writer, I had failed. But that’s not true. I’m still a writer. A writer that will write whenever I can and give myself grace when I need a break.

Questions

Do you schedule your writing or reading time? Do you write or read at a specific time each day?

~Lamesha

New Year’s Goal: Try Again

Happy New Year! I hope this will be a great year for you and your family.

I’ve set several goals for the year, and I would like to share two of my goals with you.

Try Again

I’ve learned the importance of knowing when to move on from things. In the past I tried holding on to things, hobbies, and old ways that I’d outgrown. But refusing to let these things go often frustrated me. It felt like I was forcing myself to be someone that resembled my old self, but she was so different from the woman that I was becoming. Shout out to Mrs. Obama for teaching us about becoming.

Trying again is just as important as moving on. There are many dreams that I haven’t fulfilled. My first attempts didn’t land where I wanted. Though I might’ve missed the intended target, that doesn’t mean I should move on.

So when do we know the difference? Try again or move on? I believe God will show us. The answer isn’t always immediate when we ask Him but eventually it will be clear to us. There will be something inside of us that will reveal what we should do. Maybe we’ll experience a nagging feeling that we gave up too soon. Or we might remember our purpose and the beauty in our dreams. This year I’m determined to reclaim my dreams and never give up.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try, again.

Author unknown

More to Come

The second goal that I’d like to share will be posted in another blog.

Questions

Is there a dream that you’re revisiting this year? Have you set goals for the year?

XO

Lamesha

My Fitness Journey: Consistency

I am five pounds away from hitting one of my major weight loss goals. If I lose 1-2 pound a week, I should be able to make this goal in a month. But with Christmas around the corner and the fact that we’re still in a pandemic, I have decided to focus more on consistency than what shows up on the scale.

Been There, Done That

I actually completed this weight loss goal at the beginning of the year. Then stay-at-home recommendations occurred because of COVID-19. Though our routines changed drastically, I managed to maintain my weight loss for several months. Over time, I ate a little more than my usual, exercised a lot less than my usual and produced a 6-pound weight gain.

How Am I Feeling?

I’m not tripping about gaining 6 pounds. My goal is to be healthy. As long as I attempt to eat well, move daily, and learn something on this journey; I will be pleased with my progress. I don’t believe in putting myself down and getting in a funk because the scale isn’t showing a certain number. Plus, I can still fit my clothes.

Lamesha Junior is giving happy smiles (caption by my son)

Gyms Closed

Sadly, my gym was one of the businesses hit hard during the pandemic. Before things changed in our world, I would go for walks five days a week and go to the gym 2-4 days a week. I alternated between using the elliptical, bike, and stair climber. Still a newbie to weights, I ventured to trying the different machines that targeted legs, abs, glutes, and arms.

I miss going to the gym and being inspired watching other people work hard. I also regret never joining their group fitness classes.

Lamesha doing cardio – exercise bike

Home Workouts

While I haven’t dusted off the Exercise DVDs I bought after having my son, I’ve found lots of inspiration on social media to assist me with working out. Some of the exercises that I’ve found online are way too advanced for me, but I’ve enjoyed coming up with my own routines and finding out what works well for my body.

Lamesha Junior wearing a pink hoodie and black tights

Goals

My end of the year fitness goals:

  • Work out 3-5 days a week
  • Eat healthy meals while balancing fun/cheat meals and desserts on select days
  • Drink water
  • Love my body
  • Never Give Up

Questions

Have you found a good fitness routine? Share what’s been working for you this year.

Remember to have fun while working on your goals!

Xo

Lamesha