Category: Writing

  • First Day of Revisions

    First Day of Revisions

    One week. Two weeks. In my last blog about #LameshaJuniorNovel, I mentioned that I wanted to give myself one week off and then start revisions. Well, I decided to alter this plan. I gave myself two and a half weeks of rest. In this blog, I’ll detail why this turned out to be the best…

  • The First Game

    The First Game

    In honor of the NBA season coming back, I wrote a short piece. I’m a huge sports fan. A few years ago, I considered creating a sports blog. Note: This is fiction. It’s told from the point of view of a fictional basketball player. It had been months since I got to feel the excitement…

  • Plans for Revising

    Plans for Revising

    When I finished the first draft of Book 0, an author told me to take one month off before diving into edits. One month turned into six months before I looked at my book. This go round I am only taking one week off. 300 + Comments While drafting my book, I added over three…

  • I Finished the First Draft

    I Finished the First Draft

    A few years ago, I took several online writing classes. In one of my classes, my teacher told us to think of each day that we wrote as adding a link to a chain. “Don’t break the chain,” she said. She learned of this thought process from another group of writers.  This message helped me…

  • What I Learned from Writing a Short Story

    What I Learned from Writing a Short Story

    In 2016, I contributed a short story to the anthology, The Ex Chronicles. This book contains twenty short stories that reflect on the challenging relationships between family, friends, or lovers. Fool Me Once synopsis Jayla was overjoyed to reconnect with her childhood bestie, Keona. But when Keona uncovers information that could catapult her career, will…

  • First Draft Critic

    First Draft Critic

    A few weeks ago, I tweeted, “I know everything that is supposed to happen in this scene. So why am I struggling to write it?” I’ve encountered this situation several times. When I have a scene mapped out but can’t seem to execute it, usually I am being too critical of my ideas. Overthinking A…

  • Choosing to Write

    Back in 2009, I decided that I wanted to write a novel. My friends were surprised because I have a MS degree in Mathematics . They expected me to stick with a STEM career. But when I make a firm professional decision, I stick with it. I was among the group of I want to…

  • Writing Q&A

    Writing Q&A

    In today’s blog, I have answered ten questions I regularly receive about my writing. Let me know if you have any additional questions that you would like answered. 1. How long have I been writing? I started writing poetry in elementary school. For a while, I wanted to become a poet. After obtaining my MS…

  • Challenge: Finish the First Draft

    Challenge: Finish the First Draft

    The last time I blogged about my writing goals I wrote about my decision to scrap Book 0. That was a very difficult choice because I’d worked on that book for a few years. That book taught me that I could write and edit a book. Book 0 also showed me that I knew when…

  • Starting Over

    Starting Over

    This was the hardest professional decision that I’ve had to make. The First Completed Manuscript I’d worked on my first manuscript for years. Now, life caused me to take numerous breaks that lasted several months. I’m counting from the time that I wrote my first sentence on my first draft. In that time, I had…