Dragon YA Story Update

It's been a long time in coming, but I finally finished the rough draft of my YA LGBT Dragon story. This started out as a contest concept. The prompt was to write an LGBT story about knights that had a happy ending. A short story turned into a novel (big surprise). I started it in November 2016, took off a few months, and finished it the last week of April for Camp NaNo. I have a lot to add in and edit, but it's a step in the right direction. Right now it's 75k. I plan to make it no longer than 80k. On to updates for other projects. First, I intend to edit the Dragon book and send it off to a few beta readers. While they're going through that, I'll edit TOTC. I'll go back and forth between editing the two books until I send the Dragon book out.

Meanwhile, I'm going to be writing some short stories for Whimsical Whisker, and also preparing to post a series I'm writing with my co-author on Patreon. Yes, we've decided we're going to start getting our names out that way. And maybe then you'll see some of my writing.

I still have a story with the Iowa Review. I'm hoping to hear back soon if I won a spot in their publication.

Until then, I'll keep you all updated through the blog. I still intend to post helpful information, but this may also turn more into a personal blog as I get closer to sending work out.

Cheers!

Writing With Depression

I go through periods where I live and breathe writing. From the moment I wake up to the second I fall asleep, ideas flow through my mind. They can be distracting while I'm working, but I love it. I feel the passion and the thrill that remind me why I want to be a writer. But then there are the dark days when my mind is so clouded with doubt and self-loathing, I can't hear the ideas. This is what it's like to write with depression. One day I'm fine, and then for the next five weeks, I stare blankly at a white screen. That only serves to make me feel worse about myself. How can I call myself a writer if I can't even put a word on a page

I'm going through one of those periods right now. I thought I had climbed out of that pit of hell I'd dug for myself, but I'm lingering in purgatory now. I exist, but I'm not living. Each day goes by in a partial haze, and it's not due to medication I'm taking. I find little pleasure in anything, though I may smile and laugh at the small things. Coming up with ideas is as easy and desirable as smashing my hand with a hammer.

I'm, by nature, a pessimistic person when it comes to my own life. I can cheer others on and see their value, but I don't often see it in myself. So when I get in this state, I tend to attack the things I love most, and that's my passion for writing. Nasty words creep into my mind, "Why are you such a failure? Why aren't you writing? How can you call yourself a writer? You're terrible. You'll never amount to anything."

Pretty mean, right? That's how my mind works sometimes. It's like I don't feel like I'm allowed to enjoy anything good in my life because I'm unworthy of it. And unfortunately my writing tends to suffer because of that. How long this period will last is unclear, but for those of you who go through this, just realize you're not alone. Others feel the same way and it sucks...but you'll get through it.

The thing that helps carry me on is I know that flame, that passion, is still burning deep inside of me. One day I'm going to open my eyes and I'll feel the ideas warming my mind, reminding me why I want to do this for a living. It won't be perfect. And maybe the feeling will only last for a day, but I'm happy to cling to that hope. I'm happy to wait for the light to come and the darkness to fade.

I Wrote a Book! Now What?

I've completed the rough drafts of many books in my years of writing. What typically happens is I put the finishing touches on the book, read through it once, then put it aside so I can work on the next book in the series. I'm now to the point that I actually need to prepare the book for an agent. So then I ask myself, now what? How do I go about fixing up the book when I know I have a ton of errors interspersed throughout the text? Here are a few tips I've learned while updating my own book.

• Breathe and Separate: Before you even start editing your story, take a minute to breathe. Separate yourself from the book for a few days, weeks, or even a month or two if that's what you need. If you jump into it too quickly, the story will be too fresh in your head, and that means it'll be harder for you to find mistakes. You want to read it fresh. And you also want to convince yourself not to get overwhelmed. This is not a fast process, so pace yourself.
• Change the formatting: If you have your text double-spaced, single space it. If you have it single-spaced, double space it. You'd be surprised how different your book looks when you do this, and it can help you catch more errors than if you look at it the same way you always have.
• Print it Out: As with changing the format, printing the book out allows you to look at the story in a different medium. This can also help you find errors as you go through it.
• Separate the Chapters: If your book is in one document, then save all the chapters as separate documents. As you read through, you can mark off what chapter you're on. I find that knowing I have to review 44 chapters is less daunting than having to read almost 400 pages.
• Quick Read Through: Once you've had time to breathe, read through your book once without making any changes. If there are changes you want to make, write notes so you don't distract yourself from reading through. This will help you focus more on plot errors.
• Pick a Topic: When you decide to edit your book, after the initial read, only choose one topic to edit. Maybe you're checking for continuity errors. Maybe you're looking for plot problems, or grammatical changes. Whatever it is, edit one topic at a time because otherwise you might find it way too overwhelming.
• Color Coding: Color code different types of errors to help keep your edits organized. Use "blue" for continuity problems and "green" to identify when characters show up. Post it notes also help with this if you have a printed copy.

These are just a few tips you can use to start off editing your first draft. As you go through, you'll become more comfortable with the styles that work for you. If you have any additional suggestions, post them below!

Review: Mahogony: A Love Letter To Black

I've decided that I want to start writing reviews of local writers or books that I really enjoy. I'm going to kick off this series with the chapbook "Mahogany: A Love Letter To Black." Written by Heather "Byrd" Roberts, a poet, performer, and teaching artist in Chicago, this chapbook tells a very deep, emotional story. It is a journey through her life, echoing both the tribulations and the joys she's experienced.

Heather graduated from Cornell College and received a Bachelors in Special Studies in Performance Art. She also received a Masters in Organizational Leadership from St. Ambrose University and a Certificate in Spoken Word Pedagogy from Concordia University-Chicago. Currently, she is the Programs Associate at Young Chicago Authors (YCA). YCA is a literary non-profit in Chicago that focus on cultivating more than 10,000 young peoples' voices through writing, publication, and performance education. She is also a member of the Poetic Forum Collective that has reoccurring shows at Stage 773 in Chicago.

I met Heather at Cornell College in Iowa, and I have always been impressed and amazed by her writing. After I helped found Wordsmiths, a creative writing group on campus, she founded Lyrically Inclined, a poetry/performance poetry group. She has carried on with her amazing talent to create "Mahogany: A Love Letter to Black."

I absolutely adored this chapbook, and I had the honor and pleasure of being one of her editors. The poems are raw, honest, and powerful. I grew angry at the injustice that she described, and it made me understand more just what she has gone through over the course of her life. Her language is beautiful and tantalizing. It's easy to hear the heartbeat in each line of poetry, her heart beating to the rhythm of her words.

I highly encourage you to pick up this amazing piece and check Heather "Byrd" out on her facebook page. You can also visit her website to learn more about her and her journey.

To purchase "Mahogany: A Love Letter To Black," you can find it here on amazon.

Congratulations on your success, Heather "Byrd"!