What I Learned From NaNoWriMo

November is known as National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. I’d heard about the event for several years, but there was always something keeping me too busy to participate. This year, as I found myself self-employed, time was abundant. I finally took the plunge and aimed for the 50,000 words to get aContinue reading “What I Learned From NaNoWriMo”

Why It’s Absolutely Okay to Write Badly

One of my favorite writers, Cinda Williams Chima, recently made a post on Goodreads saying, “I give myself permission to write badly,” in answer to a question about how she gets past writer’s block. That’s really what writer’s block, isn’t it? The fear of failure. The doubt that you might not have something important toContinue reading “Why It’s Absolutely Okay to Write Badly”

What I Learned About Writing From Taking a Long Time to Read a Book

I picked up a book in Spain over three years ago because it looked interesting. I thought, “I’m proficient enough in Spanish, and this sounds like a fun action-thriller that will be a breeze.” It was not a breeze. I am not proficient in Spanish (though my father said he didn’t think it was aContinue reading “What I Learned About Writing From Taking a Long Time to Read a Book”

Dealing With Imposter Syndrome as a Writer

I may have mentioned before how I work full time and go to grad school part time. So, when does that leave time for writing? The answer is virtually never, and it kind of eats at me sometimes. There are some nights after work and studying that I do have a couple of hours toContinue reading “Dealing With Imposter Syndrome as a Writer”