Yesterday, my day job took our team out for a baseball game. I’m not a big fan of baseball but it was good to get out and get some fresh air and just relax.

Not worry about anything and just live in the moment of having fun.

Sometimes I think we as writers can get all tensed up about our projects, industry doom news, and those “infamous” statistics of getting published that we forget sometimes that writing is really only a *part* of our life.

It’s an important part for sure. Something that we love to do. Something that we’re passionate about. But sometimes you just need to remember that your life should be full of other things to enjoy.

I read a great post by James Killick this week. He summed it up pretty good for me with this simple sentence:

“Sometimes it’s ok to go and do something else. You are allowed a life.”

So remember to live a full life. This suggestion is geared more to myself since I tend to be an intense goal-oriented person.

But remember to have fun — especially when you’re hitting a wall with your writing.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Lately I have felt that I’ve been losing my focus. Last night, I decided to write down what’s really important to me and my writing.

The result were 9 things I want to always keep with me during my writing journey.

Karen’s Writing Manifesto

1. I will write from my heart.
2. I will be patient in my progress.
3. I will learn from my mistakes and failures.
4. I will support my fellow writers.
5. I will read lots of books.
6. I will forgive myself.
7. I will remember the real reason I write.
8. I will respect my reading audience.
9. I will never give up.

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have saw me mention the teenage angst going on in my neighborhood last week.

There was a MAJOR breakup between my teenage neighbor and his girlfriend. Afterwords, the girl cried hysterically outside the boy’s house for about ten minutes — and just when I was about to go outside and save some of her dignity, she left.

The plot thickens.

On Sunday morning, there was a little present for the teenage neighbor. Someone had spray-painted “DIE” on his car.

It doesn’t take a rocket-scientist to figure out who probably did it.

This incident sparked a story idea. I’ve always been interested in what makes stalkers tick. A spark formed of a jilted teen girl dumped by her boyfriend and the escalating lengths she will go to get him back. A flood of ideas came to me. And although the story premise isn’t new, there are so many ways for this story to play out to make it unique.

But hopefully in real life, this incident will stop with the spray-painted car.

Story sparks can ignite anyplace at anytime. I always keep a notepad by my bed as well as a little post-it pads in my purse and in my car. Because I’ve learned the hard way that ideas can disappear never to be retrieved by memory if not written down quickly.

And although I’m going to keep firm with my current novel project, I can’t wait to start on something new and visit my folder of story ideas to choose my next project.

What about you? Where do you get story sparks? How do you record them?

I’m still setting up my office and settling in. But it’s really making a difference in my writing. I’m a firm believer that you should be able to write anywhere, but now that I have this dedicated space, I’ve noticed when I enter this room, I become more focused.
















For my last novel, I mostly wrote in the sunroom in my old apartment and it’s almost that same feeling. Almost like it’s a sacred place to open my creativity and enter into my novel’s world. A place for the muse — whenever she feels like showing up. Although I still like to write in the bookstore and other places, I think this will be my main spot for finishing this novel.

I found some really cute bookcases at Target. Requires some muscle and assembly skills but very reasonable in price.

I *still* haven’t gotten my velvet chair yet. It’s on backorder but I can’t wait for it to arrive. Here’s a picture of it (just imagine it’s a nice pretty sage green):

A writer’s space can be anywhere. That’s beauty of being able to pick up your creativity and make it mobile. But a dedicated writer’s space doesn’t hurt either.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Get some writing done.

In this current revision phase, I’ve finished up the first part of my novel and now delving into my *most* favorite part — the dreaded middle.

I’m a plot chick so it has taken me a few revisions to get the logic of my rules and world right. I can’t move further until this is done. Now for this revision, I’m focusing on character development, which tends to solidify later for me.

The middle of your novel is a great place to really dig in and reveal your characters to your readers. The middle is where you can make use of flashbacks in a scene structure, reveal the dynamics of relationships, and most of all identify the protagonist’s yearning.

You’ve hooked your reader with the first part. You’ve set up the situation, introduced the inciting incident and changed the protagonist’s world. Now in the middle, you can reveal the layers of your characters — but the trick is also having a strong plot line that still keeps the reader intrigued.

It’s a delicate balance.

How many of you are working on your middle? Do you dread it? What do you concentrate on when in you’re in this part of your novel?