Category: Writing Journal

• Constantly Changing Book 2 | Writing Journal

  So, you know how I was working on a novel as my second book? Well, that is no longer the case [shrugs shoulders]. I decided that I don’t care about Kanoa’s story anymore (harsh, I know). Quite honestly, his story is the one that was tripping me up the most. I was working with two…

  Christine

  May 31, 2022

  Book Talk, Personal, Update, Writing Journal

  Black author, Black books, book two, books, fiction, literature, Personal, reading, selfpublishing, short story, writing

• May Writing Goals

  I’ve come to two conclusions since last week: Fridays should be my writing days. I’m going to finish my novel before continuing my next collection of essays. I’ve recently started working with my cousin and (separately) her web designer. I’m working part time for both of them (9a-1p and 1p-5p, respectively), but I don’t work…

  Christine

  April 26, 2022

  Book Talk, Personal, Update, Writing Journal

  Black authors, Black books, Black Literature, books, first novel, literature, Personal, reading, second book, writing, writing goals

• Pen Name or Nah?

  One of the decisions I had to make when writing my book was what name I would be writing under. It seemed like an easy decision initially—first and last—but then I thought about getting married in the future and changing my last name and how I’d like all my books to be under one name…

  Christine

  September 14, 2021

  Book Talk, Personal, Writing Journal

  author, author name, books, first book, first time author, Personal, reading, self-publishing, writing

• What Happens When You’re Done Writing?

  The thing about self-publishing a book is you don’t just stop once you’re done writing. I assume (because I’ve never gone through it) that when going through the traditional publishing process, once you’re done with your manuscript you send it to your editor and back and forth you go until it’s polished, then you send…

  Christine

  August 24, 2021

  Book Talk, Personal, Related Things, Update, Writing Journal

  author, Black author, books, fiction, first book, indi author, literature, Personal, reading, selfpublishing, short story, writing

• Year is Halfway Over, Book is Halfway Finished, I’m Halfway Between Homes, and I Don’t Have an Accountability Partner

  What a weekend! We packed up my childhood home and moved into an apartment an hour away. You don’t realize how much stuff you have until you have to pack up a four-bedroom house. I’ll be honest and say we were not prepared for the house-selling process. We did not think ahead to sell the…

  Christine

  June 29, 2021

  Book Talk, Personal, Related Things, Writing Journal

  accountability, books, editing, expanding, growing, learning, moving, Personal, reaching out, reading, selfpublishing, writing

• Writing My Life

  I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I want my life as a writer to look. I’ve been thinking about how much writing I should be doing, what kind of writing I should be doing, when I should be writing, where I should be writing, who I should be writing for, what kind of…

  Christine

  May 4, 2021

  Writing Journal

  change, creative writing, life, life stories, reaching out, Short Stories, taking chances, taking risks, writer, writing

• Write Anyway

  I didn’t think I had anything to say this morning. For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been getting my posts done early so I could get other things done around the house, but this week I didn’t know what to write. This morning, though I still didn’t know what I would say, a reminder…

  Christine

  April 27, 2021

  Personal, Writing Journal

  challenge, encouragement, Faith, peace, Write, write anyway, writer, writing

• What is My Writing Process?

  Hint: I don’t have one… and that’s what I would like to change. It’s difficult to embrace new habits when your world is shifting. I don’t function at my best when I feel unstable. I work best when I feel secure, so when things change (especially a lot at once) it can be difficult for…

  Christine

  April 20, 2021

  Writing Journal

  creating, reading, writing, writing habits, writing process

• For Writers Who Don’t Feel Like Writers

  How do you define yourself? Do you define yourself by what you like, what you do, or what you accomplish? Maybe you define yourself by something else entirely. When it comes to writing, I define myself as a writer with a lowercase “w” instead of an uppercase one. Dictionary.com offers the following definitions of “writer”:…

  Christine

  April 6, 2021

  Writing Journal

  reading, Short Stories, writer, writing, writing habit, writing practice, writing routine

• Not Writing Becomes the Reward of Not Writing

  …behavior that gets rewarded tends to get repeated. If you stop writing then you’re kind of rewarding yourself with not writing. -Octavia E. Butler I was half-listening to an old Octavia Butler interview on YouTube when she said the above quote. I had to pause what I was doing and rewind the video to hear…

  Christine

  March 30, 2021

  Writing Journal

  not writing, writing, writing challenge, Writing Journal, writing practice, writing schedule