Tag: fiction

• I Bought a Dollar Tree Book! Louise Jensen: The Date

  Before last month, I’d never bought a book from Dollar Tree. I’d looked at them in passing, maybe read the blurb on one or two of them, but never took one home. I will admit, I was being very judgey. How good could a book from Dollar Tree actually be? Don’t worry, I’ve shamed myself…

  Christine

  November 7, 2023

  Book Talk, Review

  book review, books, fiction, literature, reading, The Date

• I’m Not Reading Anymore

  …and it’s not because I no longer like books. This week, I found myself wondering if I was morphing into a version of myself that doesn’t enjoy reading as much as I used to. I’ve had the most difficult time sitting still to read this year. Instead, I find myself opting for visual stories—TV, movies,…

  Christine

  October 10, 2023

  Personal

  books, fiction, literature, reading

• Book 2 is Drafted, and I Missed a Deadline (kind of)

  I finished working with my Beta Reader a couple of months ago, and it was such a great experience to have someone who didn’t know me personally or as a writer read my second book and totally get what I was going for. Actually, she found themes I hadn’t noticed or intentionally set. Maybe I…

  Christine

  August 15, 2023

  Book Talk, Update

  Black authors, book 2, books, fiction, literature, short story, short story collection, writing

• Tips for a Productive Writing Session and Why I Still Don’t Have a Writing Routine

  I’ve tried. Really, I have. I’ve tried getting up early, staying up late, blocking out a day during the week; but no matter what I try, I cannot maintain a consistent writing routine. But who says I need one? There are a lot of voices in the world telling us what we need to be…

  Christine

  June 20, 2023

  Personal, Projects/Work, Related Things, Writing Journal

  Black authors, Black books, Black writer, books, fiction, literature, Personal, selfpublishing, short story, writing

• Book 2 Update

  Just a note: I’ve decided to try something different with this book, and I’ll let you know what it is later. Update: I am going into self-edits. It feels exciting and also overwhelming. The main story in Book 2 is one I started as a novel with parallel storylines that intersect at the end but…

  Christine

  May 9, 2023

  Projects/Work, Short Stories, Update

  Black authors, Black books, Black stories, Black writers, book 2, books, fiction, literature, short story, writing

• December Writing Cave – Day 26

  I’m stuck in a story. The underlying theme is clear, my reason for writing it is clear, but the actual story eludes me, and I’m trying not to stop writing and turn on the TV, so I figured I’d come chat with you for a minute. I was on “vacation” last week. Really, I spent…

  Christine

  December 26, 2022

  Personal, Writing Journal

  Black authors, fiction, Personal, selfpublishing, short story, writing, writing cave

• December Writing Cave – Day 14

  Well, hello there! No, I have not written another short story yet. BUT I have laid out the general idea and titles (except for 4 pieces) of the short stories I want to include in Book 2! Right now, there are fifteen stories I want to include in this book. A couple of them have…

  Christine

  December 14, 2022

  Update, Writing Journal

  Black author, Black stories, Black writer, fiction, selfpublishing, short story, writing, writing cave, writing challenge

• December Writing Cave – Day 1

  I wrote a short story today. I know, right, my “writer’s cave month” just started, and now I’m here writing to you as well. When I was thinking about what today would look like, I figured I’d scribble some keywords/topics/ideas into my writing notebook as my way of brainstorming and then end up reading the…

  Christine

  December 1, 2022

  Writing Journal

  Black author, Black stories, Black writer, fiction, short story, writing, writing cave, writing challenge

• Creating Space for Writing

  I was exhausted after I self-published my first book last year. At the time, I didn’t think it was taking a lot out of me, but there was a lot of other intense things happening in my personal life and all of it just kind of wore me out. I thought I would spend a…

  Christine

  November 30, 2022

  Book Talk, Personal, Writing Journal

  Black authors, Black writers, books, fiction, literature, Personal, reading, selfpublishing, short story, writing, writing break

• 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