Meredith Allard's Blog, page 3

Exploring Humanity Through Storytelling: The Heart of My Novels

Why I Focus on Humanity in my Storytelling

One of the most common responses I’ve heard from readers is how human James Wentworth is. If you’re not familiar with the Loving Husband Trilogy, James Wentworth is one of the main characters. He’s also a vampire. He’s also more humane than most of the humans in the story. Exploring the human condition through fiction is one of the reasons I love being a writer.

I’ve said before that I live under a rock, and I do, though I prefer to think of it as a hobbit-hole. Though I was the executive editor of a literary journal of historical fiction for more than 20 years, I wasn’t all that familiar with the word trope. I knew what it meant, of course, but I never thought about it as a way to guide my writing. My favorite authors don’t write to tropes, and neither do I.

When Her Dear & Loving Husband was first published, I discovered that some readers had certain expectations for vampire men in fiction. The preternatural men were expected to be alpha males, and often their stories included epic battles. The romance was sexy-time, and on and on. But that’s not what I wrote.  

Since Her Dear & Loving Husband was published in 2011 (heavens!), I’ve received comments from readers telling me how they find the Loving Husband Trilogy so refreshing because it doesn’t include any of the trope-filled expectations. It’s the story of a man who is different from the general society as he tries to live his life. I think the reason James’ story resonates with readers is because we can relate to him on some level. Most of us are different in our own ways, and most of us try to get by as best we can. 

A few readers have asked me if I had the intention of sharing a message in my stories when I write. My answer is…maybe.

I like to think of my stories as layered. If you want to just read for the story, and most readers do, then I hope that my books provide hours of entertainment. If you want to dig a little deeper, yes, there is more to the story beneath the surface if you care to examine it. When I sit down to write, I don’t set out to deliver a message. I’m not looking to teach a lesson or solve a puzzle–well, maybe that’s not entirely true. I’m looking to solve the story puzzle. I’m looking to make the story the best it can be so that it provides entertainment for readers. Beyond that, I’m chasing something more elusive: a flicker of truth about what it means to be human.

I think it can be easier to explore what it means to be human through a nonhuman character like a vampire. Nonhuman characters provide a contrast that begs some inspection of human traits and actions. James’ otherness allows us to examine our own beliefs about our own otherness. Most of us have felt like an alien on our own planet at one time or another. Reading literature gives us space in which to explore those feelings in a safe way.  

Stories Make You Think About Being Human

In the quiet spaces between my characters’ actions, in the unsaid words, the missed chances, and the difficult decisions, I try to explore the contradictions we all carry. We can be brave and afraid in the same moment. We can love deeply and still hurt those we love. We can seek freedom and still long for familiar comforts. These tensions live at the heart of my stories, especially those set in historical periods that feel distant and yet echo the lives we live today.

The funny part is that I didn’t intend for my current WIP to be historical at all. I had convinced myself that I was tired of historical research and I wanted to write something set in the present day. I wrote the first draft and realized that there is nothing in our present day that inspires me. After some prodding, some digging, and some reflecting, I realized that this had to be a historical novel. I couldn’t write it any other way. 

History fascinates me not just for its grand events but for the intimate, often invisible facts tucked inside where they have been long forgotten. When I research history, there’s always some hidden gem that brings the story to life. Humans at their core haven’t changed over time. Fashion, technology, social mores, and medical knowledge has changed, but people have wanted the same things for as long as there have been people.

In the past, people navigated constraints we can barely imagine today, and yet their emotional landscapes—grief, longing, loyalty, desire—are the same as ours. I don’t write about perfect people, whether they’re normal or paranormal. I write about complicated, yearning, intelligent beings trying to make sense of the world with the limited toolbox they’ve been given.

At its best, fiction offers a mirror, but also a window. Through my characters, I hope readers see parts of themselves—but also feel invited into lives different from their own. There are many reasons I love reading, but high at the top of my list is that reading fosters empathy–the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Empathy requires imagination. And historical fiction, I believe, can stretch that imaginative muscle in ways few other genres can. It’s why, even when I’m certain I’m done writing historical fiction, I’m always drawn back. 

The Human Element in My Characters

What do I hope my novels say about being human? That we are resilient. That we are flawed. That we carry wounds. That we still, somehow, despite it all, manage to keep loving. That we are shaped by our history but don’t have to be defined by it. That every life is unique and matters in its own way. That we are not alone in our questions, contradictions, or quiet acts of courage.

Every time I’m asked what my stories mean, my answer is always what it means to be human. I hope readers feel that as well.

Categories: Creative Writing, Her Dear & Loving Husband, The Writer’s Life, Writing, Writing Historical Fiction, Writing InspirationTags: creative writing inspiration, exploring humanity in fiction, how authors explore humanity in novels, storytelling, what does it mean to be human?, writing historical fiction, writing inspiration

Hidden Gems: My Favorite Bookish YouTube Channels Revealed

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I enjoy watching YouTube videos occasionally, particularly of the BookTube variety. Not all BookTube videos are created equal, though. Some are just okay, and there are too many BookTubers who recommend the same books and say the same things as other BookTubers. Then there are the creators who stand out from the crowd.

If you’re new to BookTube or if you’ve never tried it, here are my favorite bookish YouTube channels. 

Ben McEvoy–Hardcore Literature Book Club

This is by far my favorite BookTube channel. Ben is the founder of the Hardcore Literature Book Club, which can be found on Patreon and YouTube. He provides lectures about some of the greatest books ever written, focusing primarily on the classics, and he kindly adds the introductory lecture for each book to YouTube for free. 

Through Ben’s YouTube channel,  I’ve been introduced to books I hadn’t heard of (such as The Tale of Genji and The Master and Margarita) and I have a Master’s degree in English. With the Hardcore Literature  Book Club, I’ve read East of Eden, The Tale of Genji, Infinite Jest, The Master and Margarita, Far From the Madding Crowd, One Hundred Years of Solitude (a reread for me), Madame Bovary, and probably a few others that I’m forgetting.

Ben’s introductory lectures for each book cover the background of the author, the history and social issues behind the book, and other fascinating tidbits. When Ben puts out a new lecture video, it takes me twice as long to watch since I pause it every few minutes to take notes.

I haven’t yet signed up for the Hardcore Literature Book Club on Patreon, but I’m making that a priority this summer after my teaching year has finished. I wanted to ensure I had the time to engage with Ben’s lectures. If you love classic literature and want intelligent, thoughtful discussions, look no further than Ben’s channel. 

Cups and Thoughts

Cath is so creative. She’s a big journaler, as I am, and I love watching her create her spreads for her book journals. She gets as excited about books as I do. She introduced me to the work of Carlos Ruiz Zafon, and I loved both The Shadow of the Wind and Marina. Cath mainly reads fantasy and young adult-type books, so if that’s your vibe you may pick up some good recommendations. Her videos are faceless and silent, yet her content feels quite personal. 

Cath has a 9 to 5 office job, so she has to juggle her reading and artistic endeavors around her working life. I’m always appreciative when creatives are honest about that. She shows that it’s possible to earn a full-time living while still pursuing your passions. Also: tea. A lot of tea. 

When I want a relaxing bookish video, I’ll watch something from Cups and Thoughts. 

Darling Desi

Desi is a charming young woman whose content is primarily of the slow living variety. She talks about baking, crafts, and appreciating life, but she also loves books and she has many videos where she talks about her favorites. I appreciate that she shares books that not every other BookTube creator talks about. I had never thought about reading seasonally until I started watching Desi’s channel, but it’s something I’ve grown to appreciate. If you want book recommendation for each season, Desi has them for you. 

Christy Anne Jones

I mentioned Christy in a previous post where I talked about my favorite creative YouTube channels. I love Christy’s bookish content as well. She introduced me to the novels Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and Piranesi, two of my favorite reads in 2024, so she’ll always have my gratitude for that. 

Ruby Granger

I’m not sure Ruby qualifies as a hidden gem since she has nearly a million followers, but I love this young woman’s content. Like Desi, she talks about slow living, baking, and appreciating life, but she loves to read and it shows. She likes the classics, as I do, and she also recommends books that not every other BookTuber is recommending. Also: tea. Even more tea than I drink, which is impressive. 

All of the creators I’ve mentioned are on the younger side, and I’m old enough to be their mother. A friend of mine says that when you think you’re the smartest person in the room, get another room–meaning that no one knows everything and we should always learn from those around us. 

I’ve learned so much from these well-read BookTubers. The English teacher in me is thankful to see that there are young people in the world who understand the value of books and reading. 

I worry that we’re losing an appreciation for literature and knowledge in general. Great literature teaches empathy as well as critical thinking skills. If we lose these skills our society will suffer greatly for it, if we haven’t started to already. When I watch content from young adults like Ben and Ruby, and when I see how much value they find in reading and deep thinking, I feel like maybe we still have a chance. 

That’s no small thing these days. 

Categories: Book Recommendations, Books, Reading, Reading Inspiration, What I’m ReadingTags: book community, book discussions, Book Lovers, Book Recommendations, book reviews, bookish YouTube, BookTube, Reading Inspiration, what I’m reading, YouTube book channels

Behind the Scenes: My Writing Space and Creative Sanctuary

Where Do You Write?

Where we write is as important as how we write since our writing space can affect how we feel emotionally, mentally, even physically. Having a dedicated space to write has made such a difference in how I feel about sitting down to work every day. 

For years, I didn’t think much about my writing space. I sat at an old desk, in a chair that wasn’t meant for someone with a bad back, and I was rarely comfortable since at five-foot-one I’m only slightly more than hobbit-sized. My old desk was cluttered because I love to color and art journal and my supplies were scattered everywhere, leaving no room to work.

A few years ago, I found a desk, which is really a table, at IKEA, along with handy-dandy white shelves. I found tin cups at Target, a discount department store, and they were $1 each. The cups are perfect for holding my pens, pencils, highlighters, and coloring supplies so they are off the surface of my desk. I like seeing my supplies displayed. They remind me that I’m a creative person.

I also have a sturdy chair with a seat pad that helps my posture and a padded roll beneath my feet (as I said: hobbit-sized). While they don’t look like much, the seat pad and the padded roll make a big difference, especially since sitting for long periods isn’t easy for me. 

Going For an Aesthetic

When I became interested in the academia aesthetic, I added a few bits and bobs to my desk, including the boxes on the bottom shelf that look like old books, the typewriter-looking pencil holder, the bust of David, and my white quill from the Charles Dickens Museum in London. Yes, that is a TARDIS pen next to it, but it’s my desk and I can put what I want there. My style is more Light Academia since my desk is white, the shelves are white, and my walls are off-white. I also have LED candles on my desk because my cat Poppy likes to sit here while I work. 

A closer view of the shelves where I organize my art and writing materials.

I bought the short shelf below from Amazon to put my computer on because I have a pinched nerve in my back and looking down becomes painful quickly. For me, it makes a huge difference looking up at the screen. I liked the keyboard because it looks and sounds like a typewriter. 

Here’s everything on my desk. It looks pleasing, at least it does to me, and it’s a space where I enjoy spending time, especially when I’m knee-deep in a new project as I am now. 

An overview of my writing space. You can see the reflection of the tree outside my window on the computer screen. Cool. A Nice Writing Space Doesn’t Require Money

A desk doesn’t have to be aethetic, at least not in the sense of having a certain theme as mine does, but it should be somewhere you enjoy working.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money, or even any money, decorating your desk. I bought the bust of David, but otherwise I used items I already had. The coloring supplies I already had, along with the tin cups from Target. The typewriter pen holder was in my classroom, but I brought it home for my desk. 

Take what you love, whatever makes you feel creative, and add it to your writing space. I’ve seen people stack their desks with favorite books they had around the house. One important factor is to keep whatever you need for writing close to hand. I keep my commonplace book for my WIP on my desk so I don’t have to search for it after I sit down to work. If I’m researching and need to take notes, I can easily grab a pencil. 

Many writers enjoy working in bookstores, coffee shops, or libraries because they like being out and about. I write at home because I’m too distracted anywhere else, so for me it’s important to have a space where I enjoy spending time.

You Can Have More Than One Writing Space

Occasionally, on days when my neck or back are being nuisances, I’ll sit in my recliner and work on my laptop. The recliner is big and sturdy, and though I’m looking down it can be easier on my body. It’s difficult to concentrate when you’re hurting. I can see my desk from the recliner, so I still get the Light Academia vibes, and I’m sitting beside one of my bookshelves, which is always a good thing. I’m next to the window in my recliner, and I’m a big fan of natural light for working. As I’m writing this, I can see the pretty tree outside, the blue sky, and the green plants on my patio. 

Having a special space that serves as my creative sanctuary is important for my writing process. This is where I can let my imagination run wild. In 2024, I published two books in one year for the first time, and I believe that having a special space for writing helped me feel more professional and productive. When I sit at my desk, or with my laptop, I know that procrastination is over and it’s time to get to work.

Categories: Creative Writing, Creativity, Inspiration, The Writer’s Life, Writing, Writing InspirationTags: creative space, dedicated writing space, home office for writers, productive workspace, The Writer's Life, writing desk setup, writing productivity

From Rough to Refined: Tackling the All-Important Second Draft

Starting Draft Two of my WIP

Baking time for my current WIP is done, the timer had dinged, and now I’m writing the second draft. While this is the fun part of the writing process for me, it’s also the most difficult to explain because I believe there’s magic involved. 

In her book Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert speaks of creativity as a form of enchantment. I wrote a bit about enchantment here. Enchantment can be understood as a mystical or divine force that is available to us if we’re brave enough to allow that force to use us as conduits. Gilbert believes that creative ideas, such as ideas for books, don’t come from us but through us. It’s similar to the way Michelangelo believed that the statue was already inherent in the marble. It was up to him to discover what was already there.

I know that’s a little woo-woo, but I can’t think of a better way of explaining how I go from draft one, which is nothing more than a fleshed out outline, to draft two, which, while it still isn’t perfect, is much closer to my vision for the story. 

The best way to illustrate this is to share the first draft for Down Salem Way alongside the final draft. Normally, I wouldn’t share the first draft of anything I’ve written with anyone, including myself, but since we’re among friends I decided to go for it.

Chapter 1 of the first draft of Down Salem Way

The sun in California is brighter somehow. In other places, it appears round and yellow as certain as the day is come, in California the skylight appears happier, stronger, even. In Carmel, along the central coast, the sun spent most of the day most days hidden behind beach clouds, leaving the weather cooler than it would be when the clouds finally burned away and the golden rays touched the lapping ocean waves, the sprinkles of sand, even the concrete sidewalks near the homes and touristy shops up and down the hills of the town. In those moments, after the sun appeared, it was as if the sun didn’t care to shine anywhere else in the world.

The coastal scenes in Carmel, California was in some ways not so different than the coastal scenes in Salem, Massachusetts, James thought. There was something soothing about the nearby ocean. Throughout his life, then and now, he was always drawn to the ocean, perhaps because being near the end of the world, listening to the tide as it slapped the beach, smelling the salty air, feeling the cool breeze reminded him of Salem, and no matter where he was in the world his heart, even when it ceased beating, was always in Salem. James sat at his desk and looked through the window, watching the shapeshifting coastline only steps away. He slipped his hand under his shirt, felt his heart beating, and sighed. There were moments when he still thought it had all been a dream. Even after four years, he was still getting used to it, waking up with the sun. Seeing the brightness of the day. There were still days when he forgot who, or what, he was and he thought he should run for cover whenever he saw the dimpled yellow rays reflecting off the grass in his yard or sparkling like glass on the ocean. There were some days when it was still a surprise when he woke up at dawn and grew tired after dark. And there were still times when he missed being awake in the night hours when all the world was quiet, but this is what he had begged for and this is what he had. And, really, that was all right. He pushed the odd longings for the night aside whenever he saw his Sarah smile. Sweet Sarah. Beautiful Sarah. The girl who gave his life meaning Sarah. Even though this life was still a challenge, it was a challenge he would conquer, one day at a time. He had overcome so much worse, after all.

He opened his laptop computer, opened his document, and began typing when he heard the office door creak open. He turned to see Grace, nearly six already, her golden curls bouncing as she trudged cautiously toward him balancing a tray with a half-filled cup of coffee and an egg croissant. James smiled at his daughter. He never tired of seeing her in the daylight.

“Thank you, Gracie.” He took the tray from her hands. “Are you having your breakfast too?”

“I already ate. Mommy is taking me and Johnny to school.”

“Ah.” James nodded in his most serious manner. “You’re a big girl now who goes to school, are you?”

“I’m starting kindergarten soon!”

“And Johnny goes to school too?”

“He’s just little. He goes with the babies.”

For comparison’s sake, here’s the final draft:

10 January 1691, Monday

The winters are colder here, I’m certain of it. I feel it so in my bones, which feel brittle, as though they shall shatter like icicles against a hammer. The sky looks nearly as it does in England, gradations of gray from near-black to tinder-slate that shed wind, sleet, or snow depending on its mood. Whilst England grows cold enough in the sunless months, in Salem the sky disappears beneath a woolen blanket. I cannot step one foot outside without feeling liquid ice in my veins, but such is life in Massachusetts in January.

This morn Lizzie laughed as I piled on layers of clothing in an attempt to stay warm: my woolen flannel underdrawers, my linen shirt, my thickest worsted leggings, perhaps not the most fashionable, but they are my warmest; my woolen suit of doublet, jerkin, breeches, and my heavy coat, the deep blue one Lizzie says matches my eyes, though what matters my eyes when I cannot see for the blizzard? Lizzie pulled my coat close to my ears and knotted my scarf near my throat so I might keep whatever warmth I take with me. I would cover myself in ten coats if I could without looking ridiculous. Even as I was, Lizzie could not stifle her giggles.

“Good heavens, James. You look like a blue onion ready for the peeling.”

“And shall you peel my layers away?”

She blushed in that way I love, red-hot along her jaw. She pushes me toward the door as though she could not be rid of me soon enough.

“Perhaps when you return home. If you’re lucky.”

Wait…what?

They don’t even seem like the same book!

You’re right. They don’t seem like the same book.

When I first began writing Down Salem Way, my intention was for it to fit easily into the Loving Husband Trilogy. The Loving Husband Trilogy has a dual timeline in the past and the present and it’s written in third-person limited from either James or Sarah’s point of view. I thought it would take place after Her Loving Husband’s Return as well as during the Salem Witch Trials, which is how I wrote the first draft. The excerpt from the first draft above takes place after the events of Her Loving Husband’s Return.

The Enchantment, or the Muse, or the Gods of Storytelling, or however you want to conceptualize it, didn’t like the past and present storylines for Down Salem Way. I tried every which way I could think of to make the story work with the dual timeline, but I wasn’t happy with it.

During an extended baking time (I can’t remember precisely how long the break between drafts was, but it was months), I read Marilynne K. Roach’s book The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege. Actually, this was a reread for me since I had read Roach’s book, as well as her Six Women of Salem, while I wrote Her Dear & Loving Husband. I wanted to refresh my memory since I was writing about Salem during the witch hunts again.

When I reread Roach’s day-by-day chronicle, something clicked in my brain. What if Down Salem Way was strictly historical fiction? And what if it was James’ diary, his own day-by-day chronicle as he experienced the madness of the Salem Witch Trials as they happened?

Can you hear the “Aha!” moment from where you are?

I wanted to see if I was onto something, so I wrote a few scenes from James’ POV as though he were writing in his diary in the late 17th century. Once I started, I never looked back. I knew I had hit on the angle I needed for this particular story.

It’s not as easy as that, though, because I had to let go of my original vision for the book. All of the present-day scenes that I spent months writing had to be deleted from my manuscript. It’s never easy to do, but I knew that if I wanted Down Salem Way to be the best book it could be, I had to begin again.

This kind of extreme revision between draft one and draft two doesn’t happen with every book. With some books I have things figured out well enough from the get-go. Every once in a while, though, I know that I have to be open to changing my original concept. I have to go with the flow. I have to let the book do its thing, often without any help from me. Woo-woo again, I know, but I believe that there’s an element of the creative process that is indefinable an unexplainable.

For my current WIP, I had what I thought was a solid idea, but then I started second guessing myself and coming up with excuses about why that idea wouldn’t work. I pulled the story this way, tugged it there, but I couldn’t get the revised idea to work. I read widely during this time, because I never know where the spark of creativity will come from, and finally I read a certain book (I’ll elaborate after the book is out–spoilers!) and I realized that my initial idea was the right one after all.

I wrote in this post about how when we’re stuck we need to keep going, as in continuing to put words on paper. That’s how I figured out my second draft. I continued writing in my book journal as new ideas occurred to me. I kept reading books that I thought might help, and I’d journal about those new ideas. Ideas led to other ideas led to other ideas until one day I was able to pull together a story that will work. It’s not perfect yet, but at least now my story has enough meat on the bones that I have something to work with. For our stories to be their best, we need to be willing to make changes wherever necessary.

(P.S.: Fans of the Loving Husband Series have probably already spotted this. If you think the first draft of Down Salem Way looks remarkably similar to And Shadows Will Fall, you would be correct. While I ended up trashing the present-day scenes from Down Salem Way, they fit perfectly with And Shadows Will Fall so I recycled them. That’s why you should never delete anything, half-baked ideas or not. Keep your unused writing in a file. Sometimes something that doesn’t fit in one project will be perfect for another.)

Categories: Creative Writing, Creativity, Down Salem Way, Writing, Writing InspirationTags: creative writing, creative writing inspiration, editing your manuscript, revising your novel, second draft, writing inspiration, writing process, writing tips

Writing Tools I Use: A Behind the Scenes Look at My WIP

My Writer’s Toolkit

Over the years, I’ve fine-tuned my toolkit in order to streamline my writing workflow. My writer’s toolkit is always a work in progress, but I’ve found a system that I’ve used for my past few books, including my current WIP, a Dark Academia suspense novel. 

I thought I’d share a bit about my favorite writing software. Hopefully, this will be helpful for other writers. By the way, this isn’t a sponsored post. This is what I actually use. 

Google Docs and Drive

Good ol’ Google Docs is a great way for me to get organized, especially at the beginning of a project when I’m not sure which end is up. If I have digital research that I need to organize, I’ll create folders for each topic in my Google Drive. It makes it easier for me to see what I have and what I still need. I have writer friends who use nothing but Google Docs to write their books and they’re perfectly happy. I wrote my first seven books using only Microsoft Word and it was fine. 

Notion

I use Notion primarily for journaling, and I have a separate section for The Professor of Eventide. This is where I brainstorm about the characters or plot. I try out various POVs (I’ve gone back and forth with first-person POV and third-person POV for this book, and I think I’ve settled on first, but we’ll see). This journal acts as a brain dump where I can think through everything about the story. 

My Notion Journal for my current WIP

I could use Google Docs for this as well, but my brain likes having separate things in separate places. All of my journaling is in Notion, so I keep my book journal there too.

Scrivener

When I first bought Scrivener, it made no sense to me and I ignored it for a long time. 

After hearing so many writers rave about it, I gave it another go. I watched a few YouTube videos, and once I saw how everything worked I began to appreciate its features. I’ve been using it as my main writing software ever since about 2015. I wrote here about how much I enjoy using Scrivener. And here’s a video from Joanna at The Creative Penn about how to use Scrivener if you’re as confused by it as I was when I first bought it. 

The first draft of Chapter One of The Professor of Eventide in Scrivener. Needs work, but it will do for a first draft.

I like that in Scrivener I can look at the left-hand margin and see what chapters I’ve written, or chapters that need to be written. I add a little blurb about what the chapter is about so I can see at a glance what that section should contain. 

There are times, particularly in the first draft, when I don’t write in chapters but in scenes. Perhaps there’s a scene I know I’ll need, but I don’t know yet where it’s going to fit in the larger scheme of the story. I’ll write the scene in its own Scrivener page and then figure out later where it goes. Scrivener makes it easy to drag the scenes or chapters around and rearrange them until everything is just right, and you can color code chapters and scenes separately so you can easily see what’s what. 

Another thing I love about Scrivener is being able to upload photos into book’s main file. I like using photos for inspiration, and when I find one I upload it into Scrivener and pull it up to look at as I’m describing whatever it is–a drawing room, a garden, a building on a college campus. That’s a handy feature if you’re visually inspired as I am. 

If you prefer having everything in one place, everything you can do with Google Docs and Notion you can add to Scrivener. You can import your research into Scrivener, and you can also add a section for a journal where you think your way through your characters, plot, and anything else. If you use Scrivener for everything, you won’t need Google Docs or Notion. 

The reason I keep some things separate in Google Docs and Notion is because I only add things I’ll need to write my novel in Scrivener. I don’t like clutter, even in my computer files. I weed through what I need in Google and journal through my ideas in Notion. This way, I don’t have anything in my Scrivener file that isn’t necessary for writing my book. For other people, it may be easier to keep everything in one place.

A Dedicated Book Journal

Of all the writing tools I use, my handwritten journal is my favorite. 

While I’m working on a book, I like to change up my activities to keep my motivation from waning. I can only sit at the computer for so long until my back or neck start kvetching. Moving from digital to analog makes a difference in how I feel about working, and when I’m completing a long project like a novel, I need to keep the momentum going forward, not slamming to a halt because I’m tired of staring at a computer screen. 

I can’t go into detail about what I have in my book journal for my current WIP because, as my favorite River Song says, “Spoilers!” This is a book that’s nearly impossible to talk about without giving anything away. After my WIP is published, I’ll be more specific about what I have inside my journal and I’ll share how I organized everything. 

Writing my research into my journal, along with other tidbits like sketching out a map of the fictional college where the story takes place, adding information about Maine, where the story takes place, and adding my chapter-by-chapter outline helps me figure out the story from the bottom up. When I write, I have my journal beside me so I can find what I need. 

My journal for my current WIP. It was gifted to me, but I think it was purchased from Amazon. 

I like bigger notebooks because I have more room for writing. You can see below that I pasted a scrapbook paper collage on the inside cover, not to be crafty, but because I was going to use this notebook for something else. When I decided to use it as my journal for Eventide, it annoyed me that it had all this information for the other project so I covered it up and used stencils and stickers for the title. 

Sometimes I think of my book journal as a commonplace book since it is a receptacle for knowledge, in this case knowledge that I’ll need to write this story. When I started my first commonplace book, I didn’t create an index since I didn’t feel I needed one for that particular book. Here’s a bit about my first experience with a commonplace book. My first commonplace book was small, so it was easy for me to flip through to find what I needed. For this project, with so many odds and ends, I felt an index was necessary. John Locke had an interesting way of indexing, and while I like the idea of an alphabetical index, I didn’t feel it would work for this project. 

The first thing I did was number the pages. Some notebooks come with the pages already numbered, but this one didn’t. I left a few pages at the end of the book (10 for this book of over 200 pages) and I titled it “Index” and left them blank. As topics come up, I write them in the back and note the page numbers so I know where to look for information on that topic. I also color code the topics; for example, all of my information about Maine is highlighted in brown. I don’t know if the highlighting is necessary since I have the page numbers, but it only takes a moment and it makes the book more colorful. A journal doesn’t have to be aesthetic, though it can be if you want it to be. I’ve seen examples of crafty journals if that’s what you prefer. 

If you’re just starting out, play around with different software to see which way of streamlining your writing workflow is best for you. If all you need is Google Docs, or if all you need is Notion, or Scrivener, or something else, that’s great. Writing software doesn’t have to be complicated. The more simple you can keep things, the easier it will be when you’re stitching your project together.

Categories: Creative Writing, Creativity, Inspiration, The Writer’s Life, Writing, Writing InspirationTags: commonplace books, Google Docs, improve writing productivity, Notion, novel writing software, research tools, Scrivener, world building tools, writing tools, writing workflow

The Secret Weapon of Historical Novelists: Research That Captivates

I recently read Leigh Bardugo’s The Familiar, a historical fantasy novel. Where Bardugo’s Ninth House was a five-star read for me, I’d place The Familiar at four stars. I liked the story, and the main character Luzia grew on me as the story progressed. I didn’t love the Hunger Games-type magic show, and though I liked the happy ending, I wasn’t entirely sold on it.

The Familiar is about Luzia Cotado, a poor young woman working as a servant in Madrid who can perform magic. The story is set in the late 16th century, and Luzia and her family are Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity during the Spanish Inquisition. Fear of the Inquisition looms large in this story. 

One of the things I liked about The Familiar is how Bardugo brings in historical details only where needed rather than laying them on thick with an information dump. In the Afterword for The Familiar, Bardugo shares her historical sources, and it’s apparent that she did her research.

Seeing how Bardugo weaves the information into her 16th-century story reminded me of the tips I’ve shared about how to research historical fiction in a way that captivates readers. There are certain details we should look for when we research historical fiction. We want to carry our readers into our historical world by touching their senses. Our readers should feel as though they are standing alongside our characters in that place and time.

What do your characters see, hear, taste, touch, and smell? Often it’s the smaller details–what people wore, what they ate, and the houses they lived in–that bring historical fiction alive. Remember, historical novelists are world builders as much as fantasy writers, only our worlds are based on places and people that once existed.

Clothing

Studying what people wore during your time period can be a lot of fun. Pinterest is perfect for this since you can often find examples of the clothing you want to describe. 

If you’re writing about the Victorian era, Ruth Goodman, in her book How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life, describes what it’s like to wear Victorian clothing and undergarments. YouTube is also a great place to find examples of clothing from various eras. There are many videos showing historical clothing, how it was made, and how it was worn. I found a great video of a woman dressing for an 1870s ball on YouTube while writing Hembry.

While clothing details can be interesting, you don’t want to go overboard describing clothing since that could distract from your story. Whatever details you share, you want those details to flow seamlessly through the narrative. Don’t stop to describe an outfit in minute detail, that is unless the outfit plays some larger role in that scene or that story. There has to be a reason why you’re bringing these specific details to the reader’s attention. 

Does someone see a woman in her stays who shouldn’t? That would be a reason to describe those stays. We’re telling stories set during an era we don’t live in, so we can’t assume that our readers know what people wore in seventeenth-century Massachusetts, sixteenth-century Spain, or any other time. 

We don’t want to spend two paragraphs describing clothing since that would slow down the action, but we do need a few details to help immerse readers in the time.

Hairstyles

Treat hairstyles the same way you treat clothing. Unless your novel has a specific reason to dwell on Marie Antoinette’s ship-shaped wig, you don’t want to spend a lot of time describing hairstyles. Use a gentle touch. It only takes a few specific details to help your reader visualize your characters.

Food

I’ve lost track of the number of times I said I should have been a food historian. I love researching and describing the food of the era I’m writing about. Sometimes, in true food historian form, I’ll even cook a few historically accurate recipes. I love to cook, so exploring historical recipes is something I enjoy.

You don’t need to go to such lengths by any means. My habit of including meals in my fiction is largely influenced by my love of Dickens, who delighted in describing food. I do think readers are more interested in reading about food than other details because what people ate gives a particular insight into the era, and, hey, who doesn’t like food?

When I researched When It Rained at Hembry Castle, I found Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, first published in 1861, which contains some of the most popular dishes of the Victorian era. Discovering recipes for gravies, puddings, and pies, as well as main courses, helped my Hembry friends eat well. As they’re sharing a delicious meal we can join them at the table and listen in on their conversations and learn who they are and how they fit into their world.

People

Who were the real-life people important to your era? How will your fictional characters interact with these real-life people? How can real-life people add interest to your story? Perhaps your story will even be centered on a real-life historical figure. No matter how you choose to include real-life figures, you need to know who the important people from your era are and you should understand their role in history.

Buildings and Places

What is the geography of the place you’re writing about? Where do your characters live? What do your characters’ homes look like based on the era and their social status? The stately home in When It Rained at Hembry Castle plays an important role in the story. I even named the novel after it.

James Wentworth’s home, a seventeenth-century wooden house built before the Salem witch hunts, proves to be an important character in Her Dear & Loving Husband. As with other historical details, the best time to bring attention to buildings and places is when your character notices those places. Is this the house where your characters live? If so, then they would notice the creaking stairs. Are your characters on a journey and discovering new places? Then they would notice new sights and sounds.

Culture

I love learning about the culture of the era I’m writing about. In addition to learning about the food and the places, I love discovering what people read, how they spent their free time, the art they looked at, the music they listened to, and their lifestyles in general. Touches of culture can add a deeper layer of interest to our stories.

GRAPES

One trick I learned from a history class I took years ago is to think about the historical world I’m creating through the acronym GRAPES. 

Geography—How does the climate and landscape affect the people who live there?

Religion—How does the society’s belief system and traditions affect the people who live there?

Achievements—What are the achievements of this society—good and bad?

Politics—What is the power structure in this society?

Economics—How are goods and resources used in this society?

Social Structure—How does this society organize people into classes? Who ends up in which class and why?

Bardugo uses all of the above to bring her readers into the trials and terrors that faced those living during the Spanish Inquisition. The Familiar is a good example of how to weave specific details into a historical story.

No matter how you share your historical details, it’s important to remember that we don’t want to burden our readers with an information dump. If we focus on moments where our characters notice new things or are placed into new situations, then we have a logical place to step back and fill in the information that makes historical fiction special.

Categories: Creative Writing, Historical Fiction, Research, Writing, Writing Historical FictionTags: creative writing, creative writing inspiration, historical accuracy, research tips for writers, writing historical fiction, writing inspiration, writing tips

Five YouTube Channels To Spark Your Creativity

Creative Videos Can Provide Inspiration

Like other people, I enjoy watching YouTube videos now and again. I’ve fine-tuned my algorithm on YouTube to show only what I want to see. I don’t watch the news, and I don’t want to see anything news-related. Yes, I know it’s like sticking my head in the sand, but for this moment head-in-sand works for me.

My YouTube feed shows slow living, artistic, writing, and BookTube videos. That’s all I follow and that’s all I watch. I enjoy videos that add something positive to my life. When I’m not writing, I read as well as pursue creative activities like playing in my mixed-media journal and journaling in various forms. Several creators on YouTube give me wonderful ideas that help me overcome creative blocks. 

If you’re looking for creative inspiration, here are five YouTube channels that can spark your creativity. 

Writing

I’m pretty sure anyone reading this blog knows how important writing is to me. Even though I’ve been writing for decades, it’s nice to see others talking about my favorite subject. All writers, no matter how long we’ve been at it, need inspiration from time to time.

1. Brandon Sanderson

I don’t write fantasy, but I love Brandon Sanderson’s channel. He has a great personality, and he has some videos that talk in-depth about his writing process. It’s interesting to see how he creates his fantasy worlds. Sanderson is probably one of the most prolific writers working today. 

2. Christy Anne Jones

Christy is a young writer from Australia. She has a positive, upbeat personality, and she talks about writing and reading in a realistic way. She shows her experience writing her fantasy novels step by step, along with how she found her agent. She’s honest about the fact that she has a job (creating content) and that her writing has to be done around her work. I’m always happy when writers are honest about things like that. Her videos about the writing routines of famous writers, including my main man Charles Dickens and Octavia E. Butler, are some of my favorites. 

Mixed Media

3. Stephanie Martel

I love playing in my mixed-media journal. I love that the purpose of an art journal isn’t to create a work of art but to play with paint, color, and texture. If I end up making a finished product, that’s fine. If I just finger-paint, that’s fine too. It’s one of my favorite ways to spend my free time. I wrote about my experience with mixed media journaling here.

I’ve had some great ideas from watching Stephanie’s channel. If you’re new to mixed media journaling (also called art journaling), Stephanie shows step-by-step how to go about creating your pages. In every video Stephanie points out that there’s no right way to create a mixed-media page, which is what I love about her.

Creative Book Journaling

4. Mochibujo

5. Black Haired Tree

I love watching both of these talented ladies make their book journal spreads and listening to them talk about the books they’ve read while they create. They give honest reviews about the books, which I appreciate.

The point of these creative inspiration videos is to see them as just that–inspiration. As I set up my creative book journal, I took a lot of ideas from Mochibujo, but I use her ideas in my own way.

Like Mochibujo, I set aside space for the book cover, which I print on sticker paper, and I also add how many stars I give the book using a packet of gold star stickers, with the title, author, genre, and date I finished the book, along with how many books I’ve read that year so far. I’m not keeping track of the number of books because I want to meet some arbitrary goal of reading 100 books a year. I keep track for my own curiosity.

I read 365 days a year, pretty much, and I’ve never read 100 books in a year since some of the books I read are long. For example, in 2024, I read Shogun (about 1000 pages), Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (about 800 pages), Middlemarch by George Eliot (about 800 pages), and several books in the 600+ pages range. I’ve never been afraid of long books. They take longer to finish, that’s all. Reading isn’t a race and it shouldn’t be a competition. The English teacher in me would rather you read five books a year that you engage with deeply than read 100 short books that you skimmed in order to say you read 100 books that year. In my book journal, I also add a favorite quote or two (or three) from the book–things I particularly want to remember.

Where Mochibujo uses a pen to outline this section, you can see below that I use both pen and thin washi tape. Mochibujo creates her spreads with whatever scenes she wishes. I go through my stash and try to match ideas, themes, or even the cover of the book as closely as I can with whatever papers, stamps, washi tapes, and stickers I have. That’s just a personal choice; people can create their spreads however they wish. 

This is my book journal spread for Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. I had a lot to say about this book and used two pages. Since Bathsheba is a farmer, I thought the “Farm Fresh” washi tape went well. I thought the hat looked like something Bathsheba might wear.

My creative book journal is 8 ½ x 11, the size of notebook paper. As much as I enjoy the creativity of putting the spreads together, writing about the book is the most important part for me, and I want as much space to write as possible. Sometimes I fill one page with thoughts. For some books, if I have a lot to say, I use two or even three pages. For the creative spread, I use leftover papers, stencils, washi tapes, stamps, and stickers from my scrapbooking days. I haven’t been scrapbooking since I haven’t been traveling much, so I enjoy using the supplies in my creative book journal. 

This is the dotted journal I use from Emshoi.

I started keeping a book journal in January 2024, and I’m glad I did. I’m engaging with the books in a deeper way, actively reading, and I remember what I’ve read. There are so many books that I know I’ve read and yet I can’t remember a thing about them. Now if I want to remember something, I go back into my book journal. Sometimes I’ll flip through it just to remind myself about books I’ve read. Sometimes I’ll flip through it just to enjoy the spreads I made. It’s a wonderful feeling to look at something and know, “I made that!”

Try Them and See If You Like Them

These are just a few of the creative YouTube channels I enjoy. I’ll share some of my favorite bookish YouTube channels in another post. If you have a favorite creative YouTube channel, let me know. I’m always looking for recommendations.

Categories: Creative Writing, Creativity, Inspiration, The Writer’s Life, Writing InspirationTags: boost creativity, creative ideas YouTube, creative inspiration videos, creative YouTube channels, how to find creative inspiration on YouTube for writers, online creative inspiration, writing inspiration

How to Write Through the Difficult Stages of a Novel: A Tip for Authors

When You’re Ready To Give Up

There’s a stage of the writing process I rarely hear talked about, and that’s the stage when the project hits a roadblock and we’re ready to put that book by the wayside and say “Bye-bye!”

My current WIP is in the baking stage, and though I have a complete first draft, a few aspects of the story are still stumping me. In moments of frustration, I feel tempted to give up on this project and move on to my next idea. 

This is nothing new for me. Every time I write a novel set in a new world I hit this stumbling block where I feel like I’m never going to figure out how the pieces of this particular story puzzle fit together. Steven Pressfield said, “Resistance never sleeps. It never slackens and it never goes away. The dragon must be slain anew every morning. However, as with anything in life, if you’ve succeeded in the past, at least you know that you can succeed.” 

This WIP is my 15th book. I’ve clawed my way over similar hills before, and after those successes I know that this feeling of wanting to give up will pass as long as I keep at it. I like to give myself a break between drafts so I can see what I have with fresh eyes, but when the baking time is over, it’s time to get back to work. 

Writer’s Block: Yes or No?

According to my old friend Merriam-Webster, writer’s block is “a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece.” If you look up the definition of writer’s block, you’ll see many definitions, each slightly different from the other. 

I’m fascinated by the fact that writers argue about whether or not writer’s block exists. I’m not a fan when I see people, writers or otherwise, dictating what others should think or feel. If you think writer’s block doesn’t exist, that’s fine, but I’m not sure anyone has the right to make proclamations, yes or no, to others. Everyone responds differently to the myriad of challenges that writing presents. If you think you have writer’s block, you do, and if you don’t believe writer’s block exists, you don’t.

For me, writer’s block isn’t about whether or not I’m putting words on paper. If we’re going to write something, then we need to put words on paper. There’s no getting around that fact. When I think of writer’s block, I think of hitting a wall where I’m not entirely sure where my story is going and ideas are scarce. It takes several drafts before I figure things out. I’m still writing, as in putting words on paper, but I’m stumped about which way the wind is blowing and I haven’t found my compass yet for that particular story. 

Toni Morrison said, “I tell my students there is such a thing as ‘writer’s block,’ and they should respect it. It’s blocked because it ought to be blocked, because you haven’t got it right now.” Yes, that’s it exactly. There are still aspects of my story I haven’t got right now. There are twists and turns I haven’t discovered, and my first draft has enough plot holes to resemble Swiss Cheese. 

Even though a lot of my story is still unclear, I’ve been writing. I have a complete first draft with a beginning, middle, and end. They are not a good beginning, middle, and end, but they exist. Barbara Kingsolver said, “Give yourself permission to write a bad book. Writer’s block is another name for writer’s dread—the paralyzing fear that our work won’t measure up. It doesn’t matter how many books I’ve published, starting the next one always feels as daunting as the first. A day comes when I just have to make a deal with myself: write something anyway, even if it’s awful. Nobody has to know. Maybe it never leaves this room! Just go.” 

Sometimes I hear authors talk about writing, and they say something along the lines of, “I write a first draft, then I edit it, and then I publish it.” I’m not that kind of writer. I discover so much depth about my stories through the many drafts I write. I discover things about the characters I didn’t know when I started, and I can finally see the larger picture. But it takes time. 

I was once asked how many drafts I write for my novels, and my answer is I don’t know. Many. I can usually count up to three drafts, but after that it becomes a jumble of moving scenes around here, adding dialogue and description there. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if I have a new draft or if I made alterations to an existing draft. 

Once I have a decent draft, I need to go back into my earlier chapters and add foreshadowing so the pieces of the puzzle feel connected. I wrote about foreshadowing here.

How To Find Writing Perseverance

I know that every writer wants the magic formula for finishing a book. There is only one thing you can do when you get to the difficult stage of writing a novel: keep going. 

Keep writing. Keep putting words on paper. Free write, brainstorm, bullet point, write a scene that occurs to you even if you’re not sure it will end up in your final draft, whatever you need to do–just keep going. When you stop putting words on paper you stop making progress. Our goal is to make progress, even if it’s only a little bit every day.

Some stories take longer to come together than others. When I’m at the difficult stage of a project, when I’m tempted to give up, I motivate myself to finish by knowing that with every draft I’ll understand the story better. I continue putting words on the page until I can see where the story is taking me.

Jennifer Egan said, “I haven’t had writer’s block. I think it’s because my process involves writing very badly.” A thousand times, yes. My process also involves writing very badly. I mean really badly. If I showed you one of my first drafts alongside one of my final drafts, you wouldn’t believe the same person wrote them. I barely believe it, and the words came out of my brain and off my fingertips.

I’ve had to learn to make peace with that part of my process. Sandra Tsing Loh said, “When you face writer’s block, just lower your standards and keep going.” 

I couldn’t have said it better myself. 

Categories: Creative Writing, The Writer’s Life, Writing, Writing InspirationTags: ” “writer’s block, creative writing, writing, writing challenges, writing inspiration, writing motivation, writing perseverence, writing productivity, writing tips

My Poetry Obsession: What I’m Currently Reading

I began my writing life with poetry, though it was writing fiction that stuck. Always my love of poetry remained, and even now when I read fiction it’s the beauty of the language I look for–the poetry in the prose. 

As much as I love poetry, I lost my way with reading it for a few years. Once I became a novelist, I read fiction almost exclusively. Over time, I found my way back to reading poetry. Now when I read, I have one poetry collection, one novel, and one nonfiction book going at the same time so I can tap into all my interests. Here are some of my poetry recommendations.

Poetry Reading ListMary Oliver

Reading Oliver for the first time was like meeting a new friend I felt I’d always known. Her focus on nature, the beauty as well as the violent reality, sings home for me. Her verse on the surface seems simple, perhaps even simplistic, but when you dig into her themes of mindfulness and paying attention to the world, you realize her work has profound depth.

If you’re new to Oliver, I suggest starting with Devotions, a Read With Jenna pick that features the best poems from Oliver’s collections. 

Last week I finished reading Upstream, a collection of essays. Oliver begins with how she would skip school to spend her days in nature reading the great American poets and thinkers, and then she talks about some of her biggest influences, including Poe, Whitman, and Wordsworth. Some of these essays I had seen before, but some, especially the literary biographies, were new to me. Her take on Emerson is particularly fine.

E.E. Cummings

When I was a fresh-faced university student studying literature, it was poetry more than prose that blew my mind. I remember reading E.E. Cummings and realizing for the first time that grammar and punctuation rules could be seen as suggestions instead of laws to be obeyed. I learned that you could experiment with language. 

I recently read Cummings’ Selected Poems, edited by Richard S. Kennedy. I recommend this edition since Kennedy shares background information about Cummings in each section of the book. While the information isn’t essential for understanding, it gives Cummings’ verse more depth. For example, I didn’t know that Cummings was influenced by art, particularly Cubism, and was himself an artist. Now I can see the results of those influences in Cummings’ poetry.

Ocean Vuong

If you want poetry from someone with mastery of the English language, read Ocean Vuong. I read Vuong’s novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous a few years ago and loved it. His writing is personal, heartfelt, and, yes, gorgeous.

Most recently, I’ve read his collection Time is a Mother and I highly recommend it. Although my life experiences are different from Vuong’s, I still see myself in his verse. That’s what poetry does–it shows us, as Maya Angelou said, that we are more alike than we are different. 

Langston Hughes

I love Hughes’ poetry. I love the jazz and blues rhythms that reverberate from the page. Hughes is another favorite from my university days, and he wrote some of my all-time favorite poems: “I, Too,” “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” and “Theme For English B.” 

I have Selected Poems of Langston Hughes from Penguin Random House on my self, and it’s the compilation I recommend. 

Joy Harjo

Harjo was named United States Poet Laureate in 2019. A musician and performer as well as a poet, Harjo’s verse captures blues and jazz rhythms, as Langston Hughes did before her, while sharing the brutal honesty about life for Native Americans past and present. I’ve read Harjo’s Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings, which is about resilience in the face of hardship. This collection from Harjo is five stars from me.

Walt Whitman

For me, poetry began with Whitman. When I read “Song of Myself” for the first time when I was at university I knew I had met a kindred spirit. I learned how to put words and then sentences together from Whitman, and I search for that free verse spirit when I’m writing fiction. My sense of the interconnectedness of all things began with Whitman. 

“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”

If you’re looking to read Whitman, start with Leaves of Grass which contains “Song of Myself,” his seminal work. Then you can move onto his other works, including his American Civil War poems. 

Emily Dickinson

Dickinson is another kindred spirit I met as a literature student. She lived most of her later life in seclusion, but she lived an in-depth life of the mind where she contemplated life’s most important themes: nature, the self, love, faith, and death. 

I have Hope is the Thing With Feathers: The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson on my shelf. It’s a wonderful edition and I recommend it. 

The Poetry Foundation

If you’d like to read poems by any of the poets above, The Poetry Foundation from Poetry Magazine features poems and biographical information about the poets, along with essays, articles, and podcasts. You can find it online here.

Where To Start Reading Poetry

If you’d like to read poetry but you’re not sure where to begin, you might choose an anthology. I recommend The Best Poems of the English Language by Harold Bloom, which gives a selection of poems beginning with Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales through Hart Crane. From there, you can choose the poems you like best and read more deeply from those poets.  

On Writing Poetry

As I’ve started reading poetry again, I’ve started writing it again too. If you’re looking to write poetry and need some inspiration, I recommend A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver and Writing Poetry by Barbara Drake, which I’ve had on my bookshelf since my university days. I checked Amazon, and Drake’s book seems to be out of print, which is a shame, but there are used copies available. My copy has been reread so many times the spine is cracking. It’s worth getting your hands on one if you can. 

Learning More About Poetry

If you want to discover poetry from the inside out, anything by Edward Hirsch will do. Hirsch brings well-known, well-loved poems to life with fresh eyes, and I always learn something when I read his work. I’m currently reading Hirsch’s How To Read a Poem: And Fall in Love With Poetry, and I’m annotating most of the book. 

Poetry Helps You Understand the World

For me, poetry is a profound way to engage with the world. It prompts critical thinking, personal reflection, and emotional engagement with this crazy life I lead. And it allows me to enjoy the beauty of the English language. What more can you ask for?

Categories: Book Recommendations, Poetry, What I’m ReadingTags: classic poetry, Devotions, Mary Oliver, modern poetry, poetry books, poetry reading list, poetry recommendations, reading recommendations, what I’m reading

Escape the Scroll: A Writer’s Guide to a Productive Day

How We Schedule Our Days

When I’m watching YouTube, videos will pop up about someone’s daily routine, whether they’re writers, students, or artists. I’ve watched a few of those videos, and it can be interesting to see how others get through their days. 

It can be hard for people with a full-time job to visualize being creative while working full-time, and many use having a job as an excuse not to create. Most of us have the fantasy of writing for a living; however, most of us will need to find other ways to bring in money for shelter, food, and life necessities. 

I wrote here about how you can write while working full time. Most writers, if they’re being honest, will admit that they have multiple streams of income, which may include vlogging, blogging, podcasting, working in bookstores (if you’re Ann Patchett you own a bookstore), or any other type of job. For 20 years, I was a full-time teacher, the executive editor of a literary journal, and a scholar who completed a PhD. I also wrote 13 books during that time. The time to write is there if we challenge ourselves to find it.

My Own Idea of a Productive Day

My daily routine will look different than others since I don’t have children. If you have children, you’ll have to juggle your time differently. Many people have both jobs and children, and they still find time to write. It’s a matter of prioritizing how we want to spend the hours allotted to us each day.

Here’s an example of my daily routine ten months a year, from August to May, which is the school year here in Nevada where I teach. This is a Monday – Friday routine.

5:30 am–Wake up and get ready for work. 

Ugh. I know, but school here starts at 7 am. I’m definitely not a morning person, and I’m so afraid of sleeping through my alarm that I get up earlier than I need to. I read, usually, before getting myself up and going. 

6:30 am – 1:50 pm – Work. 2:00 pm – Home. 

Having had long commutes in the past, I know how lucky I am to live so close to my job. Once I’m through my door, I greet my cats, get out of my work clothes, and put on my comfy clothes since that helps my mind to separate from being at work to being at home. 

2:30 pm – Dinner. 

Since I start so early in the morning, my meal times are a little odd. I’m not hungry at 6:30 am, so I eat my breakfast/lunch at 10:45 am. When I get home in the afternoon I’m hungry, so I’ll eat my main meal around 2:30 pm, and then I’ll have a snack later in the evening–about five pm-ish. It works for me–that’s all I can say. 

3 pm – 7 pm – Writing and other creative activities. 

My writing routine varies depending on where I am in the writing process. If I’m working on a first draft, I sit down, type my 500 words, and then I’m done with my writing for the day. If I’m working on a later draft, I might spend hours writing. 

After I finish my writing for that day, I do admin tasks like writing these posts, and once a month I have a newsletter for subscribers. I’ve been tinkering with my website to make it easier for readers to find posts of interest. 

If I have a book I’m actively marketing I’ll work on that. Marketing my books is not something I do all the time. I know other writers don’t agree with this philosophy, but I think it’s a good idea to drop out of sight occasionally. This way, when I come back, I feel “new” to people who may not have seen me for a while. Right now, while I’m writing my work-in-progress, I’m not marketing at all. But then when I come out with a push for a new book, I seem fresh instead of readers thinking, “Her again?”

I’m still here, wherever here is, writing for this blog because I enjoy it. To me, this is time well spent. This website is my main connection to other readers and writers. Usually, readers read my books first and then find my website. I’d bet that’s how it works for most authors. Some readers find a post of mine through a search engine and they become regular readers.  

No Social Media Or Doomscrolling

I hear about social media detox a lot, but that’s one daily habit I haven’t had to break. One of the reasons I have more time to write is because I’m not on social media. I have a Facebook author page where I post these blogs, which takes about two minutes once a week. I don’t doomscroll. I don’t watch the news. I have very few apps on my phone or my iPad, and most of them are for coffee places where I can get points and an occasional free drink. 

Social media was never my thing. First, despite everything I’ve read, I’ve never bought into the idea that social media is a good place to hawk books. If used well, it can be a great place to make connections, but making connections isn’t the same as selling.   

Second, the anger on social media is off the charts. It’s probably worse now, but it has always been bad. Since I don’t enjoy ranting with or at strangers, I stay away. 

Third, and most importantly for me, social media is a huge time suck. To be visible on social media, to have your posts show up regularly in the algorithm, you have to constantly feed the monster. I have a job and my writing, and I don’t want to spend my time coming up with cute quips to share throughout the day. 

If YouTube counts as social media (parasocial media is more accurate), then that’s my one foray into the online world. But my feed is curated to BookTube, slow living, and crafting creators. If I would start any new social media, it would be a YouTube channel because at least that would be authentic for me. I’ve considered creating a YouTube channel, but again, creating enough consistent content to curtsey to the Algorithm Queen isn’t something I’m sure I’d be able to sustain. We’ll see. I might try it and see how it goes.

During this 3 pm – 7 pm time slot, if I’m done with my writing for the day, I might write interesting tidbits into my commonplace book. I wrote about my experience with my first commonplace book here. The day after I finish reading a book I’ll add my page for that book into my book journal. I had gotten away from multimedia journaling, but I’ve picked it up again. I also keep a personal journal. Journaling is a bit of a thing for me. Journaling in various forms keeps me sane, fosters new learning, and prompts me to think more deeply. 

If I’m really deep in writing mode, as in the third draft or the editing stage, I might write late into the night even with work the next day. I’ve written until 10 pm sometimes when I was at a key moment in the writing process. 

7 pm – 9 pm. Reading. 

Every night, I make myself a pot of decaf black tea, get into my jammies, and read for about two hours. Thomas Jefferson said, “I cannot live without books.” I’m the same. I love reading widely–historical fiction, literary fiction, magical realism, poetry, the classics. I love reading about experiences close to my own, and I love reading about experiences far from my own.

When we read we feel less alone. There are those experiences that we have where we think we’re the only ones to have ever felt that way, and then we read a book and discover that this author, someone we’ve never met, has expressed that feeling perfectly. Also, reading fuels my writing in ways I cannot begin to explain. As Stephen King said, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”

9 pm to 10 pm. YouTube, TV, or Film.

This is when I’ll watch a YouTube video or two from my carefully curated collection. I might also watch an episode of TV, a documentary, or part of a film, which I’ll finish the next night. I recently watched the Netflix adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, and it’s an outstanding adaptation. It was filmed in Spanish, in Colombia, with talented Colombian actors, some of whom weren’t even professional actors, and it captures the dream-like quality of Garcia Marquez’s magical story. The first season of eight episodes are now available. I read that they started filming the second season in February 2025. Five stars from me. 

10 pm. Bedtime.

When you have to be at work at 6:30 in the morning, you go to bed on time.

This isn’t my routine every day. There are days when I have appointments and other to-dos and I’m not home until later. But on days when nothing else is going on, I can carve out a nice chunk of writing time.

Even if your days are more packed than mine, there are ways to create daily habits that allow us time for what we truly want to do. For me, reading, writing, and other creative activities fill my world. I would not feel at peace without them. 

Categories: Creative Writing, The Writer’s Life, Writing, Writing InspirationTags: ” “social media detox, ” “writer’s block, creative writing, daily habits, productivity, writing inspiration, writing routine, writing tips