Make this tale live for us in all its many bearings, O Muse Homer’s Odyssey, translation by T.E. Lawrence My muse has been very sleepy. I was prepared for 2023 to be easier than 2022. A cross-country move through a spanner in the works of my writing life during 2022. Things started to settle downContinue reading “2023 Goals: Creating While Your Muse Sleeps”
Tag Archives: NaNoWriMo
Creating in the Midst of Chaos
“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” Leonard Bernstein War in Ukraine. Climate change. Two years in a pandemic. Division. Anger. The world feels scary, out of control. Creating something may feel like the furthest thing from your mind. But it can beContinue reading “Creating in the Midst of Chaos”
2022 Writing Goals: In With the New
2021 has ended, which proves that time flies even when you’re not having fun. Seriously, 2021 was a doozy. 2021 in the rearview mirror I leaned into writing as self-care because, let’s be honest, our options remained limited. I managed three writing retreats at AirBnBs, which helped considerably—having a different view and being in nature.Continue reading “2022 Writing Goals: In With the New”
NaNoWriMo’s Almost Here: How to Get Your Story Ready
Last year, I wrote about doing National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) during the COVID-19 pandemic. And here we are again in 2021. But this year we’re all a bit more ragged after 19 months of the pandemic. Last year, I tried plantsing: the liminal space between plotting and pansting (as in, write by the seatContinue reading “NaNoWriMo’s Almost Here: How to Get Your Story Ready”
A Writing Plan for 2021: Taking Stock and Setting Goals
Like most people, I won’t be sorry to see the back of 2020. Setting goals for the new year feels odd when I know we’ll still be in quarantine for several months. In some ways, 2020 has shifted the way we view goal-setting overall; allowing ourselves some breathing room to do the best we can.Continue reading “A Writing Plan for 2021: Taking Stock and Setting Goals”
Puzzling My Way Through Research
Research is an essential component of all the writing I do. Both my fiction (historical) and nonfiction (science policy) require a lot of upfront research as well as what seems like continuous research during writing and editing. Luckily, I enjoy research. But sometimes it can seem endless. There’s always more to research. I hand-write myContinue reading “Puzzling My Way Through Research”
NaNoWriMo in the Time of COVID
National Novel Writing Month is almost here! But this year feels different… because it is different. Preptober—getting ready for November In NaNo terms, you’re either a planner or a pantser (writing by the seat of your pants with no plan). I’m definitely a planner. In 2018 and 2019, I not only spent time developing detailedContinue reading “NaNoWriMo in the Time of COVID”
The Evolution of a Writer, Historical Fiction Edition
I wrote a book. Two, actually. Both historical fiction. Hopefully with more to come. Research is the key to historical fiction I consider research to be my superpower. We all have a superpower. It’s usually something you are good at, but also something you like to do. Did I love to research first or didContinue reading “The Evolution of a Writer, Historical Fiction Edition”
Kate Zerrenner 