coffee cups and cursors

It’s every writer’s worst nightmare. It creeps suddenly into your mind until it’s all you can think of, stopping the flow of any creative juice you have. Writer’s block - a writer’s number one enemy. People can tell you a thousand ways to try to beat writer’s block, but in order to actually do so, you have to find what works for you. For some people, that’s going back to the drawing board, reworking the plot from the beginning. Some people flee from their writing, seeking refuge far away. If you do a search on the Internet, it’ll yield resumes like “go for a walk” or “create a routine.” Think Small What I like to do when I have writer’s block is start short. I find prompt generators for short stories or work on scenes from shelved WIPs (works-in-progress, for those who don't know) until something in my brain starts flowing again. I keep a main WIP folder on my computer so I can go right to my project or avoid it if I’m blocked on it. That keeps my project in the front of

Haven’t so many of us wished to get paid to read? Readercoin seems to be the answer to those prayers. Readercoin is a new app that lets you earn its eponymous cryptocurrency by listening to and reading books. I'm so enamored with this app that I just  had  to share it with you all. It's perfect for someone like me, who has a demanding schedule and little time to read for pleasure. Cryptocurrency? You know, like Bitcoin, except this isn't Bitcoin. It's a currency that's generated by the time you spend reading and listening. I am not, nor do I pretend to be, an expert on how it works. I refer you to the FAQs for that. What I can tell you cryptocurrency can be exchanged for rewards like Amazon gift cards or PayPal at a usual exchange rate of 1,000 Readercoins for one US dollar. For most people, that's probably just as good as cash (and it's almost definitely the closest as you're ever going to get). You also have the option of donating your R

Hello August! We're hoping this month provides us with much inspiration and many hours of writing time. Our writing goals in July had to take a backseat to our personal and professional lives. We didn't get around to running those word sprints, but we'll aim to do them in NaNo November. Neither of us met our goals for Camp NaNo. Jessica actually lowered her word count goal during the month when she realized she was deleting more words than what she had added in. For August, we've set some new, more realistic goals based on our time constraints. MEGAN’S AUGUST WRITING GOALS Write some blog posts Rework my daily schedule to include designated writing time now that there's a new full-time job in the picture Finish a short story and submit it for publication somewhere Finish new outline for  Earhart & Noonan's Last Grand Adventure JESSICA’S AUGUST WRITING GOALS Write some blog posts Finish editing and rewrites on this draft version of  Murder

As we near the end of Camp NaNo, you might have found yourself adding a little bit to your story every day or you might have been avoiding it completely. Maybe it's become a habit during July, but as the month nears the end, the incentive and inspiration is gone. So how do you make sure you continue to write every day? You're probably wanting to say it's impossible. I can't continue to write every day. I don't have the time, I don't have the inspiration, it's just not something I can do. We're not going to tell you that you're wrong. We go through those same thoughts too. We are going to tell you what we chose to do to try to write every day. Megan I’ll be honest—I didn’t write every day. I couldn’t. When you essentially work three jobs, you don’t always have time. And that’s okay. Give yourself some grace and exercise that self-compassion, hard as it may be. I know it’s difficult for me. But you know what I did do? I thought about writing

If you're asking yourself what kind of foreign cuisine  plotto  might be, you're on the wrong blog, buddy. Plotto  is a book written by William Wallace Cook, of deforesting-Canada fame. He concocted a formula for plot, wrote a book about it, and now it's super confusing to read. Don't get me wrong. You could totally read the in the front of the book instructions very thoroughly and understand what's going on. But who has that kind of time? Also, since when is following instructions any fun? Let's Mix It up a Little But before we do any mixing up, you'll need a copy of Plotto . My paperback copy was a whopping $18.95 USD I didn't have to pay because it was a birthday present. If you want a tangible book , you can definitely find it on Amazon. If you're cool with a digital copy, however, you can get it for absolutely free .  Bonus: it's searchable. I definitely recommend having access to both. The first thing you'll notice once you

When you’re looking for a local place to write, you might just say that you could go to the coffee shop. After all, they’re easy to find and most are set up for writers to spend hours on end there. But sometimes you want to get a change of scenery and explore something different. Changing locations can help you when you get writer’s block or it could give you some new inspiration. So if you find yourself looking for a new or unexpected place to write during Camp NaNo, here are seven other local spots you can venture. Local Spots: Libraries Bookstores Hotels Friend’s house Nature spots Malls Aquarium, zoo, museums, historical sites, local attractions Libraries Most libraries have tables and chairs that you can work in. Some have computers that you can use if you’re a cardholder. Some even have power if you opt to bring a laptop. Libraries are quiet and most people won’t try to bother you while you write. Most you can have access to wifi as you work. Best of all, t

If you're reading this because you've got a bad case of writer's block mid-project, stop reading. That post will come, but this is not that post. This is for the people who are at a total loss as to which project to begin. Or to find a project-worthy idea in the first place. Maybe you're still stuck on finding a NaNoWriMo project, or maybe you've decided to abandon your original project. Whatever the reason, it's time for a new direction. Believe it or not, you've already got the road map in front of you! If You Have a List of Ideas to Pick From This seems pretty obvious, but maybe try diving into your massive, ongoing list of ideas to pick your next project. What, you already thought of that? Your problem is selecting one? My bad. First, narrow down your ideas by the  length  the story idea demands. That's right, not desire, but length . You can be as head-over-heels in love with your fantasy character sketch as you want, but if they'

June has come and gone so fast. Now it’s time for Camp NaNo July 2018. We are super excited to begin and are both hoping to reach our individual writing goals by the end of the month. During Camp NaNo, we are both working on projects we started during NaNoWriMo 2017, which is where we met. Camp NaNo is the perfect time to work on an already existing project. That's what we'll be doing this month and we encourage you to also work on a WIP (Work in Progress) this month. MEGAN’S JULY WRITING GOALS Camp NaNo Goal:  Project: Earhart & Noonan's Last Grand Adventure Word Count Goal: 45,000 Current Word Count: 23,353 JESSICA’S JULY WRITING GOALS Camp NaNo Goal:  Project: Murder on the Flying Scotsman Word Count Goal: 60,000 Current Word Count: 50, 012 What are your writing goals this July? How do you keep track of what you have to do? Let us know by commenting below and make sure to subscribe so you can get the latest posts. Save Save

As a writer, your brain pelts you with ideas on the daily. Every stranger, every mundane event, and even everyday objects can spark something in that overactive imagination of yours. You get ideas at the most inconvenient of times, like when you're driving or dealing with other people. Wait, does that not sound like you? Do you have a grand total of zero ideas coming at you for most of your life, but then every once in a while you're blessed with a single blindingly brilliant concept? Regardless, you need a way to manage the ideas you get and spreadsheets are boring. That's where we come in. Read on to discover how we create databases from which to pull inspiration for our myriad writing projects. Megan gets down her ideas by... Let's all take a second to remember that I am not the most organized person on the planet. I do try to be, to which my abandoned planners and calendars and weird bullet journal hybrids can testify. What this means is I'm constantl

You’ve probably heard of NaNoWriMo in November, where for one month writers across the globe scramble to put together 50,000 words from scratch. Maybe for July you’ve decided you want to try Camp NaNo, but you have no idea of where to start. Camp NaNo is like a month long summer camp for writers twice a year. For those of you who don’t know, it’s NaNoWriMo’s less intense sibling because you can pick your own goal. The first Camp NaNo pasted in April this year, where I wrote about 17,000 words of an existing project, which passed my goal. The next one is in July. So grab your s’mores, sleeping bags, and favorite writing utensil and gather around the campfire with the other writers in your cabin as we gear up for this exciting month. The first thing you need to know about Camp NaNo as compared to NaNoWriMo is that you don’t have to start from scratch or write a novel. Welcome to the poets, graphic novelists, screenwriters, and other rebels. This month is for you. On the Camp N

We're coming up fast on July's Camp NaNoWriMo! I'll be participating this month, and a lot of my writing will probably take place in coffeeshops, teahouses, and similar establishments. There's something about writing with a yummy beverage on the table surrounded by the subtle chaos of public places that really taps into the writer's brain. It calls to mind Fitzgerald, Stein, Hemingway, Kafka, and even  Rowling . It's inimitable. Trust me, I've tried to replicate the experience and I can come very, very close, but I prefer the real thing. If only there weren't some really murky waters to navigate. We’ve All Been There, Haven't We? You need to get some work done and your humble abode is not helping get you in the mood. What do you do? You go out. But you don’t go just anywhere, do you? If you are like countless other creatives, you go to a café, probably one that’s close to you or has decent prices. Or maybe you choose where to hang out based

First off, you’ve written a short story or a novel. Congratulations!    That’s a huge accomplishment. Now that you’ve written that novel, what do you do with it? It’s time to edit it. But editing something you’ve written can be a daunting task. Whether you think what you’ve written is the next best seller or you found it to be horrible in the light of day, it needs to be editing. So what do you do when you have the editor’s equivalent of writer’s block? Here are some ways I’ve found to beat editor’s block: Just get away from it. Just like when you are writing and have writer’s block, staring at the same words will get you nowhere. Go work on some other story or do something that’s not writing related. Get some other eyes on it. Others will spot things that you haven’t, especially as you’ve spent so much time looking at it. It’s easy to miss things. Read it start to finish after you’ve put some distance between your story and you. Make notes as you go. It’ll help you pic

Choosing a topic for your blog’s official first post is very tricky. That’s why we didn’t, and chose instead to share our writing goals for the month! MEGAN’S JUNE WRITING GOALS Write some articles for this blog Submit at least one short story for publication Finish re-outlining my NaNoWriMo 2017 novel Begin prepping for Camp NaNoWriMo July 2018 JESSICA’S JUNE WRITING GOALS  Write some articles for this blog Edit and do rewrites on my NaNoWriMo 2017 novel Begin prepping for Camp NaNoWriMo July 2018 Join us in our adventures as we face all of the challenges and triumphs the writing world has to offer us! Or won’t offer us... We’ll just have to see. Do you have any writing goals this June? Let us know by commenting below and make sure to subscribe so you can get the latest posts.