A Cup of Coffee & A Romance Novel With R L Tynes

Hey writers. Today I'm sharing my current top 3 background shows with you. And what do I mean by a background show?  For me, a background show is something I can put on my tv on low volume to fill the silence and provide a comforting ambience to my writing time. It can set the mood or tone of my home, and for those that don't like working alone, it can make you feel like you have some people around. My background shows work for me, but they may not work for you. What qualifies as a good background show? 1.) Something You've Seen Every Episode of Before  Ideally it needs to be something you've seen at least 1 time through before and you don't have the urge to re-watch again, or you've re-watched it so many times you don't care to pay attention to it anymore. This is key, or you will end up actually watching tv and not writing. A good thing to do is make sure it isn't still airing either so you don't have anything new to look forward to and distract yo...

Hey writers! I’ve been re-watching Ginny and Georgia lately. And also wishing for season 3 to just get here. I adore this show and it’s like a darker more suspenseful version of Gilmore Girls. So if that sounds up your alley, I would give it a go.  As I was watching today, there was a line that stuck out to me and it just made my creative heart smile. I think it will do the same for you. It’s a beautiful reminder of why we make stuff. Why the creative journey is so magical and powerful. I hope this inspires you.  xoxo How do you come up with all this?    It’s fun. I get to come up with whatever I want and make a world out of it. Like, it’s just in your brain and it doesn’t exist, so you get to make it real. Silver- Ginny & Georgia  Do you watch Ginny & Georgia? Let me know in the comments! 

  Hey y'all. If you're like me, as soon as you start thinking about the business side of writing it makes you want to throw in the towel. There is an overwhelming amount of contradicting information when you take to Google and you don't know what to trust. But the truth is being an author means you are now CEO of your own business and wearing that hat. So I've been looking for resources to make this part of the job a lot less stressful.  I'm excited to finally share that I've found two books to recommend on the topic and I've really found them helpful. Yes, I'm still planning on hiring an accountant and even consulting a literary lawyer for some things as needed, but these books have brought clarity on a lot of the main business worries I have had. I will link them below for you. I hope they help you on your author journey. Leave me a comment and let me know if you've read these, or have other legal resources to recommend to me.  Self-Publisher's...

A common question writers get is "Where do you get all these ideas from?" The truth is, it's different for every writer. Everyone's brain is different, and the way we create is all different. Which is one of the reasons it makes this writing journey so magical and beautiful.  It's also a reason there is room at the table for every single writer. Because no one can write a book exactly like you can. They will all be unique. Even if 10 writers are given the same story to write and the same characters, plot points, etc. You will still have 10 different books because everyone's brain will take a different creative journey to connect those plot points and get to "the end."  Today I'm sharing a glimpse into my process. How I get story ideas. Other authors may get ideas these ways too and others won’t. There is no wrong process in the ideation stage. It's whatever works for you. On that note, I want to share a quotes from Meghan March's Creativ...

Hey writers! Today I'm sharing the books that I've found most helpful to me this year on my writing journey. Before I read these books and actually learned some real writing rules, tips, and how to construct a fictional story, my drafts were all over the place.  They were very disconnected and had no point to them. I didn't even know the basics like character goals, motivation, and conflict. And I learned that all fiction IS conflict.  So here are the top 3 books I've found that made a difference in my writing this year. They now sit permanently on my desk. These books taught me the very basics and gave me a road map to craft a story that finally had a purpose, cohesion, and most of all, conflict.  I have these linked in my Recommended Reads Page at the top of the blog. I hope these help you on your journey as much as they have me!   1 .) Passionate Ink by Angela Knight - The new edition is now available, but if you can get your hands on the old edition, I recom...

Introduction: This is the first of a new series I’m super excited about sharing with you. It will be ongoing as I am constantly learning and growing as a writer, and of course I want to share that with you!  What sparked this series is that when I first started writing I didn’t have a clue about about the structure of a story, characters, motivations, goals…and you get the picture. I knew nothing. And now I know that you really need to know the rules before you break them.   I would get an initial scene idea and start writing. I wrote my first two manuscripts this way by pantsing with no plan at all and no thought. Of course this ended in two books that were a pile of disconnected chapters that had no point and didn’t make sense. Because even pantsing requires knowing where you end, or at least the main conflict or what a characters goal and motivation is. Just something that will drive the story forward, and I had zilch!  Now, after struggling for years, I found mys...