Category: Writing

10 Writing Lessons from Friends

Posted June 3, 2016 by Jennifer Ellision in Lists, Writing / 0 Comments

So, no one told you life was gonna be this way. *clap, clap, clap, clap, clap* Your job’s a joke. You’re broke. Your love life’s DOA. Is it possible the Friends theme song secretly describes writers? Today, I want to revisit a post from my old blog, Almost Grown-up, to talk about some basic writing rules-of-thumb… with the cast of Friends. Because I think its proper home is here and, to be honest, any post with Friends references is a better post, in my humble opinion. 1. If you’re a pantser, like me, beginning a new draft can feel like this: And that’s okay. 2. That can sometimes lead to a little of this: But that’s what revisions are for. 3. The thesaurus is a wonderful tool! But be sure not to overdo it. 4. PACING matters 5. Get into […]

Announcing a new podcast! Write Magic Episode 1 – Why (Not)?

Posted June 1, 2016 by Jennifer Ellision in Write Magic, Writing / 0 Comments

I’ve been listening to podcasts like crazy lately. The podcasts that I subscribe to are my constant companions in the car, on runs, while I get ready, while I cook. And then, I thought, man, it would be really great if I could talk to a bunch of different writers about their processes and mediums and all of the cool things they’re doing. And then, I thought… I totally can do that. And it could be a podcast. So! Introducing the Write Magic podcast. Write Magic is “a podcast about writing in all of its forms.” This first brief episode is an intro as I talk about what I want the podcast to be. It outlines a little more how I decided to go for this idea and where I hope this goes. Write Magic Episode 1 Show Notes: Podcasts I mentioned: Elise Gets […]

Bust the Rut: A Fun and Easy Craft to Break Out of a Writing Rut

Posted May 30, 2016 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Writing / 0 Comments

Sometimes, as a writer, you find yourself stuck in a writing rut. Hey, there’s no shame in that. We’ve all been there. But when you’re in a writing rut, it can be tough to break out of it. Especially if you’re feeling uninspired when it comes to the project you’ve been staring at, day in and day out, for God only knows how long. Lucky for you, my dear writer friend, I have an idea on how you can bust out of that writing rut and even get a cute little decoration for your desk out of the deal. You will need: 1. a container of some sort I used a mason jar, because it’s what I had handy. But you can use a small bucket, a decorative bowl, a vase… Don’t be afraid to get creative with it! 2. […]

Choosing to write under a pen name

Posted May 27, 2016 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Self-Publishing, Writing / 2 Comments

“You wrote a book? Where can I find it?” It’s one of the top questions I receive when people that I meet face-to-face learn that I’m an author. I tell them a couple of titles and that they’d be sure to find the books on Amazon as e-books, paperbacks, and audiobooks, depending on their preferences. “Oh,” I add, “And don’t be put off when the last name is different. Ellision is my pen name.” Their blinking is as loud as a record screech. They ask, “Wait. Why did you write under a pen name?” Why did I write under a pen name? (By the way, this is another one of the most common questions I get.) There are a lot of reasons, actually. I think of my pen name as the name of my business. I wanted a slight degree of separation […]

My Writing and Publishing Toolkit: The Electronic Edition

Posted May 23, 2016 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writing / 2 Comments

Hello, friends! Today, I thought I’d share some of my favorite programs and website for my publishing journey, as well as talk about how I use them in my self-publishing journey. This is my publishing toolkit, y’all. These are my must-haves. My software Ride or Die BFFs. Writing: Scrivener First in the publishing toolkit, is Scrivener. I tried Scrivener during one of my first go-arounds with NaNoWriMo. There was a little bit of a learning curve, but Literature and Latte, the company that makes Scrivener provides helpful video tutorials that helped me quickly grasp the basics so that I could get to writing the way that I wanted to. I write in almost nothing but Scrivener. The ability to easily move from chapter to chapter, rather than scrolling through a hefty document to find what I’m looking for, is invaluable. It’s not just a writing tool, […]

Letting Your Characters Go

Posted May 20, 2016 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Self-Publishing, Writing / 2 Comments

Writing Now and Again was a new experience for me in a lot of ways. I was publishing in a new genre, for a new audience, brushing the dust off of an old project that I hadn’t touched in years. But it was different in another way. Let me explain. When I published Threats of Sky and Sea, I was nervous. I mean, of course, I was nervous. I’m nervous with the publication of every book and this was my very first. I knew more people were going to read my work than ever before. More than my fanfic, more than my creative writing workshops, more than small literary magazines I’d submitted to in the past. I worried about whether readers would respond to my writing, the world I’d created, would they like the plot…? My God, the worries went on and on. But one […]

What running taught me about writing

Posted May 9, 2016 by Jennifer Ellision in Self-Publishing, Writing / 0 Comments

I haven’t been running very long. In fact, if you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen that I ran my first 5K just over a week ago. I started training for it in January or February. But while I haven’t been doing this long, I started drawing a lot of parallels between running and writing. I thought I’d share some of those here. Sometimes it’s hard… Running: My calves burn. I can’t get enough air in my lungs. God, it’s hot out here. Sweat is stinging my eyes. My clothes are soaked. What the hell just bit me?! Writing: This sounds so stilted. What happens next? Just. Write. Something. Oh God, not that. Delete, delete, delete. Will anyone actually buy this? …And others, it’s easy Running: You want me to run 40 minutes, training app? I’m going for fifty. Writing: God, […]

I didn’t win Camp NaNoWriMo… Or did I?

Posted May 4, 2016 by Jennifer Ellision in Writing / 0 Comments

I love the mindset of NaNoWriMo and its younger sibling, Camp NaNoWriMo. Its focus on clear goals–whether those goals are writing 50,000 words or a revision of 30,000 words– is so good for me. Focus on those goals. Forget the rest. I’ve signed up for NaNoWriMo several times and “won” twice. Now and Again was my first NaNoWriMo. And when I truly started buckling down and writing Threats of Sky and Sea, it began its life as a NaNoWriMo project (with the title Apparent… let’s not talk about that). So, as I’m working on my edits for Fall of Thrones and Thorns, and some friends wanted to put together a “cabin” for Camp NaNoWriMo, it was kind of a no-brainer for me to join in. Camp NaNo is NaNoWriMo’s slightly more sane sister (or insane, depending on your preference). I didn’t have to do 50,000 […]

Choosing Done Lists Over To Do Lists

Posted December 7, 2015 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Lists, Self-Publishing, Writing / 0 Comments

For most of my life, I’ve been a big proponent of To Do lists. If you’re like me, you know that there is very little in life that is quite as satisfying as highlighting or crossing out an item on a To Do list. Marking it as complete. Accomplished. Finito. But lately, I’ve chosen a different sort of list. Here’s the thing: my To Do lists lately include large tasks. Things like “Write your next book.” “Finish narrating an audiobook project.” Tasks that can’t be easily accomplished in a day. Sometimes, I think ahead. I break it down to “Write a chapter.” “Narrate a chapter.” But then an email will come in that needs my attention and I have to switch gears to work on that instead. Didn’t get to take something off my list there either. All of this occasionally […]

The Bowl Is Too Heavy

Posted August 25, 2015 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Writing / 0 Comments

Ever since this video was introduced to me via another Kboards poster, I think about it a lot. “It’s too heavy,” this little girl says. She reminds me of myself when I struggle with a difficult scene or chapter. “It’s too hard.” “My words sound stilted.” “This isn’t working.” …It’s just too damn heavy. To be honest, I’m not one of those people who can write every day and still wind up with a serviceable draft. Maybe that’s because I reread it with my own memories and emotions clouding it. Maybe I remember what a struggle the words were to write, and so I can’t separate what’s written from how I felt. But this little girl and her bowl remind me of the importance to try– really try– anyway. Because it is really easy to find excuses not to write. Excuses will always be […]