Tag: writing

Writing Tool: Word Count Dashboard

Posted May 5, 2014 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Threats of Sky and Sea, Writing / 2 Comments

I am in looooove with a new app, thanks to Christa Seeley of More Than Just Magic and Inaccurate Realities. Called Word Count Dashboard, it brands itself as “part word count tracker and part vision board,” and it’s TOTALLY helping me in my goal for word counts on book 2. I mocked up my favorite book two inspiration photo (“Enchantress” by Gaudi Buendia on DeviantArt) as a cover, set my goal, and I was off! With Word Count Dashboard, you log your writing sessions and can even make notes on them if you need to be reminded of what a particular session brought out! For writing sessions with enough words, you earn bronze, silver, or gold stars, which are definitely highly motivating! (Yes, you do spy a tentative title for book 2 there. ^_~ ) If you need a change of […]

Inaccurate Realities Issue #3: Magic Release Day!

Posted May 2, 2014 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Books, Threats of Sky and Sea / 0 Comments

*showers confetti and sparkles about merrily* Happy release day to the ladies of Inaccurate Realities and their beautiful third issue, MAGIC! I’m so excited to read the other works in this issue and for you all to read this Threats of Sky and Sea prequel story featuring a certain favorite prince of mine in “Defining Justice!” You can add it on Goodreads and buy Inaccurate Realities Issue #3: Magic now! Amazon | From IR | Smashwords Witches and wizards, magic spells and potions. Incantations, ceremonies and rituals. The stories in this collection explore that which cannot be explained – the mysterious, the bizarre and the magical. Featuring: “Cupid’s Magic” by MK McFadden “The Black Forest” by Kasidy Manisco “The Killing Jar” by Jan Eldredge “Grieftaker” by T. Eric Bakutis “The Paper Doll” by Nancy O’Toole and “Defining Justice: A prequel to Threats […]

Game of Thrones writing

Posted April 17, 2014 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Writing / 0 Comments

I am way late to the party on Game of Thrones. If you didn’t already know that about me, I’m going to go ahead and assume you’re surprised because my friends used to say to me: “But Jen, I would have thought Game of Thrones would be totally YOUR THING!” To which I would reply: “Me too. But… meh.” For whatever reason, I couldn’t force myself to get interested or invested, despite reading the first book. Despite watching the first season. But, I was determined to give it another shot and now… now, I’m invested. I’m not reading the books, which is strange for me. I think George R.R. Martin tells a great story, but his writing style isn’t a good mesh for my reading preferences. Doesn’t mean I don’t think that he and the television show adapted from his […]

My Writing Process “blog tour”

Posted March 31, 2014 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Writing / 4 Comments

Hello friends! Today, the lovely Elodie Nowodazkij, author of One, Two, Three, invited me to participate in the “My Writing Process Blog Tour.” A little about Elodie: The short story: Young adult author, Elodie Nowodazkij writes the stories swirling in her head during her commuting time. ONE TWO THREE, about a ballerina struggling to move on after a car crash, is her first novel. Website | Books | Twitter *cracks knuckles* Now, to the questions! What am I working on? Well, I’ve just wrapped up a short story that accompanies Threats of Sky and Sea and will be in the upcoming issue of Inaccurate Realities (Issue #3: Magic). Shout-out to this YA speculative fiction literary magazine real quick because it’s fantastic. I’m also tinkering with edits on another ToSaS short story for release in September, titled Sisters of Wind and Flame. […]

“Don’t do it if it’s not fun”

Posted February 18, 2014 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Writing / 4 Comments

“Don’t do it if it’s not fun.” “If you don’t enjoy it, you shouldn’t be a writer.” I am so tired of seeing advice like this, to be quite honest. They’re these blanket proclamations that a lot of writers seem to identify with and so it keeps getting passed around. And maybe I’m the black sheep here, because I do not identify with it. It doesn’t work like that for me. The thing is this: WRITING IS HARD. It’s WORK. And more often than not, to be perfectly honest, I don’t enjoy it. Writing is very often me cringing over every word I put down. It’s finding a nail embedded deep in a wall and needing pliers to yank it out. I have moments where the words fly out or where I connect with a character. I have moments where I see the story in […]

Getting things done

Posted February 3, 2014 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Uncategorized / 6 Comments

Starting a new book is a daunting task, but a necessary one. Threats of Sky and Sea has only copy edits to go through, and its accompanying short story is drafted as well (more on that later). But it’s the first in a series. I may be uncertain as to the length of said series, but I know this much: there’s at least a book 2. And I’d love to release it at the end of this year– or, at the latest, early next year. So that means I’ve got to write it. Here are some of my favorite, not-so-revolutionary ways to get that done. 1) The notes app on my iPhone. Occasionally, I find myself inspired about a particular scene, have a random snippet of dialogue run through my head, or have an epiphany regarding a plot twist. Every […]

Fairy tale plotting structure

Posted January 27, 2014 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Writing / 5 Comments

Several months back, I met with one of my high school teachers at a B&N to chat about books, writing, YA lit… the usual things that two people who love books tend to talk about. She taught/teaches Creative Writing (and I actually think her class was one of the reasons I decided to major in the subject when I went to college). When we talked about our writing processes, I lamented, as I’ve done many times before, my “pantsing” nature. We also discussed revising and she shared the “Fairy Tale” outline structure with me. I think this structure would be helpful in either stage: if you’re a pantser, like me, this structure would be helpful during revisions to make sure that the plot fits well. If you’re a plotter, then this is a pretty simple outline to get you started! […]

It’s a big, big, big day!

Posted January 13, 2014 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Self-Publishing, Uncategorized / 17 Comments

I always assumed that my first book would be a traditionally published one. To that end, over the years, I spent a lot of time researching query letters, synopses, and pitch contests. And I wrote a book. I revised (and revised and revised) it. My amazing beta readers and critique partners told me that my novel about a teenage barmaid in a world filled with Elementals and royalty, was ready to meet the world. So, I began querying, jumped into pitch contests, and waited. And waited. And waited. While I waited, I closely followed the paths of Leigh Ann Kopans and Jamie Grey, who both self-published their debut novels last year. Game-changer. I saw that they were putting out quality novels. I heard about the speed of self-publishing, the control that’s available to them, the decisions that they get to […]

A happy list

Posted October 18, 2013 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Uncategorized / 0 Comments

Stuff that’s made me happy in the past week: This song: Best Day of My Life by American Authors– It’s just such a HAPPY song, and I’d be lying if I said that the band name didn’t also make me smile. Celebrating a friend’s promotion with a nice dinner at Salt. Seriously, one of the best burgers and mac ‘n cheese I’ve ever tasted. Plus I got to wear a new favorite maxi dress for the evening. On Saturday, I Skyped with Angel and Aimee to watch Itazura Na Kiss: Love in Tokyo, which is a J-Drama based on one of my favorite anime (and which I’m convinced is secretly an AU of Sailor Moon). I also grabbed lunch with a couple friends on Sunday. Friend-filled weekends are nice sometimes, y’know? This happy pink sweater which is so “me” […]

Title Angst

Posted July 26, 2013 by Jennifer Ellision in blog, Uncategorized, Writing / 1 Comment

Titles. They make me all adlkjslijsiou daufcsvhshflcj I am not a writer who’s ever been good at titling my works. Even in my fanfiction days, I struggled to title the fics I posted most of the time. I settled with APPARENT for my manuscript. It’s not a title I’ve ever really loved. I think it works on some levels, but it’s not… it’s just not. And of course, I always have THIS conversation when I talk about it: Other person: What’s your book called? Me: Apparent Them: A parent? Like a mom or dad? Oh, so is it like lit fiction about being a single parent or something? Me: Um. No. Not exactly. It’s A-P-P-A-R-E-N-T. And it’s a young adult fantasy. Them: Oh. A beat. Them: Is that like porn for teens? *headdesk* I want a GOOD title. Something that […]