The Self-published Stigma
For a long time, I resisted the idea of self-publishing my books. In my mind, a self-published book was a book that wasn’t good enough—a low quality vanity project for a person with no skill and no training. I have a lot of confidence in my stories and have worked hard on them. I have taken classes and gone to […]
The Story behind My Latest Project
A few months ago, I came across an article from 1973 by a man named Bruce B. Clark, titled “Creative Writing in the Church: A Challenge to Young Writers.” I wasn’t looking for an article for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dealing with writing, but I’m glad I found it. What amazed me the most […]
An Unusual Appetite Loss
I haven’t written in two months. I haven’t had the appetite for it. The thought of sitting at the computer and typing out words and sentences makes me feel physically sick. There’s a reason for it. Back in June, we applied for a 3-bedroom apartment. Writing helped me relieve the stress of that anxiety. But a few days later, I […]
The Research Rabbit Hole
I’ve always loved research—research and learning. I remember being assigned to write an essay about lions in the 1st grade. It was my first research experience. I pulled out the volume of my family’s encyclopedia that told about lions and my mom helped me to find pictures in one of our many issues of National Geographic. Being 6 years old, […]
Attending the Life, the Universe, and Everything Symposium
Last year, with the support of my husband, Brett, I decided to get more serious about the writing craft, which included attending writing conferences. In Utah, though, writing conferences aren’t very common, and affordable ones for families on tight budgets even less so. A couple of friends couldn’t stop talking about the Life, the Universe, and Everything Symposium (LTUE), and, […]
Refocus
I lost my focus. It happened gradually, as it usually does. Over the past few days, I’ve tried to write some ideas that have been in my head for a long time, but they won’t come out right. The only writing I feel somewhat okay about is the second draft of my novel, and all I’m doing there is transferring […]
Longhand Writing
At first, I wrote everything by hand out of necessity. When I was thirteen, we didn’t have smartphones or tablets. We didn’t even have palm pilots, the original handheld device. Laptops were rare—and no one was bringing them to school. The easiest way to write between classes or when I finished my schoolwork or at lunch was by writing in […]
Writer’s Envy: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love the Book
“Is there one among you who is not stripped of envy?” Alma asks. “For such an one is not found guiltless.” (Alma 5:29) Every time I read this verse, it’s as though the wind is knocked out of me. My heart drops and I’m disappointed with myself. Of the many things I struggle with, one of the biggest is envy. […]
NaNoWriMo: The End
At the end of October, I announced that I was participating in National Novel Writing Month. Last Friday, November 29, I passed 50,000 words and finished a novel. It sounds straightforward. After all, we learn in elementary school how to tell stories: a beginning, a middle, and an end. But in reality, I had no idea what to expect from […]