Blogs by Author All the article wrote by Susan
How to Balance Teaching and Writing
I am sure it is hard to balance full-time work and writing with any profession, but teaching can especially zap your energy if you are not implementing tools to cope. I started off by reading Kristy Acevedo's blog post 12 Tips to Help Balance Teaching and Writing Life (Kind of), which is a great resource. I also liked Jennifer De Leon's article Patience and Courage: Finding the Balance Between Teaching and Writing.
Flash Fiction: Paisley and her Plethora of Peppermints
Paisley McKaley was so sweet. So sweet in fact, little peppermint candies fell from her at random moments through out the day. One might fall from her hair when she put it in a ponytail for P.E., or drop from her sleeve as she took notes in history, or escape from the bottom of her pants when she itched her calf in english. Russian literature tended to make her legs all tingly.
Aviation: A Gateway to Escape and Adventure by Raphael Relat
An escape.
This is the thing that stories and planes have in common: They allow you to escape to faraway lands, and live exciting adventures... I am not talking about modern aviation however, although mass travel did, in the words of Harrison Ford, effectively give us portals that can teleport us to every corner of the globe in a matter of hours. No, I am looking back to the early days, to when aviation was in its silver age, an age of pioneers, an age where planes were still organic machines, made of wood, fabric... and a bit of magic. Writers like Kessel and Saint Exupéry told the tales of these intrepid pilots who opened routes where no one had flown before, crossing perilous oceans and mountain ranges, challenging darkness by flying at night.
Bookstagram for Authors
Authors as bookstagrammers?
I have done some initial research into bookstagram for authors and think it just might be a good fit for me. This journey continues my Instagram for writers kick for the last couple of months. I've figured out Reels, IG Live, and what to post as a writer.
IG Live for Writers
IG Live or Instagram Live has actually been around since 2016. However, with the pandemic and the amount of people online and not able to go to events, its importance has increased. Instagram also added a new feature where IG Livestreams can now be saved to an IGTV video instead of disappearing from your stories after 24 hours. This just happened in May 2020, which allows the live videos to have more multi-purposed uses.
Flash Fiction: A Tale of Two Magical Masks
Amy Remy made two masks, one for each of her grandchildren. She used strands of her strong salt and peppered hair for thread. The fabric came from a scarf her own grandmother used to wear when she was a child. Amy's grandmother would take off her scarf and guard Amy's young ears from any harmful ideas the adults would carelessly toss around when forgetting her presence. She would wrap it around her head and kiss her cheek, Amy would watch her grandmother's wrinkles amplify as she scorned the others for using profanity.
Magical Techniques: Magic Realism and the Author by Amanda Read
If you are confused by the term ‘magic realism’, you’re not alone. The wide variety of novels and short stories all claiming to be magic realism can be bewildering, ranging as they do across romance, family saga, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, surrealist, fabulist, slipstream, absurdist and weird fiction.
How can this be?
Instagram Reels for Writers
Instagram Reels launched on August 5, 2020 in fifty countries around the world. I immediately started looking for posting ideas for Instagram Reels for writers and didn't find much. I have not dipped my toe into the similar app of TikTok at all, so I figured I would do my research and write a blog about Instagram Reels to figure it out. I wrote a blog post several months ago about Instagram posting ideas for writers and that pushed me to come up with ideas for the photo-only side of things. A huge perk of having a writing blog!
15 Tips for Organizing and Implementing Feedback for Revisions
Critique partner and beta reader feedback is a very important part of the writing process. However, it can be overwhelming.
The first step is getting over the fact that deep down you expect them to say it was a masterpiece and even though they tried so hard, they could not find a single thing they would change. You have to look at it with a deep seated desire to improve your writing piece and not get pats on the back.
For advice on how to start a critique circle you can read N.M. Browne's article. I also have a blog post about studying craft books with your critique partners.
10 Tips for Binding Your Manuscript
There is so much support about how to outline and write out the first draft of a novel, but what about the several drafts it takes after that to get to the finish line? I have been struggling with getting through the line edits of my novel and am always trying to find ways to bring a sense of play to my process. I remembered seeing a friend with a binded manuscript that she had printed out and I had a sense of joy instead of the usual dread, so I knew I needed to explore it more.
