Writing About Writing: How To Be A Writer Without Being A Hermit

If you’re like me, sometimes you realize that you spend more time with a notebook and pencil or a computer than your own family and friends. And while it’s important to write, and to pursue your dreams and passions, you shouldn’t shut yourself off from the real world. (No quotation marks there, people. I’m being sort of serious.) So here are a few tips to help you not become a writing hermit.

Tip #1: Include family and friends in the writing and editing process.

Ask your siblings what they think of your latest plot idea. Read some of your work out loud to your friends (and let them squeal with you over your awesome love interest or your wonderfully witty dialogue). Have your parents help you with editing and proofreading. Let people read your story! It’s no fun to do it alone, anyway. Why not let your friends and family help you out?

Tip #2: Find real-life wriing buddies.

Yes, you may have over a hundred followers on social media. But nothing beats a real life friend you can write with. Not only do you not have to worry about being in different time zones, you can also meet at a bookstore! Or a coffee shop! Or go on a writing retreat into the mountains!

Tip #3: Step away from your story.

This is NOT procrastination. Well, it could be. But I will promise you that it’s much, much more important to build a relationship with those closest to you than it is to sit in front of a computer writing (or doing something else like procrastination, if you’re stuck on your story). If you’re not writing anyway, why not go on a walk with your family? Or maybe make cookies and talk with your family while you eat them. Or *gasp* help your mom clean the house!

Those are just a few ways to help you work on writing while not sitting hunched behind a computer all day. Thoughts on this list? Authors, do you have any ways you work on writing while still being social in real life? Comment below with your thoughts!

The ULTIMATE Twinepathy Q/A | The Characters Answer Your Questions!

Hello, everyone, my name is Anvil, and I’m “guiding” you through this post. Jen was supposed to do it, but she’s pretty busy at the moment, so she asked me to take over. C.B. says to tell you: Be forewarned that there may be SPOILERS in this post… most of them will be in white text, which you can highlight to read if you wish. Whatever that means. So let’s get on to the questions.

Albany

Sarahtps: What’s the best thing about being twins? The worst? Same with the mind connection thing? Being twins: Having someone who knows you really well and who’s with you all the time. That’s the best and the worst thing. Mind connection… there are a lot of good things, but I know the worst thing is having trouble keeping a secret, even if it’s just like a surprise party or something.

What’s your favorite board game? I’m not a big fan of board games. I prefer Solitaire. But if I had to pick one… Sorry, maybe?

Madeline: How did you find out about your telepathic abilities? It was a very traumatic moment when we were three. Not my favorite memory to recount…

Sarah: What is your favorite season? I like winter, mostly because it’s a great time to curl up with a book. And winter break.

Brooklyn

Sarahtps: What’s the best thing about being twins? The worst? Same with the mind connection thing? I love being able to know Albany really well, but sometimes she gets annoyed with me. Our mind connection is fun… it’s nice to be able to talk silently. The worst thing is when our nightmares spill over into each other’s heads. Not fun.

What’s your favorite board game? Monopoly! It provides lots of time for talking and hanging out, and I usually win.

Madeline: How did you find out about your telepathic abilities? It’s always been hard for me to remember, Albany says I blocked out the memory. But I know it was when we were about three, and it was really weird.

Sarah: What is your favorite season? Definitely spring! I love when everything is new and fresh, especially with happily chirping birds and bright flowers!

Jen/Data

Deborah: What is your favorite color? Probably a silvery gray. Pretty but kind of practical.

What is your opinion on penguins? The only penguin I actually like is Finch as a penguin.

If you could have a different superpower, what would it be? Something more useful in a fight, like energy manipulation. I’m particularly fond of metal manipulation. It has quite a few practical applications.

Sarahtps: If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would you tell her? There are a few places in time I’d like to go just to watch again… but I’d tell my younger self to please, please stay away from computers. Never touch.

Sarah: What situation, event, or person has shaped you and your personality the most? My power. I’d be a completely different person without all of the knowledge I’ve gathered, much less the experiences and situations my power has gotten me into.

Blaze

Deborah: Do you live on caffeine, sugar, and donuts? I’d like to say yes, but then I’d be lying. I have to have pizza, too.

What was Canberra and why wasn’t it your fault? That was… a mission that went wrong. Badly wrong. And it was my fault, I just prefer to pretend it’s not. Can we move on?

Which of your two superpowers do you like more? Light manipulation. Teleporting is fun, but honestly, light manipulation is really useful. And good for pranking.

How can you always tell Albany and Brooklyn apart? I’m a light manipulator. I can put nametags on them that only I can see, or I can find something that’s different about them just by making the light reflect differently. Besides, their personalities are way different.

Can you give us a HINT about your name like a letter or something? My name? Oh, that’s easy. John Jacob Jingleheimer Smith.

Sarahtps: What’s your real name? Billy Bob Joe. Or not.

What’s your favorite food? You’re asking me to decide what my favorite food is? How could you be so cruel! Let’s just go with donuts.

If you could be a character in the Star Wars universe, either a canon one or one you made up, who would you want to be? Totally Han. I mean, he has a wookie friend and an awesome ship.

Jemma: What is the best prank you’ve ever pulled? Ah, it was at school. The prank involved three chickens, a container of silly string, a water gun filled with grape juice, and the math teacher’s toupee. They never saw it coming.

Madeline: How did you get into IDIA? Recruited by Jen when I was a lot younger… but that’s a really long story for another time.

Sarah: What superpower do you wish you could have? Honestly, I love the superpower I have now. But any other one… maybe telekinesis. It’s really useful, and I could fly.

Hann: Who was your first crush/love interest? Cynthia Rogers in kindergarten. It didn’t last long.

Maddie

Sarahtps: What was your first thought on waking up without your memories? I’m pretty sure I was wondering where I was, and why my head felt kind of funny. But that was a crazy moment, so it’s all really mixed up in my head.

Also, can I hug you? Um… yes?

If you were a color, what color would you be? Red! It’s my favorite color. I love how bright and bold it is.

Anvil

Deborah: Can I have your cookie recipe? Possibly. Only if I think you can do it justice, though. How well can you cook?

How are you so awesome? Umm… I’m not? If you think I am, I can give you the recipe: a dash of childhood trauma, a few cups of bad influences, and a sprinkle of saving grace and second chances.

May I please hug you? *stands there stiffly while you hug him*

What is your opinion on Blaze? He’s okay. He could be taken down a few pegs, though, and sometimes his mouth gets him into trouble.

Alyssa: What is your favorite type of cookie? I love most cookies, but I really enjoy a good white chocolate macadamia nut. Classic Snickerdoodles are good, too.

Ezra

Sarahtps: What’s your ideal date night? Ooooh, uhhm. Movie marathon, I’m a sucker for any excuse to eat junk food.

Are you and Denver getting married someday? We’re still pretty young, but I’m certainly not opposed to the idea for the future. My parents married young as well.

SPOILER: Are you ever going to tell Denver about your involvement in IDIA? You should know that I’m a terrible liar in the first place, and I absolutely hate doing it. So, I would really really like to tell him, but Data won’t let me. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep it from him…

Madeline: What is your favorite thing about Denver? You’re killing me here, just one thing? I guess, his intelligence. I love being able to goof off with him in one moment, and then being able to discuss all sorts of things the next, just to hear his opinion on something. Okay, and his smile can make me melt. Don’tmakemepickone.

Powergirl: What’s your favorite thing about IDIA? Knowing I’m not alone. I mean, I’ve still yet to make any close friends…but it’s nice being among people like me! And I’ve always wanted to help people, so that’s probably on the same level for me.

Denver

Sarahtps: What’s your ideal date night? Movie and pizza, with a walk in the park afterwards. Or, if it’s winter, going ice skating. We haven’t gotten to do that yet.

Are you and Ezra getting married someday? Um… Maybe? I don’t know… that’s… awkward… why would you ask that?

Random

Sarahtps: You (Albany, Brooklyn, Jen, Blaze, and Maddie) are, as a group, spontaneously transported to an unknown fantasy world. What do you do? (Blaze’s powers don’t work to teleport you all back, for the record, though he can teleport you anywhere within that world.) (Jen wishes to answer this question:) I would be in charge, of course. Albany and Brooklyn would help Maddie build a shelter and gather fruit, while Blaze and I explore the island, and Blaze uses his powers to frighten animals away. We would survive long enough to build a raft or contact someone for help. Or build something sturdy that Maddie could use to fly us away.

And that is all for the Q&A, finally. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please consider buying the book on Amazon, as a paperback or Kindle copy, or buy it in the CreateSpace estore. And add it on Goodreads if you’d like. Have fun. Anvil out.

ANNOUNCEMENT (And Fanmade Book Trailer!)

Hullo, friends! Guess what happened today?

No, guess.

Okay, the paperback copy of Twinepathy was just released! You can find it on Amazon here and in the CreateSpace eStore here (I actually get more royalties from CreateSpace, so…). And if you have NO CLUE what I’m talking about, you can read more here on my blog, and you can check out the Kindle version here and add it on Goodreads here. Plus, you can see a bunch of reviews, author interviews, and character interviews in the book tour that is going on RIGHT NOW. So click all the links, friend!

And as most of you know, I promised that the characters would take over the blog and answer your questions when the print copy was released… which it now is. So tomorrow, I the characters will be posting the answers to those questions! Stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, I have an amazing book trailer for you to watch that the wonderful Alea Harper and her sister created after reading Twinepathy. Eeep!!! It is awesome, so check it out, give them a few likes, and share it! If you haven’t read it, this will make you want to read it. It made me want to read it… and I wrote it. 😉

Are you excited about the print book? What do you think of the book trailer? Comment below with your thoughts!

The Twinepathy Blog Tour | Post Schedule And Such

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Twinepathy blog tour! I am your host, Blaze, and I shall be guiding you through the wonders of character interviews, author interviews, and book reviews! This is the main schedule, where links will be posted to each post as they are posted throughout the week. Is that enough posts for you? The blog or person’s name will link to their blog, and the type of post (interview or review) will link to the actual post. Let’s get on to the schedule!

July 17th

The Depth of my Faith – Character and Author Interview

Beyond the Amethyst – Book Review

 

July 18th

Musings of an Elf – Author Interview

The Road of a Writer – Book Review

 

July 19th

Lights and Shadows – Author Interview

Lilyorphaned – Book Review

 

July 20th

Writinganyone – Character Interview and Book Review

Writefury – Character Interview

 

July 21st

Claire M. Banschbach – Author Interview

Sherwood Storyteller – Author Interview

 

July 22nd

The Art of Writing for Him – Book Review

Elvish Pen’s Fantastical Writings – Author Interview and Book Review

 

July 23rd

Thoughts of a Word Collector – Author Interview

Thriving Hope – Book Review

Blaze here again! Check out all of these posts, okay? They’re going to be awesome and we’ll have lots of fun. And if you don’t… I’ll know.

And if you’d like, check out Twinepathy on Amazon and Goodreads. We’d really appreciate it, you know.

Twinepathy Q/A | Ask The Characters Some Questions!

Hullo, friends!!! Fourth post in a row this week! Nothing like a book release to get me blogging again, hmm? This is going to be a short post, but here you can post questions to ask the Twinepathy characters in their big interview post. This is going to be fun, huh? 🙂

Just a few guidelines to help things go smoother:

1. Make it clear which character you’re asking which question.
2. Try not to ask too many questions to start off with. Because we don’t want this to end up the length of the actual book…
3. Have fun! Ask some serious questions, ask some fun questions, and enjoy it!

Ask away! Don’t forget to sign up for the Twinepathy book tour if you haven’t already, and check out Twinepathy on Amazon and Goodreads!

(For reference, a character list: Data/Jen, Albany, Brooklyn, Maddie, and Blaze are the main characters, but ask anyone else questions, too! Try to avoid spoilers, please!)

Twinepathy Blog Tour Sign-Up!!!

Hullo, everyone! As promised yesterday, here is the sign up for the Twinepathy book tour! Thank you all for your congratulations and support. If you haven’t, check out Twinepathy on Amazon and add it to your Goodreads shelves.

And, finally, here’s the Twinepathy Blog Tour sign-up form! Please share this post on your own blog, website, or social media–the more bloggers we can get to participate, the better!

Name(required)

Email(required)

Blog or Website(required)

Type of Post You'd Like To Do(required)

Character Interview

Author Interview

Book Review

Write My Own (Describe in Anything Else)

Other (Describe in Anything Else)

Preferred Day(required)

July 17th

July 18th

July 19th

July 20th

July 21st

July 22nd

July 23rd

Doesn't matter to me!

Anything else?

Go ahead and email me about the blog tour!(required)

Submit

Δ

If you have an questions, feel free to ask them below!

Tales From The Writer’s Desk: A Special Day

Hullo, everyone! Nothing like a book release to get me posting again, hmm? In case you missed it yesterday, Twinepathy is now available on Kindle! I realized it was about time I did another Tales From The Writer’s Desk, this time with the characters from Twinepathy. Because, let’s face it, why wouldn’t they hang out with Bri? Also, the sign-up for the Twinepathy blog tour will be posted tomorrow. So keep an eye out for that, and enjoy this post! I know I sure did!

I know immediately that something’s wrong when I walk into my office the day after my July 4th break. To start with, the mess of Post-it notes and index cards that usually covers the walls of my office is gone, replaced by rows and rows of horribly identical sticky notes. My usually cluttered desk is spotlessly organized, with all the pens in the penholder and all of the scattered papers gone. Instead of having my usual movie theme song music playing, my laptop is spouting classical orchestra music. The bookshelf behind the desk has been dusted, and the books are somehow organized by both color and height. I shudder at the thought of what my cluttered book room must look like now.

“What did you do?” I ask the woman sitting at my desk, my voice tight.

The woman spins around in the chair. Her brown hair is about shoulder length, and her eyes sparkle with both life and sadness. “I was waiting for you, and I honestly couldn’t stand the mess in here anymore.”

I cross my arms. “Jen, has anyone ever told you that it’s not polite to rearrange other people’s belongings?”

Jen–or Data, as she’s known with her code name–smiles at me. “Of course. But it’s also not polite to keep someone waiting.”

She has a point. So of course I shift subjects. “Why are you here?”

Jen leans forward. “Just wanted to check up on an old friend. There’s been a lot happening at IDIA lately. Some good, some… less good.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Really?”

She smirks. “Somewhat. Actually, I was just looking for our favorite troublemaker, and that brought me here.”

I groan. “What’s Blaze gotten up to this time?”

“I don’t know,” Jen admits. “I just wanted to check and see if he was here. And I wanted a chance to say hi to you and see how you’re doing. And to let you know that we’re taking over.”

“You’re taking over what?” I ask with a frown.

Jen grins. “The blog.”

I sigh. “Please no.”

“Just for one day,” she reassures me. “It’s just going to be an… interview. By commenters.”

I grin. “Well. That’ll end well.”

Jen nods. “Of course. I’ll be in charge. If you’ll excuse me, I’d better head back to headquarters.” She stands up and heads to the door.

“Bye,” I tell her, turning back to my ruined office. As the door closes behind her, I can’t help but grumble, “Handful.” Time to see what damage she did to my book room.

I open the door to the book room and stop in shock. In front of me lies the book room, looking perfectly normal… except the floor is covered in grass and there’s a huge tree growing out of the middle. The ceiling’s gone, and above I can see blue sky with fluffy cotton-ball clouds over it.

I sigh. “Blaze!!!”

The teleporter appears in front of me with a grin. He waves a hand slowly in front of my face. “I am not the agent you’re looking for.”

“Hardy-har-har,” I grumble. The illusion disappears, leaving my normal book room. “Thank you.”

“Any time,” Blaze says. “I’m just going to go mess with Benedict, ‘kay?” He jabs a finger towards the book room. “Just wait until that illusion disappears and you see what Data did to your precious books.” He grins and teleports away.

I sigh again. “This is the start of a wonderful day.”

Hope you enjoyed! Don’t forget to check out Twinepathy and come back tomorrow to sign up for the book tour! The aforementioned takeover by the IDIA agents will occur on the day the print book releases, and the post for questions will open up on Friday, or before. Comment below with what you think should happen in a future Tale From The Writer’s Desk!

 

Some More Big News (Antarctica Size!)

First off, Happy 4th of July! For those of you who don’t live in America, you can help us celebrate Captain America’s birthday! That’s right, as cheesy as it is, our favorite super soldier’s birthday is today, too! (July 4, 1918, if you’d like to know the date.)

And so is Twinepathy’s, in a way. That’s what this Antarctica-Sized news is…

TWINEPATHY HAS BEEN RELEASED!!!!!

That’s right!!!! You can now buy Twinepathy for Kindle here! It’s been a long time coming, but it’s here now! If you’ve been waiting for this book to release, it’s here!

If you’d like to participate in a book tour soon, comment below! Plus, on Friday, I’ll open up a post for character questions, which will be answered on the release day of the print book. Discuss! Enjoy! Be awesome! And go check out Twinepathy (and don’t forget about Paralyzed Dreams, too)!