10 Things I Learned Along My Writing Journey

There have been a lot of lessons learned along my writing journey, and I am sure that there are more to come. Here’s my list of the top ten so far.

1. Don’t give up. Keep writing.

2. Treat your writing like a business.

3. Guard your writing time. It’s precious.

4. Find your crew to help you celebrate and get through the rough times.

5. Keep your biography and your headshot current.

6. Write your synopsis and marketing documents after you finish a round of editing. Your characters and story will be fresh in your mind.

7. Keep a up to date character list for your book and series.

8. Record dates, contacts, and key information when you agree to do something, and keep your calendar up to date.

9. Keep good records. Keep all your receipts. Tax time always seems to be around the corner.

10. When you type “the end,” put down your manuscript for a few days before you start editing and revising.

#ThisorThatThursday Interview with Annmarie SanSevero

I’d like to welcome Annmarie SanSevero to the blog!

A few of your favorite things: Books (probably a given), tap shoes, violin, hot chocolate, and BritBox.

Things you need to throw out: paperwork I no longer need, electrical cords, I’m not using but am sure I’ll need one day, and my anxiety.

Things you need for your writing sessions: laptop, comfy seat, my hourglass, and hot chocolate (when it’s not melt your soul hot outside).

Things that hamper your writing: dogs, anxiety, time constraints, and did I mention dogs?

Things you love about writing: creating characters I’d love to meet (unless they’re the baddies).

Things you hate about writing: imposter syndrome, and the fact that I have more stories in my head than time to get out.

Words that describe you: optimistic, resilient, tenacious

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: anxious, medically challenged, exhausted

Favorite foods: pasta, steak, bread, chocolate

Things that make you want to gag:  beans, liver, okra

Favorite beverage: It’s a tie between hot chocolate and raspberry lemonade
Something that gives you a sour face: Coca Cola (there go my chances at endorsement money)

Something you’re really good at: learning, tap dancing, being a nerd
Something you’re really bad at: group sports (and most individual sports), flirting

Something you like to do: travel
Something you wish you’d never done: waited so long to start my own dreams.

Things you’d walk a mile for: my children

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: anything alive I didn’t give permission to be there.

Things you always put in your books: sarcasm, tragedy, hope
Things you never put in your books: erotica, gore

Things to say to an author: Your stories gave me hope/made me laugh/ made me want more.
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: How nice that you have enough time on your hands to write, I’m friends with you because I think you’ll be famous one day (a woman actually said this to me), Are you still doing that writing thing?

The nicest thing a reader said to you: I couldn’t stop thinking about your story. Will you be writing more in that world?

The craziest thing a reader said to you: I liked everything about your book, I just wish it was more like a Taiwanese Firefly.

About AnnMarie:

Annmarie SanSevero grew up in New York City but was transplanted to the south in high school. She writes stories about hope, courage, and resilience in fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, and mystery. Annmarie loves exploring the human experience and wants readers to feel like they can do more than survive. They can be world changers.

When she’s not writing, Annmarie enjoys learning just about everything (yep, she's a nerd), playing violin, tap dancing, and singing. One day, she wants to go LARPing. You can learn more about Annmarie's work on her website https://asansevero.com/

Social media links: 

https://www.facebook.com/annmarieflorence

https://x.com/theItalianMuse

https://www.instagram.com/theitalianmuse/

Author Newsletter link: 

https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/735163/111626342877889739/share

#WriterWednesday Author Interview with Kim Lengling

I’d like to welcome Kim Lengling to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Favorite fall treat: Pumpkin Bread with cream cheese frosting.

A fall treat that makes you gag: I can’t think of any that I dislike 😊

Favorite autumn beverage: Hot coffee
A drink that gives you a sour face: Pumpkin Spice in any drink

Favorite fall smell: Leaves crunching underfoot as you walk through the woods.
Something that makes you hold your nose: The smell of skunk.

Best fall memory: Growing up, we used to rake leaves into a huge pile under the tree, climb up to a lower branch, and jump into the pile we had created. So fun! Looking back, wow, was that dangerous! 😊

Something you’d rather forget: The death of a high school friend that happened in the fall. Not to forget the person, but the sorrow and heartache…

A tradition you share with others: Heading out for an afternoon to go look at the colors of the leaves.

A tradition that can be retired: It’s not my tradition, but the addition of pumpkin spice everything in the fall could disappear, and I wouldn’t mind a bit!😊

Best thing you ever cooked/baked in autumn: Apple Pie

Your worst kitchen disaster: Raspberry Pie, ended up like soup. I’ve never been able to perfect it, so I stick with apple pie or apple crisp. 😊

Favorite place you spent a fall day: Anywhere outdoors

The worst place to spend a fall day: Indoors

Your best Halloween costume: Stevie Nicks (of Fleetwood Mac) – I had so much fun creating a costume with all the flowy scarves, skirt, and high-heeled boots.

A Halloween costume that wasn’t quite what you imagined: I usually stuck with costumes I knew I could create on my own. I don’t have one that was a fail. Witches, gypsy, Stevie Knicks, She-Devil…they all turned out great and I had a lot of fun with them!

Favorite pumpkin spice item: None

Something that should never be pumpkin-spiced flavored: Anything. 😊

Best Halloween memory: taking my daughter on her first Trick-or-Treat night. We were both dressed as good witches. It was so cold and even snowed a little bit. We were dressed for winter with our costumes over our winter coats. We looked and felt silly and had the best time!

Worst Halloween experience: I was around 10 years old. I lived in a small town, and trick-or-treating was our night! I was in my costume and had my pillowcase filled! A few older kids decided to scare us as we were walking home. In fear, I tripped, and my pillowcase fell out of my hands as candy flew everywhere. I lost more than half of my haul that night ☹

About Kim:

If you spot someone walking through a field with a coffee mug in one hand and a dog leash in the other—that’s probably Kim Lengling.

A multi-published author, podcast host, and all-around champion of hope and real talk, Kim is the voice behind the Let Fear Bounce podcast, where she shares stories that remind you hope is real, kindness matters, and you’re never alone, even on rough days. As a veteran living with PTSD, Kim knows the power of small, hopeful moments.

She’s the lead author of six heart-hugging anthologies (the latest, Paw Prints on the Kitchen Floor), and her book, Nuggets of Hope: Cultivate Kindness, drop real-life stories that lift you up when the world feels heavy.

To continue her kindness mission, her newest release, 15 Ways Pets Teach Us Kindness, is available as an eBook with print copy coming soon.

When Kim’s not writing or recording, you’ll find her relaxing with a good book, filling her coffee cup (again), or walking with her dog, Dexter, living her best nature-loving life.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://kimlenglingauthor.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/kimlengling

GoodReads: https://bit.ly/4lHUlMl

Let Fear Bounce: @Letfearbounce

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0tLAznvUG8hVVsTXdvTMTk?si=a828003ace2b4a9f

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LetFearBounce

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/let-fear-bounce/id1541906455

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letfearbouncepodcast and https://www.facebook.com/kim.lengling

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlylengling/X

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lenglingauthor/

X (Twitter): https://x.com/KimLengling

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@klengling?lang=en

Ways to Spark Your Creativity

Sometimes, you just don’t feel like writing or the words won’t flow. Or maybe, you just have a case of the blahs. Here are some ideas you may want to try to recharge or reenergize.

• Start another creative project where you have to use your hands. Learn a new craft or a new skill.

• Volunteer. Many organizations are looking for people to do a variety of tasks. A change of scenery is always good. And giving back is important.

• Take a class or a course. It’ll spark ideas, and you have the opportunity to learn something new. There are so many few free or low-cost courses.

• Go for a walk, hike, or bike ride or start a new exercise routine. It’s good for your health, and the endorphins always stimulate creativity. And if you have a dog, he or she would love to go on an adventure.

• Get out your camera or phone and go on a photo safari. You can always blog about your adventures, share them in your newsletter, or use them on your social media sites.

• If you can swing it, plan a get-away. Mini-vacations are a great way to recharge. If your budget or schedule doesn’t allow for a trip, plan a get-away day near your home. Play tourist or just visit some interesting sites. A change of scenery will do wonders for your outlook.

• Schedule a meet up or online call with your writer buddies. A “plotting” party where everyone throws out ideas for stories is a great way to get recharged and ready to write. I always leave with some new ideas that I want to explore.

• Organize a closet, your desk, or your junk drawer. Putting things in order creates a sense of accomplishment and spruces up your space.

• Make sure you do have a writing crew. Writing is lonely, and you do need your support folks. Get together and plan a new project or just chat. Sometimes, you need a break.

What would you add to my list?

#ThisorThatThursday Interview with Corine McGlown founder of Calmfirmations

I’d like to welcome Corine McGlown as my guest today for #ThisorThatThursday.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Getting writer’s block or second-guessing my writing choices

Easiest thing about being a writer: Thinking of main topics to write about

Something you’re really good at: Motivating others and creating gift bags

Something you’re really bad at: Lying

Last best thing you ate: Herb-baked salmon over shredded lettuce

Last thing you regret eating: Fast food french fries

Favorite music or song: Soulful R&B

Music that drives you crazy: Techno

The last thing you ordered online: Vitamin supplements

The last thing you regret buying: A dress that looked nothing like it did online

Things you’d walk a mile for: My family, a very large sum of money, Twizzlers (Ha! not really, but I do love them)

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Spiders, centipedes, bugs of nearly any kind, horror movies

Things you always put in your books: Calming affirmations

Things you never put in your books: Negative energy

Favorite places you’ve been: Maui, Las Vegas, Ocho Rios

Places you never want to go to again: Tijuana

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Moved to NYC for a year without knowing anyone

Something you chickened out from doing: Going into a haunted house after paying for it

The first 8-track, record, cassette, or CD you ever bought: Michael Jackson’s Thriller

A type of music that’s not your cup of tea: House or techno music

Your favorite movie as a child: The Wiz

A TV show or movie that kept you awake at night as a kid (or as an adult): Poltergeist

About Corine:

Corine is the founder of CALMFIRMATIONS, an emotional wellness brand inspired by her own lifelong journey with anxiety and the search for more peace in everyday life. What started as simple moments of slowing down, breathing, and speaking affirmation to herself and her children, has grown into a mission to help others do the same. She is the author of a variety of calming affirmation coloring journals and hosts mindful coloring workshop experiences, each encouraging women to hit pause on the chaos, quiet their minds, and reconnect with who they are…one calm, colorful moment at a time. Each journal she creates is designed to speak directly to a specific challenge or season of life. Next on the horizon is an affirmation coloring journal created especially for female entrepreneurs.,with an anticipated release of November 2025.

 Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://calmfirmations.com

Journals: https://calmfirmations.com/journals

Instagram: https://instagram.com/calmfirmations

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@calmfirmations

Amazon Authors: https://amazon.com/author/calmfirmations

Book Links:

College - https://amazon.com/dp/B0DDXYV8SG

Overwhelmed Moms - https://amazon.com/dp/B0F2SBWVLS

#WriterWednesday Interview with Robert F. Lowell

I’d like to welcome Robert F. Lowell to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Hardest thing about being a writer: The soul-crushing emptiness of the blank page. Slightly worse than the soul-crushing emptiness of marketing.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Coming up with bad ideas. Bad ideas are essential to any creative endeavor. Researchers who study innovation and creativity all agree that the best way to have a few good ideas is to have lots of bad ones. Make sure you write them down.

Words that describe you: Grateful, reliable, respectful, affectionate, committed, disciplined, curious, tenacious, introspective.

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Predictable, cautious, dad-bodded.

Last best thing you ate: Shakshuka at the Blue Barbikan, a Polish restaurant in York, England.

Last thing you regret eating: The Sunday roast beef at a pub in York that will not be named. I almost asked the waiter for an axe.

Favorite music or song: Classic rock and hot country. If Eric Clapton and Chris Stapleton ever tour together I'll ask if Ticketmaster accepts payment in blood.

Music that drives you crazy: Heavy metal. No, Led Zeppelin was not heavy metal. Neither was Steppenwolf.

The last thing you ordered online: An excessive amount of artisan roast coffee.

The last thing you regret buying: Loafers. I swear my feet must have variable geometry.

Things you always put in your books: Dialog between two or more people who don't trust each other.

Things you never put in your books: Open-door sex scenes. Sorry, ladies.

Things to say to an author: "Your last book changed my life." "Can I pre-order your next book?"

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: "I've always wanted to write but I've never had the time."

Favorite places you’ve been: Florence, Cornwall, Lake Tahoe. In my imagination Heaven looks just like Tahoe, but everybody's naked.

Places you never want to go to again: Zheleznogorsk, Siberia. The people were very friendly, even the Russian secret service guy who was tailing me, but dang it was cold.

Favorite things to do: Travel, eat fine food, drink wine, whisky, or beer, watch movies, snuggle with my wife. All the above at once.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Changing diapers, home repair, packing to move to a new house. If you've never eaten chapulines (Mexican-style grasshoppers), give them a try.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: D. J. Butler, pirate-hatted science fiction and fantasy author/publisher.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Clint Eastwood. Saw him in Carmel one night and thought he was the ghost of Arnold Palmer.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: "[Your story "Ghost Wolf" is] something that today’s survivors of Iraq and Afghanistan would understand completely."

The craziest thing a reader said to you: "Wait, your name is Robert?"

My favorite book as a child: Charlie Brown's All-Stars by the great Charles Schulz. I loved the Peanuts gang as a kid, and they'll always hold a place in the sandlot of my heart. Snoopy is my spirit animal. According to one strip, I'm the same age as Charlie Brown. He's aged better.

A book I’ve read more than once: The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. If you ever get a chance to see Max McLean's stage adaptation, do it. Your soul will thank you.

About Robert:

Robert F. Lowell is a Writers of the Future winner and Baen Fantasy Adventure Award finalist. His complicated relationship with reality began when he was born between two movie studios in Burbank, California. In previous professional lives he researched and wrote about international relations, weapons of mass destruction, and terrorism. He taught at universities in the US, Costa Rica, and Switzerland and was kissed by a dancing horse in Siberia. Now he expands the universe of online learning as an instructional systems designer and writes about swords, sorcery, robots, aliens, and magic rabbits as a member of the Wulf Pack Writers. He, his wife, and at least one dog live in a town with very expensive weather on California’s Central Coast and travel in search of enchantment. 

 Let’s Be Social:

Website: https://www.robertflowell.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertflowellauthor/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fwehling 

AI Terms Authors Need to Know

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is exciting and terrifying at the same time. Regardless of how you feel about it, it’s here, and it’s popping up everywhere. Here are some terms you need to know. I’ve included some great resources at the end that provide a lot more detail and examples.

Agentic AI: Systems designed to be autonomous. They can make decisions and do actions with no or limited human interactions.

AI Ethics: A multidisciplinary field that studies how to optimize the beneficial impact of AI while reducing risks and negative results.

Algorithm: A rule that a machine follows to complete a task.

Artificial Intelligence/AI: This is where machines act in a way that mimics human intelligence. Sometimes, it’s called cognitive computing.

Autonomous: A machine that can perform tasks without human intervention.

Bias/Machine Learning Bias: Slanted results caused by human bias, training data, or algorithms that lead to distorted results and possible negative outcomes.

Big Data: These are source or sets of data that are too large to process by traditional computers or data processing systems.

Chatbot: A process created for computers to communicate or interact with humans. They mimic human conversations.

Cognitive Computing: A model that mimics human thought processes.

Deep Fake: AI-generated images, videos, or audio to perpetrate a hoax or spread fake information.

Deep Learning: This is a function of AI that mimics human learning. It learns how data is structured rather than by the algorithm or rules that program it to do one task.

Emergent Behavior/Emergence: When an AI program shows unpredicted or unintended capabilities.

EU AI Act: A European Union regulation for responsible AI deployment and privacy.

Generative AI: This is where a system can process data and generate something new instead of regurgitating data that already exists. The system can create text, videos, code, and images.

Guardrails/Controls: These are frameworks or checks to ensure AI systems operate ethically and legally.

Hallucinations/Fabrications: The systems cannot discern truth from fiction from what it is trained on and what it generates.

Large Language Model/LLM: A training method of AI where huge amounts of data are used to teach the understanding of natural language.

Machine Learning: Part of AI learning that centers on algorithms that can “learn” the patterns of training data and make recommendations about new data. This pattern recognition ability enables machine learning models to make decisions or predictions without programmed instructions.

Natural Language Processing/NLP: This is a method where the computer takes structured data and turns it into text or speech.

Prompt: The way humans interact with a system. It in an instruction for a task.

Turing Test: Named for mathematician Alan Turing, this test checks the machine’s ability to pass for a human.

Vibe Coding: A method for developing software where the user guides an AI system through natural language prompts to create, refine, and test code. This is an alternative to writing the code. The term was coined by Andrej Karpathy.

Voice Recognition/Speech Recognition: A way for humans and computers to interact. The computer listens and interprets human speech.

References:

50 AI Terms Every Beginner Should Know | TELUS Digital

Microsoft Source: 10 AI terms everyone should know - 10 AI terms

Glossary of Terms: Generative AI Basics - MIT Sloan Teaching & Learning Technologies

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Terms & Definitions | Coursera

AI Speak: A Glossary of Terms You Need to Know | Abnormal AI

What Is AI Bias? | IBM

#ThisorThatThursday Interview with Sandra Skalski

I’d like to welcome Sandra Skalski to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite things: I adore my butterfly garden and my Christmas ornament collection. Some of them belonged to my grandmother.

Things you need to throw out: I keep old greeting cards. One of these days I must throw them all away.

Things you need for your writing sessions: A comfy chair and a cup of coffee or an ice-cold seltzer.

Things that hamper your writing: Access to the internet. I can either write or doomscroll, but not both.

Things you love about writing: I love the opportunity winning the Writers of the Future contest provided me. The support and encouragement have been amazing. Aspiring SFF writers should enter.

Things you hate about writing: I hate when I know the story isn't working but I don't know why. I'll have to pull weeds or some other mindless chore until I find the solution.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Occasionally, I get a raging case of imposter syndrome.

Easiest thing about being a writer: I love when I get 'in the zone' and the words spill out before my internal editor catches on.

Favorite foods: Steak and raspberries.

Things that make you want to gag: Liver makes me gag.

Favorite smell: I swoon over any kind of gardenia, especially Tahitian gardenia.

Something that makes you hold your nose: I hate the smell of Bradford Pear trees in bloom.

Things you always put in your books: I try to include a bit of humor in most things I write.

Things you never put in your books: Elves, dwarves and goblins won't be in my stories. They've been done to death.

Things to say to an author: I really enjoyed your book.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: What were you thinking with that ending?

Favorite places you’ve been: I love the Galapagos Islands and French Polynesia.

Places you never want to go to again: I avoid big cities. Crowds are not for me.

Favorite things to do: I love to dig in the garden or relax on a beach.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: I hate vacuuming.

Things that make you happy: I love spending time with my family and friends. When I'm not with them, you can find me in the garden.

Things that drive you crazy: Traffic jams get on my last nerve.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I did a scuba dive to 130 feet to see the Blue Hole of Belize.

Something you chickened out from doing: The Angel's Landing hike in Zion. We changed our minds at the last minute.

About Sandra:

Sandra Skalski is a wife, mom and engineer who scribbles stories in her spare time. She likes to write story that make you smile. When she’s not writing, you can find her in the butterfly garden or traveling with her husband. This year, her stories have appeared in Writers of The Future Vol. 41, Allegory Magazine and Black Cat Weekly.

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Sandra-Skalski-Author-61574495129204/

X: https://x.com/sandyskalski