The Ready Writer

Hello hello! I'm trying to figure out a blog schedule that will work best.  Tuesdays and Thursdays don't seem to be good ones for me most of the time. I might just go with once a week on Saturday's until my schedule clears up a little. Expect some more book reviews, and some specific writing updates coming up. Camp NaNoWriMo is next month! I'm preparing by participating in the #Instawrimo project on Instagram. Filling up my "creative backpack" in preparation for Camp NaNoWriMo. You can follow the tag, or follow me @bgstrong and see what is in my creative backpack. More to come tomorrow. Until next time, B Strong &; PS new sign off! This one is less depressing, and more positive.

Hello! I haven't fallen off the face of the planet, just busy with 2.5 jobs and trying to get some writing in.  Actual writing trumps writing ABOUT writing.  But here is where I currently stand. I haven't touched my main project in months which has actually been a good thing for me. I've been reading, working on short stories, and generally just thinking about who I am as a writer and that has done me a lot of good. As I grow older, I find myself really trying to take the time to think introspectively and to think about who I am now, and who I want to grow to be.  This is especially good for me while I try to craft and create my writers "voice."   So, let me introduce myself: I am a horror writer. My influences come heavily from American Southern Gothic literature and American Spiritualism.   And knowing that now, my writing is taking shape. I'm finding my voice. All this time I didn't think I had a writing voice, but I do! I have ...

Hello, Hello! We are past the halfway point for Camp NaNoWriMo and my current word count is 5,166 words of my 10,000 word goal!  I'm busy busy busy but I'm still trying to get the words in when I can. Not much else to update on, so I will do some shameless self-promotion! Be sure to pre-order the horror anthology "Death & Pestilence" by Sands Press, coming out June 15, 2017 which features one of my short stories  here . Or, if you are not in the mood for something scary, you can purchase my children's book here . That's all for now! Memento Mori &;

Hello, Hello! Camp Nanowrimo Update:  4592 words. American Gothic Update: This series will be coming in May.  April is tooooo hectic for me to be able to pen it out, but its coming next month :)  For my post today, I just wanted to share a couple of small things that have inspired me lately.  I wouldn't say that I am in a slump, but words are flowing a little slower than usual.  Maybe its because I'm a writer with 2 day jobs, or because I'm working 6-7 days a week.  I dunno.  It doesn't matter in the scheme of things. As many of you know, I'm working on my first novel projects.  One that I plan on publishing traditionally, and one that I plan on publishing serially.  But as a short story writer, I feel very much out of my comfort zone.  A friend of mine came last summer and helped me immensely with the outlining process (which is not the same for everyone, but I didn't even know where to start). But outlining is ...

Hello, Hello! Lets start with some updates: It's Camp NaNoWriMo!  I set a goal for myself to get my project to 10,000 words.  I'm at 4470 right now.  This month is a crazy work month for me (Medford Comic Con is gonna be awesome though), so I'm not sure I'll hit my 10,000 BUT I am chugging along.  Squeezing in words as best as I can. Okay, now on to some suggestions! PODCASTS I am a huuuuuge fan of podcasts.  In fact, I haven't listened to music in....months? because I am constantly listening to podcasts and audio books.  I've recently discovered some new podcasts. I. LOVE. True Crime.  I have loved true crime forever.  I collect all of the Time Magazines about Serial Killers.  I have books on serial killers, I have an encyclopedia of violent crime, I watch True Crime shows, etc. etc. etc. This is a true crime podcast, but what makes this one great (to me) are the hosts.  It is hosted by two smart, savvy, fun, l...

I have written about writing resistance before, but seeing as I am currently in a slump, I thought I would bring the topic up again. I'm having some troubles with a short story. I wrote one for a deadline and because I had only finished the draft the day it was due for submission, I didn't get a chance to edit it.  It got rejected (which wasn't a huge shocker to me), and quite frankly I was a little relieved because that meant that I could polish it. I found another place that was accepting submissions, so I thought "Perfect!" and I got to editing. Only I wasn't really editing.  I was just cutting. My story was well over the word limit for this particular journal, so I just started cutting.  I chopped and chopped and chopped and eventually I just had a collection of fragmented sentences that were sort of going in a direction, but not really telling a story.  In the midst of all of this cutting, I missed the deadline for that journal too. So I scr...

Hello everyone! Okay, so the first week of Camp NaNoWriMo is over, and I have written....0 words. BUT I do not count it as a failure. I've spent the last week really creating a solid outline and plot.  I have a rough outline for my entire book, and I have a scene by scene outline for Act I. I have also created lore, backstory, really solidified my characters, and thought long and hard about my overall goals for not just this project, but all of them. As many of you know, I've been working on 2 projects.  A Haunted House project and a Haunted Hotel Project (which is getting a new name). Some things are changing. Haunted House is on the back burner for a TBD amount of time. I'm still loving the idea of that story, it will get written, and now that I actually have an idea about how to outline and plot etc. I'm excited to start that one over and make it better. But for now, it is on the back burner.  This is for a couple of reasons. First of all, I really want t...

So today marks the first day of Camp NaNoWriMo. For those of you who may not know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.  It is a worldwide event that takes place in November where people are inspired, motivated, and urged to write a completed novel of at least 50,000 words in 30 days.  It's crazy. I started participating in NaNoWriMo in 8th grade, regularly participating all through High School (but never finishing).  I stopped participating after I graduated high school, because I stopped writing for a couple of years after I graduated high school.  Once I fell back in love with writing, I was neck deep in college, and eventually grad school coursework so I never really got a chance to participate.  What I did get to participate in, is the community.  I got to surround myself with people who love the craft of writing, who inspired me to be a better writer (even if I never hit 50,000 words) and who understood the hard work and dedica...