Critiques vs. Reviews
How much weight should writers give reviews?
Posts tagged ‘creative life’
Jun 22
Jun 1
Writing Plans – June 2025
A new month is here, and new writing goals appear. I had great plans to finish and submit two more stories, but fate intervened. However, three days and two plumbers later, my bathroom and kitchen are okay and I am ready to focus on writing again.
I have worked on one of the stories, but it is not done. I hope to get them finished by the end of this month, but I also have the looming rewrite of my novel. I don’t want to put that off too much longer.
I suppose it is common for people to overestimate how much they can get done. In some ways, I keep overloading myself and am happy when I get something done. Other times, I feel like I need to get real with myself and set realistic goals that are achievable. Problem is, I have ambition.
I do have some balance in my life. I make time for friends and family. I do have a day job that is completely different from writing. I try to have a few hobbies that have nothing to do with writing, or writing adjacent (I’m a big TV and movie junkie.)
I have big dreams for my writing. Last year did wonders for my writing self-esteem and I want to continue the momentum. But writing is such a solitary action and I find myself talking and thinking about writing more than actually writing.
I’m sure plenty are nodding their heads too. I think this is a much more common problem. My solution? I need to find a schedule that I can stick to. Ever since I had to go back into the office, my schedule has been in shambles. It doesn’t help that the days I’m in office rotate from week to week. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful I only go in two days a week, but I need to figure it out. Maybe an hour in the evening? We’ll see. My previous schedule was a morning write and that’s much harder now to do everyday.
Maybe the best idea is to not write those two days and focus on other aspects of the writing life. Work on these posts, create more images, and work on videos for my YouTube channel.
We’ll see. I do my best and figure something out.
In other news, I’m loving Murderbot on Apple+. I watched Andor and loved it too. I’m getting back into the Handmaid’s Tale. I watched the first season, but got busy and didn’t watch anymore. Now that it had the series finale, I can binge watch it. Spoilers don’t bother me at all. I’ve watched full recaps and still watched the show. I find that recappers don’t notice everything and always leave a few things out. Sometimes they are important. Sometimes they are trivial details.
Plus, as a writer, story is rarely unique. If you’ve read the books, you kinda know how things will end. If it is original, like Andor, I’m more interested in how the story is told, not what happens. (Although, with Andor, you know it is building towards Rogue One.) A lifetime of reading has taught me a lot about how stories unfold, so when it is done well, I become a fan.
On that note, I hope everyone is enjoying some good stories.
Happy Writing!
May 15
Mid-May Catch Up 2025
Not much movement from me since my last post. One thing about being a writer, the days tend to repeat themselves. I’m still getting used to my Return To Office (RTO) at my job. My new schedule has me getting up an hour earlier and going back to my hour and change commute. However, it’s only for two days a week (which I’m grateful) and I’ve been getting up at the same time to get my body used to the new work schedule.
One thing I have been doing is reading more. I’m still behind for the year, but I’m reading more than I did last year. One of my goals for 2025 was to read 2 books a month. So far, I’m only at 1 book a month (a total of five so far this year), but I’m glad I’m reading more. Last year, I think I read maybe 3 (?) books. Abysmal. So I need to step up my game. I definitely want to read James this year, now that it has won the Pulitzer. I knew it was a buzzed about book, and the prize is just one more reason to read it.
On the writing note: I did pull out my story that I worked on last December. Rereading it, I thought it was much better than I remember. There was one sticky area that I fixed and now it is off on submission. I’m really glad I got that out the door. One of my bad habits is to let my stories languish in rewriting hell. The story in question is one I wrote way back in 2018. So, it needs to be out the door.
I still have two more that need attention. I’m hoping to get them both finished this month and submitted. One is from early 2023 and the other is a story I started on January 2025. If I can get those done and out the door this month, I will feel accomplished.
Then I have to get started on my paid tier on Substack, which should only require me to spend an afternoon sitting my butt down in a chair and doing it. The stories are all written and I have the cover images. I just need to sit down and do it.
Finally, the last thing on my agenda is to start the rewrite of my novel. I feel a bit overwhelmed by it, but I have to remember to just take it one chapter at a time. I’m hoping all this rewriting of my stories, gears me up for this novel rewrite. Sometimes when I think about it, I am exhausted before I even start. Sometimes, I get really excited.
Ah the life of a writer. So boring on the outside. So exciting on the inside.
Hope everyone’s writing is going well.
Apr 15
Reading and Remembering – Mid April 2025
I haven’t set foot in a Spanish language class since 1995. And yet, when I read Julia Alvarez’s book The Cemetery of Untold Stories, the language came back to me in a rush. My tongue sticks when I try and speak new Spanish sentences out among the public, but repeating what I read? No problem. My brain shifts to some long-forgotten gear and I know (mostly) what is being written.
Hola! Like an old friend, my language skill greets me. Yes, I remember that word. And the next. And the next. Until I read one that is new.
Cuentame.
Tell me a story.
The word is melodious to me. I repeat it over and over in the weeks after I read the book. I confess, I had never read much by Latinx American writers. Not because I wasn’t interested, but only because I hadn’t made my way to them. This year I made a commitment to read more, but with my eye sight not how it used to be, large print books are my new favority thing. The local library has a limited, but decent asortment. No more headaches for me.
Sometimes I wish I had kept up my Spanish. I have two cousins that are far more fluent than me. A distant cousin who is half Mexican and fluent. Maybe at one time, I was okay. Now, I’m picking at words and grateful for Google translate. Lord help me if I ever get lost in a Spanish language country.
Still, I delight in the memories when I read Ms. Alvarez’s work. My Puerto Rican Spanish teacher from high school would be proud. I still remember basic sentences and words. I just had to wake them up from their slumber.
Es verdad?
Yes, it is the truth. At least the truth as I know it. There has been no trauma to my mind. No wounds. No damage. I just have long forgotten neuropathways that haven’t been fired in a while.
There is beauty in English too. My job has a lot of medical jargon in each report. I find myself enjoying learning words like dehisced, sequela, and neurostimulation.
Always useful for a science fiction writer.
The power of reading and words always amazes me. I’ve never been to the Dominican Republic, but now I feel like I’ve seen a piece of it. Somehow, this book reminded me of a time long ago when I knew foreign words as easily as my own language. There’s a joy in that. A delight that caught me off guard. That is the power of reading and books, of learning about different things.
The experience cannot be replaced.
Apr 6
March 2025 Recap – Writing, Day Job, and Publishing
Ya know you blink and time just floats right by. I can’t believe it is April already!
So, let’s catch up.
In the beginning of March, I finished the first draft of my novel. It clocked in at only 30K words, but that is the longest writing piece I have written in decades. I’m proud of myself for finishing this draft, even if it took longer than I would have liked. Right now, my novel has a beginning, middle, and ending. I have words on the page to work with and now is just a question of how much more do I want to add. Certainly there are sections that need revision, but I’m not sure it will (or should) be a standard length of modern novel. AKA 80,000 -100,000 words.
I’ve been reminded recently that shorter novels are coming back, so I’m going to aim for 60,000 words and if it needs more, I’ll add. If not, then maybe my novel will end up being a novella instead.
Also, around the beginning of March, I was informed by my company that I will have to return to the office a few days a week. It’s not as bad as others, who have to come back five days a week, but the commute is tough some days. One day, it took me two hours to get home. That’s nearly double how long it usually takes. It was good to see everyone face to face again. I’ve done hybrid schedules before, so I can do it again. I just wish my commute was a little quicker.
While I give my novel some space, I have been working on a new short story. I also have two other stories to revise. I plan to work on those and then take up the novel again. My 2025 plan is still in effect. I want a submittable version of my novel by July 1, 2025.
Reading has also taken a hit. I’m far behind where I should be, but in fairness, writing trumps reading in my world. When I’m writing a lot, I end up reading less. I have a huge TBR pile (like any good writer), but I find myself not having the time like I used to. Between work, writing, YouTube channel, and getting out in the world to spend time with friends and family, reading has been down on the priorities list. But summer is coming and perhaps I need to pick up some of those short novels I was talking about earlier.
Finally, I have been thinking a lot about how to handle my writing in the current cultural landscape. Earlier this year, some big companies rolled back their DEI initiatives. Amazon was one of them. I have several short stories up for sale on Amazon, and I don’t plan on taking them down. However, I don’t want to discourage those who want to pull money away from a big monopoly.
Amazon, along with Target, Walmart (and others) are huge billion dollar companies. I’ve never been a fan of Walmart (I haven’t been inside one in years.) and I’ve pulled back on shopping at Target (mostly to be better at spending my dollars). But as an author, I understand how hard it is to divest from Amazon. Often small presses, indie authors, and authors with smaller followings, are not available at the local bookstores. I’ve always tried to buy from the marketplace sellers when I buy books, but I don’t think I can fully stop. So, I’m leaving my stories up for sale.
But I’m also planning on offering an alternative. I’ve started up my Substack and sometime this month, I’ll set up a paid tier where folks can have access to all my short stories (and hopefully other content like novel excerpts, cover art, etc. in the future) without using Amazon. I think this is a good alternative to Amazon, but I do want to eventually put my work on other platforms (like Kobo, Nook, etc.). That takes time, and since my Substack is already set up, that what I’m working on first.
That’s the update. I have a lot to keep me busy. Hope everyone is having a good spring. Everyone stay safe out there!
Feb 1
The Hard Work of Writing
“Everybody wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die.”
Google has attributed this quote to a few people, so I’m not sure who said it first. Maybe Steve Jobs or maybe boxer Joe Lewis. I think the first time I heard it, Tupac said it (at least I think it was him). Either way, I’ve been mulling over this idea for the last week.
To me, this quote shows the difference between those who think about doing something and those who actually take action. Everybody wants to be a writer, but not a lot of folks actually start writing. Plenty of people say, “Oh, one day when I have time I’ll sit down and write.” Some might even start. Soon enough, they realize it’s more than buying a fancy pen, sitting in a coffee shop all day long, and sipping a fancy coffee. Writers write. Period. Thinking about writing, talking about writing, and even setting up an office are NOT writing.
I’m reminded of this reality this past few weeks as I try and finish my first draft. For the first time in years, I got a head cold and spent a few days taking painkillers, flu meds, and resting. None of those things were writing. I’m back at it now, but I know that even though I needed to rest, I was not writing.
The hard work of sitting down day after day is the “death” of this metaphor. Lot’s of people want to be writers, but not a lot want to sit down day after day and face that page. I’ve been doing this for decades with only a little success. Sometimes I wonder what I would’ve done if I didn’t write.
Honestly, I have no idea.
This identity is so ingrained in me, that I can’t see another version of myself. I did write a story once, unpublished, where I had a fictional twin who went off to become an actor. Even in that story, I didn’t feel like a true version. Still, seeing myself in a different way was an interesting exercise.
Perhaps, I’ve been doing this so long being a writer has imprinted on my DNA.
And what is “heaven” in this scenario? Published book? Famous writer? Rich writer? Sucess is different for everyone. Some want to be a full-time writer, but for others just having a book on the shelf is an achievement. I suppose earning a lot of money as a writer is the goal, but I know that it’s not my motivation. If it were, I would be writing romantacy (romance and fantasy combined), or I would move over into non-fiction writing (ghost writing, copy writing, etc.). Those places pay a whole lot better than weird genre bending fiction.
Heaven is different for us all. The important thing is to do the work.
And “heaven” will reveal itself to you.
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