holiday

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nephele Tempest

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Wishing everyone celebrating a very happy Thanksgiving. It’s been a tough year and yet there is still so much to be grateful for. Thank you to everyone who has stood up for themselves, for others, for people in need. We’ve seen so much hatred flung about in recent months, but we’ve also seen love and truth and determination to get things back on a proper track and make our country a fair, safe harbor for all of its residents. I’m grateful for my friends and family, my wonderful clients and coworkers, and for all you lovely folks. Have a joyous holiday, and don’t forget to take a bit of personal time. Steal a half hour to write, or curl up with a good book. Enjoy!

2016 December Writing Challenge Wrap Up

Nephele Tempest

Today is the final day of this year’s December Writing Challenge. How did you do? Did you write every day? Make progess on our current project? Start something new? Maybe experiment a bit? At the very least, I hope you set up some good habits for the year ahead.

Many writers have successful careers without producing material daily, but regardless of your writing schedule, creativity is a muscle that must be exercised regularly. Train your brain to produce on demand and you will find the ideas flow much more easily than if you attempt to write merely when the whim strikes you. If you’re just starting out, you’ll develop good habits that will help you continue to write under deadline or when you’re traveling or when your day job rears its head and demands your attention. If you’ve already been at this a while, you probably realize that writing can be more of a challenge if you fall out of the habit of sitting down and tackling the work in a set rhythm.

Regardless of your progress this month, I hope you’re heading into the new year with some wonderful ideas and plans to write, and that you make excellent headway with all your goals for 2017. Wishing you a wonderful New Year’s Eve! Stay safe and enjoy.

Friday Links: Inspiration to Write through the Holidays

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday! Apologies for the lack of links last week, but between the holiday and my own self-imposed social media blackout, I didn’t have as much as I would need for a full post. And you were all shopping anyway, right? However I am back this week with an all new collection of Friday Links to kick off December and this crazy final month of 2016.

First, a quick reminder that this is Day 2 of the December Writing Challenge. Even if you are just hearing about it now, it’s never too late to start, so make sure you get your writing time in for the day. Now’s also a good time to take a quick look at your weekend plans and figure out when you plan to write tomorrow and Sunday. Don’t risk running out of time; make a writing date with yourself and stick it on your calendar.

All right! Without further ado I give you this week’s Friday Links. There should be something here to inspire all of you to read and write through this busy time of year. Enjoy, and happy writing!

Roxane Gay on the Importance of Storytelling – A short Q&A with the author.

John Scalzi: Writing for Audio Made Me a Better Writer, Period – The author discusses how writing specifically for audio changed his approach.

The Man Who Invented Bookselling as We Know It – The history behind The Temple of Muses, the famous London bookshop that set the standard for book retail in the 18th century.

Putting Penis to Paper: When Sex Writing Goes Terribly Wrong – A humorous look at the art (or lack) of writing sex scenes.

These Women Reporters Went Undercover to Get the Most Important Scoops of Their Day – A look at the girl stunt reporters of the late 19th century.

35 Gifts Under $35 for Writers and Book Lovers – A nice roundup for those of you shopping for the bookish and/or writing set, or who need to nudge your own friends and family toward getting you things you’d like.

The Non-Western Books that Every Student Should Read – Great assortment of titles for anyone looking to diversify their TBR pile.

The History of Female Titles: When ‘Mistress” Meant ‘Mrs.’ and ‘Miss’ Meant ‘Prostitute’ – An interesting account of how women’s titles have changed. Particularly useful for historical fiction authors.

Happy Halloween!

Nephele Tempest
(c) Can Stock Photo/ mythja
(c) Can Stock Photo/ mythja

It’s a day known for candy, for costumes, for scary stories and haunted houses and a final settling into the autumn season. So whether you plan to take your little ones out for some trick-or-treat fun, read a great old horror novel, or simply steal some time to work on plotting out your NaNoWriMo novel so you’re ready for tomorrow, I wish you a fun-filled, safe holiday, complete with all the best sorts of thrills.