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The Good Things (and people) That Come From Instagram
When I completed my MFA in Creative Writing in 2011, for years afterward I felt a void with regard to my writing and garnering input from fellow writers. I yearned to be in a writer’s group – a critique group – where likeminded authors shared their work and offered and received feedback. Two and a half years ago, I was invited into a group of fellow writers, people I’ve connected with through Instagram. I’ve been interacting with these women virtually since then, as we are writers from all over the United States, with one member in the United Kingdom. Not only are we all writers, but we are all published…
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The Annual Birthday Post: You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks. Or Can You?
And so another birthday has landed on my doorstep. I’m sitting here staring at the empty page, trying to come up with something clever and snarky to write for my annual birthday blog post. The cursor blinks. I curse it. Wait. Something has come to me. A retrospective of sorts. Since last year’s birthday, a lot has happened. Let me attempt to recount the changes that have occurred in our lives over the past year without boring you to death. 1—I underwent hip replacement surgery two weeks after my birthday last year. It’s been a year-long road to recovery. Initially, while I was healing, my SI-joint went out of whack,…
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Coming in November
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Sundays Are for Stories
✨FROM MY PORCH OFFICE✨ This is what Sunday morning writing looks like here at the Verni house. As I’m now officially over 33,000 words of building this story—probably my most complicated story to create to date—I am feeling the hum of the characters, the movement of the story, the connection of my 5 characters, and the way this story will end up. It’s a great feeling to know you’re on track with the story you want to tell—that the characters are yearning for you to tell. . I write relationship-driven fiction. It comes from a place of understanding the nuances of people and what potentially drives them (or does not…
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Podcast 15: Committing to Your Blog
* As authors, it’s important that we stay connected to our audiences. Blogging allows us to do just that. On a blog platform, we can connect with readers, showcase our work, and share other experiences that allow readers to get to know us. For all these reasons and more, it’s important to blog. Today’s podcast covers just that. I welcome comments, suggestions, and feedback on today’s topic. I don’t claim to know everything about blogging, but I do know that I’ve been keeping up with Steph’s Scribe since 2011, and it’s become a part of me. I’d like to share my thoughts with you in today’s podcast. Be well, all!…
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Meet Some of My Author Friends on #WritersWednesday
WELCOME TO WRITERS WEDNESDAY #writerswednesday One of the wonderful things about being on Instagram is connecting with other writers. During this time of being home and “flattening the curve” and trying to kick this coronavirus pandemic to the curb, I decided I wanted to do something positive with and for my fellow writers. As such, I’m featuring other writers that you can get to know here on the blog. All these ladies featured here today are contemporary fiction, contemporary romance, romance, or romantic-comedy writers…just like me! I was so glad to see them answer the call when I solicited writers for this new segment. We’ll see how it goes, but…
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Dear Fellow Writers
Dear Fellow Writers, Here’s a list of the things we do as independent authors: -write our books -edit our books -publish our books -promote our books -attend book signings -attend book talks -visit book clubs -blog -enter writing contests -support other indie authors -build an author platform -curate social media posts -network with others -create a podcast -join a writing group -learn photography -begin a new story -start all over In addition, we also read a lot. And some of us have full-time and/or part-time jobs. Fellow writers, what am I missing? There’s so much that we do. The list is long, and quite diverse, But I’m sure I forgot…
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Podcast 2 – Who Inspires Your Writing?
* Today, we’ll be talking on the podcast about other writers who inspire you writing. If you’re a writer, listen to the podcast and then do the assignment I’m giving you at the end of the podcast. It will help you start to focus. It will also help you find the “why” behind what you want to do. Ever since I read Simon Sinek’s book a few years ago titled Start With Why, I began to look at everything I do in a different way. If I can’t identify my why, then maybe, perhaps, I don’t do it. But starting with this idea of your own inspiration is certainly…
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Scientists Say This Helps You Look Sexy
What’s the last book you’ve read cover to cover and LOVED? If you can’t answer this question, maybe you’re not reading enough. And if you’re not reading enough, you may not be getting the benefits of reading, which include these scientific facts below. Reading makes you more empathic Reading helps prevent Alzheimer’s disease Reading makes you more apt to lean something new every day Reading helps your memory Reading helps your critical thinking skills Reading expands your vocabulary Reading helps people get ahead in life & career Reading makes you seem intelligent, which is regarded as sexy, especially by women Reading helps fuel your imagination Reading develops a person’s ability…
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Stay Positive, Writers!
It’s the first day of summer break for me, and that means it’s time to dust off my work in progress and hunker down. I’d really love to have this novel done by the end of summer. However, in doing so, there are challenges. It’s really easy to tell ourselves that our work is mediocre…that it needs a lot more love and attention…and that may very well be true. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be wonderful! My current work in progress needs some love and attention. I have to start at the beginning and go through it, chapter by chapter and sentence by sentence. I have to pull this…
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The Wonderful, Wacky World of Writers
I’m just gonna put this out there because it makes me sad: too many people are not reading. They are spending their time on other things, which is great, but I would like to see the average books people read a year climb (see a piece I wrote last year about average number of books people read each year by clicking here.) I am, however, encouraged on Instagram by all the READERS and WRITERS I’ve become connected with over the last six months. People post books, book art, and their favorite stories in beautiful pictures. It’s been a whirlwind of likes and follows, but the people I’m connected with are…
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Late to the Game of Thrones Party, #writerssupportingwriters & Elizabeth Sagan
LATE TO THE GAME OF THRONES PARTY Yes, I know. This show has been around for a while. And I have to admit to having tried the show two or three years ago and not being in the mood for it after watching the first episode. Sometimes you just have to be in the right frame of mind or in the mood for something fantasy/medieval-based in order to become hooked. So, at the urging of a former student I trust and friends whose taste in television we regard well, my husband and I decided to give it another go. I’m so thankful we did. This series has been perfect for…
