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Fantasy/Romance Fiction & Creative Living

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November 10, 2020 by Lindsay Leave a Comment

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THE AUTHOR

HI, I’M LINDSAY

I write fantasy/romance fiction and help creatives navigate the challenges of chasing their dreams. On my blog, you’ll find advice on writing, overcoming creative blocks, and building a life around what you love.

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I’m Lindsay, an author and creative living blogger. I'm sharing advice on writing, tackling creative blocks, and building a life around what you love.

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Writing a novel is not an overnight project unless

Writing a novel is not an overnight project unless you get your hands on a TARDIS or a device that can freeze time. (If you have access to either of these, hit a girl up, please.)⁠
⁠
Your motivation is bound to wane at some point. That's normal and in no way indicative of your skills or ability to be a writer. It happens to all of us!⁠
⁠
If you're participating in #NaNoWriMo, it's a little trickier because you have only 30 days to write 50k words. So, it helps to have some tricks up your sleeve to help you go the distance. (Cue the very underrated Hercules soundtrack.)⁠
⁠
These 5 things helped me maintain motivation during the last NaNoWriMo (the first one that I won) and I've been using them with my current WIP (which I'm doing this year's NaNo with).⁠
⁠
I've gone more in-depth on all of these in a corresponding post on my blog (𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙺 𝙸𝙽 𝙱𝙸𝙾) if you want more tips!⁠
⁠
𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈-𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌?

We're officially a week into October, so today I d

We're officially a week into October, so today I did a check-in on my goals for the month & where I'm sitting with them:⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⁠×⁠ 𝚆𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙴 𝟸𝟶𝙺 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚆𝙸𝙿 — I haven't touched my WIP yet this month but that's changing this evening. I only need to write 833 words daily for the rest of the month to reach my goal so I'm setting that as my target & will adjust as needed.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⁠× 𝚂𝚄𝙿𝙿𝙾𝚁𝚃 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙿𝚁𝙴𝙿𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁 𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙼𝚄𝙽𝙸𝚃𝚈 — NaNoWriMo is less than a month away & I'll definitely be participating! Last year was my first year winning it & the prep I did in the month of October was a HUGE factor. So, I'll be passing on as many tips/resources as I can (from myself & others) to support everyone who is taking on the challenge. ⁠There are already a bunch available on my blog (link in bio).⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× 𝙶𝚁𝙾𝚆 𝙼𝚈 𝚂𝙷𝙾𝙿 —⁠ I launched my Etsy shop on the 3rd & I'm absolutely blown away by the incredible support I've received from the community. Seriously, I've been so emotional about it. To everyone who has spread the word & purchased items, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! 🙏🏻 I've got so many more ideas that I've started working on for it & I can't wait to share them with you guys.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
_________________________⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⁠⁣
𝟹 𝙵𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙳𝚂 𝙲𝙴𝙻𝙴𝙱𝚁𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚆𝙸𝙿 𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙴𝚂𝚃𝙾𝙽𝙴𝚂⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⁠The prompt for the #visualizeWIPchallenge ⁠yesterday was to show support in the community, so I want to give a shout-out to 3 writer friends of mine who recently reached important milestones in their journey:⁠⁣
⁠⁣
@chellethewriter⁠ finished her first draft⁠ on a dark story with mystery and romance that looks so rich and compelling. I can't wait to sink my teeth into it!⁠⁣
⁠⁣
@cgwalkerbooks⁠ also finished her first draft⁠ of her YA fantasy about two brothers (who she says have major Thor/Loki vibes) fighting for survival in a dark Neverland. What part of that doesn't sound amazing? I'm already hooked!⁠⁣
⁠⁣
@thevanessaluisa⁠ sent her book ("a bitter-sweet romance with a touch of suspense" that sounds like it will probably make me cry a few times) off to her editor⁠ and says we can expect it in early 2021 — looking forward to it! 😍⁠

Jumping into the #visualizeWIPchallenge ⁠now —

Jumping into the #visualizeWIPchallenge ⁠now — I'm a few days behind on this one, too, so today is another double feature!⁠⠀⁣
⁠⠀⁣
𝙵𝙰𝚅𝙾𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙴 𝚂𝙴𝚃𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙸𝙽 𝙼𝚈 𝚆𝙸𝙿⁠⠀⁣
⁠⠀⁣
My WIP (𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙹𝙴𝙲𝚃 𝙲𝙾𝙰𝚂𝚃𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙴) is a romantic urban fantasy series that takes place in a fictional city in South Florida. Of course, I'm drawing a lot of inspiration from the real cities in the area, particularly Miami (which I adore).⁠⠀⁣
⁠⠀⁣
⁠One of my favorite settings in the story is the manor owned by one of the major family dynasties, who happen to be dhampirs (the result of a human/vampire union).⁠⠀⁣
⁠⠀⁣
Vizcaya Museums & Gardens in Miami (pictured) and the Versace Manor in South Beach are my sources of inspiration for the manor.⁠ Both have stunning, classic architecture and design that makes every room look like it has its own story to tell — and lots of secrets hidden in its walls. ;)⁠⠀⁣
⁠⠀⁣
𝑷𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒚 𝑫𝑬𝑳𝑪𝑰𝑰 𝑿 𝒐𝒏 𝑷𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒍𝒔.⁠⠀⁣
⁠⠀⁣
_________________________⁠⁣⁠⠀⁣
⁠⠀⁣
𝙱𝙸𝙶𝙶𝙴𝚂𝚃 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝚂𝙾𝙽 𝚃𝙾 𝚆𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙴⁠⠀⁣
⁠⠀⁣
I write both to escape the world and understand it more deeply. I love the cathartic exploration of emotion. I love the sense of adventure I feel walking in shoes that aren't mine and traveling through foreign worlds. I love how it gives me an outlet for complete, unbridled self-expression.⁠⠀⁣
⁠⠀⁣
As for why I'm working on this particular project: as a native Floridian, I've always wanted to write a series set in Florida where the city was a character of its own and would serve as a love letter of sorts to my home state.⁠⠀⁣
⁠⠀⁣
This series mixes a lot of my favorite things — South Florida, magic, and a dynamic cast of characters in a classic "soap opera" type landscape of romance, drama, power struggles, and suspense.⁠⠀⁣
⁠⠀⁣
It's something I'd personally *love* to read or watch, and I think that's always a good place to start. Even if no one else ends up liking it, I've had a blast writing it!⁠⠀⁣
⁠⠀⁣
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍?

I'm late to the party on two Instagram challenges

I'm late to the party on two Instagram challenges for this month, so I'll be trying to catch up on those over the next few days!⁠⁣
⁠⁣
Starting with the #darkandlightauthorchallenge...⁠⁣
⁠⁣
𝚆𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴'𝚂 𝚈𝙾𝚄𝚁 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳 𝙰𝚃?⁠⁣
𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏⁠⁣
⁠⁣
Hi, I'm Lindsay! 👋🏻 ⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× I'm a native Floridian who's obsessed with the beach but has yet to see mountains in person. Doing more traveling is something I can't wait to do once 'Rona takes a hike.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× I write fantasy with a healthy dose of romance. Give me all the morally grey characters, slow-burn romances, and dark twists.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× A few of the things I nerd out on are Disney, Halloween 👻, astronomy, and personal development (I'm a certified master life coach and NLP practitioner.)⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× ⁠I'm a Scorpio and Slytherin born in the year of the snake. Do with that information what you will. 🐍⁠⁣
⁠⁣
_________________________⁠⁣⁠⁣
⁠⁣
𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙾 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝚁𝚈𝚂𝚃𝙰𝙻 𝙱𝙰𝙻𝙻⁠⁣
𝒘𝒊𝒑 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍𝒔⁠⁣
⁠⁣
I'm currently working on my first draft for my romantic urban fantasy series. Some of my goals for it are...⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× Get at least another 20k written in October.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× Participate in NaNoWriMo (50k) in November (which is also my birthday month 🎂.)⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× Hopefully start the first round of revisions and beta reading in the winter.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏?

I’m very excited to announce that my shop for re

I’m very excited to announce that my shop for readers, writers, and creatives is finally 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦!⁣
⁣
This project began with me making some planner pages for myself to track my writing goals, word count, and project details.⁣
⁣
I had so much fun designing them that I decided to create more and open up a shop in case anyone else enjoyed them as much as I did.⁣
⁣
There are a handful of printables available to start with but I’ll be adding more soon, including some physical products like shirts, mugs, and journals.⁣
⁣
𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃’𝚂 𝙸𝙽𝚂𝙸𝙳𝙴⁣
⇢ Writing goals planner inserts⁣
⇢ Reading planner inserts⁣
⇢ Planner cards for writers & readers⁣
⇢ Inspiring quote pages to use as dashboards (a set for readers & a set for writers)⁣
⇢ Notes pages⁣
⁣
If you decide to buy a few things, make sure you use the code INSPIREDLIFE to save 10% off your whole order.⁣
⁣
This has been a labor of love (and a few tears when I ran into a slew of tech issues 🤣) so it feels great to finally have it out in the world.⁣
⁣
If you’re working on a passion project that has thrown a bunch of challenges your way (including things like self-doubt), stay the course and trust the process. You owe it to yourself to finish it. You can do it. 🙏🏻⁣
⁣
𝑳𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝑬𝒕𝒔𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒑 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒃𝒊𝒐.

𝙷𝙰𝙿𝙿𝚈 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁,

𝙷𝙰𝙿𝙿𝚈 𝙾𝙲𝚃𝙾𝙱𝙴𝚁, 𝙵𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙳𝚂 🎃⁠⁣
⁠⁣
My 2 major goals for September were to write 50k words for my WIP and finish setting up my online shop.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
While I got everything done for my shop (it's launching this weekend), I ended up with 30,866 words written for my WIP.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
I stopped myself from saying "only" 30,866 because I don't want to undercut what an achievement that is. Just because it isn't the target I aimed for doesn't mean it isn't worth celebrating.⁠ That's a lot of effin' words for my WIP that I didn't have written on Sept 1st!⁠⁣
⁠⁣
𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙷𝙰𝙿𝙿𝙴𝙽𝙴𝙳⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⁠A lot of unforeseen variables beyond my control got in the way. I ran into a *ton* of technical issues with my shop on top of dealing with personal stuff.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
It became clear to me toward the end of the month that I wasn't going to be able to devote the time, effort, and energy to both projects that I felt they deserved. Something had to give.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
I decided to focus on the shop because I was already behind on my original deadline for it and it was important to me to finish what I'd started.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝙸 𝙻𝙴𝙰𝚁𝙽𝙴𝙳⁠⁣
⁠⁣
My initial reaction upon realizing that there was no way I could reach both goals without sacrificing my health (and quality of work) was a mixture of guilt, disappointment, and frustration.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
I felt like a failure.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
After some serious reflection, though, I had some important realizations:⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⇢ My third goal for September had been to adopt a more "free-flowing energy" and that ended up being the most important one of them all.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⇢ ⁠The things that put me behind weren't within my control and thus, I had to let go of my expectations for the month and adapt to the situation.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⇢ There's a difference between self-inflicted procrastination (which you need to take responsibility for) and genuine roadblocks caused by life (which you need to be flexible on).⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⇢ Knowing the difference is vital, and you must be kind to yourself in both situations.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
Things won't always go as we've planned. Be honest with yourself about what is within your control and what is not.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
𝑪𝑬𝑳𝑬𝑩𝑹𝑨𝑻𝑬 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑾𝑰𝑵𝑺.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
Learn from the rest. 🖤

Since I'm deep in the guts of my first draft, toda

Since I'm deep in the guts of my first draft, today's writing hack I'm sharing for the #septemberauthorwipchallenge⁠ is one I've been using throughout this phase of the journey.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
𝙰 𝙵𝙸𝚁𝚂𝚃 𝙳𝚁𝙰𝙵𝚃 𝚆𝚁𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙷𝙰𝙲𝙺⁠⁣
⇢ 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
If you're a bit of a control freak like me, you may be inwardly cringing at this, but hear me out!⁠⁣
⁠⁣
Though I have my WIP (nearly) fully outlined, I was struggling to get into the vibe of the first few scenes when I started working on the first draft earlier this month.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
A later scene in Act I was nagging at me, so instead of wasting precious energy fighting the urge, I decided to jump straight to it.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
Since then, I've been jumping all over the place, going to whatever scene was calling to me and trusting the process.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
What this has done is:⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× Give me a chance to warm up my writing muscles with as little resistance as possible.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× Help me slip into the characters' shoes and get a feel for them in the scenes where I felt most connected to their motivations and desires.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× Allow the story to unfold on its own terms without me trying to bend it to my will any further (which is the mode I'd been in throughout the outlining phase).⁠⁣
⁠⁣
I've discovered so much about the story and characters since starting the first draft and going where it led me. Some things have been surprising and required me to alter my outline.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
_________________________⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣
⁠⁣
If you like the word count log & quote dashboard in my planner, I'm going to release them as printables soon (along with some other inserts for writers). Leave a comment or DM me and you’ll be the first to know as soon as they're available. 🥰⁠⁣
⁠⁣
_________________________⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣
⁠⁣
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒂𝒄𝒌?⁠

Today's #septemberauthorwipchallenge prompt is to

Today's #septemberauthorwipchallenge prompt is to share my fan cast for my WIP, 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙹𝙴𝙲𝚃 𝙲𝙾𝙰𝚂𝚃𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙴. It's also going to be the first name reveal for 6 of the main characters. 😬⁠⁣
⁠⁣
𝙰 𝙵𝙴𝚆 𝙵𝙰𝙲𝚃𝚂 𝙰𝙱𝙾𝚄𝚃 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚂⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× Alex is the exiled witch in question (from a powerful family) who returns to town to gain justice and redemption and reveal her enemy's true, evil intentions.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× Noah is her first love, who she left behind without saying goodbye to six years ago upon her exile and with whom she is forbidden to have a relationship.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× Ren and Luca are twins from another powerful dynasty in town, who are the rivals to Alex's family.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× Natalie is a human unaware of the supernatural forces in her beloved town.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
× Elias ⁠is running from his past which, as we know, always catches up to you.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⁠𝚄𝙿𝙳𝙰𝚃𝙴 𝙾𝙽 𝙼𝚈 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙶𝚁𝙴𝚂𝚂⁠⁣
⁠⁣
This month has consistently thrown unexpected roadblocks my way (migraines, sinus problems, some personal & biz issues — all the fun stuff 🙃) so I've fallen a bit behind on my word count. I'm at 28k and have only 7 days to make my 50k goal. I'm planning to set aside a couple of days this week to focus solely on my writing & hopefully catch up. Wish me luck! 🤞🏻⁠⁣
⁠⁣
𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 (𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆)?

How do you create romantic chemistry on the page?⁣
⁣
This is a question that’s been on my mind a lot lately as I’m writing the first draft of my WIP (an urban fantasy series with multiple romances).⁣
⁠⁣
⁠There are no actors with crazy good on-screen chemistry to use as a crutch. It's all in the writing. (No pressure. 😅🙃)⁠⁣
⁠⁣
Working on the romances has been one of my favorite parts of this project, but it's also been one of the most challenging because it's so easy to get it wrong.⁠ You can detour into cringe-town and blah-ville super quick.⁣
⁠⁣
I’ve been studying the romances I’ve loved most in fiction to brush up on how they’re crafted. Here are four things I've noticed are present in my favorite fictional relationships that I've used as a guide while developing each romance in my WIP:⁠⁣
⁠⁣
𝟺 𝙺𝙴𝚈𝚂 𝚃𝙾 𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙸𝙲 𝙲𝙷𝙴𝙼𝙸𝚂𝚃𝚁𝚈⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⇢ Each character is compelling on their own. They stray away from the “you complete me” narrative and follow two fully-formed characters who are strong and complete on their own, but made even better when they are together.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⇢ The relationship is dynamic because they challenge each other in ways that aid in their growth and move the story forward.⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⇢ Romance tropes have been used in satisfying yet fresh ways. (Examples of tropes: enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, second chance, forbidden love, etc.)⁠⁣
⁠⁣
⇢ Their chemistry manifests in various (often subtle) physical ways, such as through touch, eye contact, subtext, and banter to make it feel rich and layered.⁠⁣
⁣
I explored all of these more in-depth in my blog post “The 4 Keys to Writing Romantic Chemistry” which you can read via the link in my bio. (𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘨 > 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘪𝘱𝘴).⁣
⁠⁣
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒚?

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