#writing

Mar 10, 2022
2 min

Rewards and Writing

Daffodils in the sun. Background: Finger and dog blurred out. A few days ago I tweeted that I got my 18th rejection for my 100 rejections spreadsheet. I included that I have set up a reward system and my first reward is when I reach the 22nd rejection of 2022. Many likes and retweets occurred. A few people commented and this one from Lisa and another one from Marc got me thinking about WHAT my reward might be. I like the idea of doing something non-food-related and inexpensiv

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christi-r-suzanne

Nov 18, 2021
3 min

Aiming for 100 rejections

I have finally decided to aim for 100 rejections (at this point it’s more like submissions/applications) for the year. I’ve been hearing about this idea for a long time and I always kind of liked it, but was never committed to putting it into practice. Lately, I’ve gotten some of my energy back after the depression, stress and horribleness of the past two years. I’m ready to take my commitment to my writing to the next level! First, here’s what I’ve been up to when I’m not to

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christi-r-suzanne

Nov 26, 2020
1 min

The Matchbook Room

My piece was published on the Eunoia Review website! Check it out. Eunoia Review First performed by an actor as part of the Liars’ League Portland (now defunct) What I wanted to tell you about was Grin. How she collected matchbooks and how it’s a dying art form. Her full name was Grinalda. She’d inherited her father’s modest collection when she was 25. At first, she didn’t like me, thought I was a know-it-all. Most people would agree with her, but I learned to soften my deliv

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Writing Advice for #authortoolbox post #2

christi-r-suzanne

May 16, 2019
2 min

Writing Advice for #authortoolbox post #2

Ugh! I totally fell off the blogging wagon… to be fair I do have an 8-month-old who is keeping me on my toes! I didn’t intend to stop blogging, but well, it happened. However, I’m back! So check out some writing tips I gathered from my writing friends! I’m hoping to blog at least once a month for the foreseeable future. Kelly Garrett, novelist, says, “Figure out your own process and what works for you, and don’t worry if other people approach writing differently. For example,

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Writing tips from other writers #authortoolbox post

christi-r-suzanne

Mar 19, 2019
2 min

Writing tips from other writers #authortoolbox post

For the next couple of #authortoolbox posts I decided to reach out to my writing friends both authors I know in real life and those I know virtually. Please learn more about their writing as well. They have a lot of insight into their own process and you never know what will work for you. I love finding new nuggets of wisdom (I’m not talking about fool’s gold here!) or a twist on an old tip that helps me get inspired, write better, or grow as a writer. For every question you

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christi-r-suzanne

Mar 8, 2019
5 min

Author Q & A: Carolyn Martin (poet!)

This interview is an exciting one for a couple of reasons. One, I’ve never interviewed a poet before! I decided to open my interviews up to published and unpublished authors, but I want to keep a healthy mix of all different types of writers who are in various stages of their writing careers. Another reason this post is exciting is that I met Carolyn through my time as a fiction editor for VoiceCatcher journal where I was later on the board and managed their social media acco

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New parent, must write: Author toolbox post

christi-r-suzanne

Jan 13, 2019
3 min

New parent, must write: Author toolbox post

This parenting thing is relentless and I am only 20 weeks in. Duh, right? Well, somehow I am finding time to write. It’s different now. My resolve is bound to the conviction that if I quit doing something I love I will disappoint my son. He will see the sorrow in the newly formed lines around my tired eyes. Even at 20 weeks he will sense the emptiness I would feel if I didn’t make time to write (instead of do the dishes or another load of laundry). He would know because the j

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christi-r-suzanne

Nov 8, 2018
6 min

Publishing Q and A with Sheala Henke

Today our Q and A takes a slightly different angle. Sheala Henke, fantasy author, talks about her path to a traditionally published fantasy novel. Born and raised in the foothills of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, and local CSU alumni, Sheala Dawn Henke is a veteran educator, with nearly twenty years in the trenches. She’s the author of an honored title for the ‘What’s New in Young Adult Literature, 2018 Edition’ with her YA Climate Fiction series, IDEA33 and the new release w

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Author Q and A with Erica Steele (this week includes author toolbox blog hop)

christi-r-suzanne

Oct 17, 2018
4 min

Author Q and A with Erica Steele (this week includes author toolbox blog hop)

#authortoolboxbloghop is a way to support other authors and to gain a little exposure as well. Check out other bloggers posts as well in the link above. Okay, on to the interview! I love doing these Q and As with different authors. I learn from each one and I get to know more about people that I’ve known for years. A good example of this is my friend, Erica. We met through a writing class at The Attic Institute in Portland, Oregon a few years ago. We were all there to finish

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christi-r-suzanne

Sep 9, 2018
2 min

It takes more than long locks & a killer one-liner

(previously written) I am closing in on week two at home with a newborn. Whoa. The whole experience is rather indescribable, the word that best describes it is ineffable. My husband and I were talking about how surreal, wonderful and awe-inspiring this whole pregnancy and birth thing is and when he was trying to describe it to a friend he said that word popped into his head. in·ef·fa·ble inˈefəb(ə)l/ adjective 1 too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words.”the

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christi-r-suzanne

Sep 6, 2018
4 min

Q & A with Author Rain Sivertsen

In this Q and A Rain Sivertsen answers my questions. Let’s learn a little more about her. Rain Sivertsen is a 25-year-old fantasy writer currently working on her first novel, a YA fantasy she intends to self-publish by 2019/20. She is also working on a darker fantasy trilogy about vampires. Everything Rain writes takes place in a fantasy world called Hurst where she spends most of her time, while her corporeal self is located in the beautiful city of Prague –which might be th

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christi-r-suzanne

Aug 23, 2018
2 min

Another revision and another day

My current project, Lana Bong’s Shanghai Market, just underwent another revision. I cut something like 10,000 words from it and then added another 2,000. I’m more confident that the pacing is quicker and more urgent and that my character development has improved, but I still question myself. Most writers will tell you that they never really feel like they are finished with a project. I can’t dispute that. I still feel like I need to go back and double check that everything fl

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Creating, growing, & purposeful intention!

christi-r-suzanne

Aug 16, 2018
2 min

Creating, growing, & purposeful intention!

Perfect cup holder! I recently read this New York Times piece about rebranding motherhood. There were quite a few things I liked about it. One main thread is the story of the author of the piece becoming a mother, that naturally spoke to me. I have worried over this since we decided to try and get pregnant ourselves. I worried about timing and having the time to write after Baby is here (any day now!). I already have a full-time job and limited time to write. However, I make

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christi-r-suzanne

Aug 2, 2018
3 min

Q & A with Author/Editor: Michael Mohr

Michael Mohr, Writer & Editor I’ve actually met Michael IN PERSON! We met at the Willamette Writer’s conference (which is actually happening Aug. 3-5!)in Portland, Ore. about two years ago, I think that’s right. Time flies! Since that conference, we’ve kept in touch with updates on our writing and that’s why I invited him to participate in this Q and A. Okay, let’s learn more about Michael Michael Mohr is a Bay Area writer, former literary agent’s assistant and freelance book

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christi-r-suzanne

Jul 5, 2018
3 min

Q & A with Author, Erin Kettle

I met Erin at The Attic Institute in Portland. We took a novel writing class with Whitney Otto that connected us and kept us writing. I’m so glad we’ve kept in touch and now you get to learn a little more about her. Erin Kettle is an author of women’s fiction. Her career is also in communications and Erin’s last two books were chosen to compete in a variety of unpublished fiction contests including Writer’s Voice on “Team Coffeehouse,” Query Kombat 2016, WriteClub 2016, Pitch

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Q and A with Aspiring Author, Karen Hugg

christi-r-suzanne

Jun 7, 2018
4 min

Q and A with Aspiring Author, Karen Hugg

I love meeting new writers online and Karen is no exception. Last month I wrote about Beth Green, aspiring Crime fiction author. What do you write? (genre etc) Mainly, I write fiction. Last year I finished a literary thriller called The Forgetting Flower about a plant shop owner in Paris. This year, I wrote a New Adult novel about a young woman who can communicate with ghosts through plants. Occasionally, I write narrative nonfiction and short stories. I’m always writing for

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christi-r-suzanne

May 24, 2018
2 min

Breaking through

First, I think I found a way to keep my BRILLIANT title (for now): Lana Bong’s Shanghai Market. It has something to do with tieing it in at the very end. Hopefully, some of you will get to read it someday. After that, I started thinking about why I would pick up this novel and read it. I realized it had a lot more to do with the sea life and animal themes that run throughout the piece. While I like the main idea of finishing what someone left behind for you to do, I’m a sucke

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christi-r-suzanne

May 17, 2018
2 min

10 more minutes . . .

waiting there are in life. While I waited to get inspiration for this blog post, in fact. The picture of my dog waiting for me to finish writing before her morning dog walk popped into my head. She doesn’t look too thrilled and that’s because just when she thought the wait was over . . . I asked her for ten more minutes. That’s hard for a dog who wants to get outside and go to the bathroom or sniff every blade of grass in sight. This type of waiting I’m going to label waitin

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Aspiring Writer Q and A Series, Edition I: Beth Green, Crime Fiction Author

christi-r-suzanne

May 3, 2018
4 min

Aspiring Writer Q and A Series, Edition I: Beth Green, Crime Fiction Author

I had the pleasure of interviewing Beth Green, freelance writer and aspiring novelist, for the first edition of the title of this post! I first met Beth through one of the Manuscript Wishlist (MSWL) holiday party Google Hangouts in 2016. Lot’s of great resources for aspiring authors there too. Anyway, we chatted and offered to help each other with beta reading. It was so great to have feedback from her and to get to know her over the past year or so. Thank you to MSWL for hav

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christi-r-suzanne

Apr 26, 2018
2 min

Entering Writing Contests

Chapter cards as a result of entering #RevPit. I thought I’d share a little quick insight into why I like entering writing contests like #RevPit and Pitch Wars. Right now #RevPit is winding down and narrowing in on each editor’s picks. Each editor will work with just one writer to hone their full manuscript and query letter so it is ready for querying out in the world! Truth be told, I don’t enter these contests because I think I will get chosen. Sounds weird, right? Don’t ge

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