Holy Homesteading

The Land of Tub: Map Creation

For many sci-fi and fantasy writers it can be tough to think of new worlds. Even if you can vividly picture it in your mind, getting it to the readers can create pitfalls and potholes on an already bumpy ride. First mountains, and oh wait, mountains need valleys so lets add those… now naturally withContinue reading "The Land of Tub: Map Creation"

Exploring the Jungle

Going into nature is something that can restore my soul like nothing else. On this day we left the tourism far behind and ventured out on our own to the Rio Turrubares. We stopped where the local river bridge had washed out by the rains, not wanting to drive through the river with our vehicle.Continue reading "Exploring the Jungle"

Please Vote: Character Name Selection

Alright, I need a little help. I'm trying to decide on the last name for Haylee's love interest in my book. Most votes will decide it and go into the final version of my book, The Bonaparte Complex: Glimmers of Truth. A brief bio of the character: Jonas is tall, bearded, and a high schoolContinue reading "Please Vote: Character Name Selection"

DIY: Himmeli Pendant Light

Background: We just purchased our first home this past month so after getting back from our first Ikea trip I wanted something pretty to hang above our new table. I saw some others awesome bloggers creating Himmeli ornaments for Christmas decorations and decided to up-scale it a little more and make a pendant Light. ThisContinue reading "DIY: Himmeli Pendant Light"

The Price is Write: Habits to Write By

Daily habits are key to any lifestyle, especially a creative one. Whether you get up before everyone else or find time crammed between events we all have habits that keep us on track. For me this means writing while Lets Make a Deal and The Price is Right is on television. For some reason IContinue reading "The Price is Write: Habits to Write By"

Whale Watching

For the most part I am a "land lubber ” but the chance of seeing a mother humpback whale and her newly born calf was a once in a life time event. After all, when in my Michigan life would I ever get this chance again. After downing a Dramamine with my exquisite cup ofContinue reading "Whale Watching"

Inspiration: Antiques

Inspiration can come from anywhere, and I wanted to share with you how I stumbled upon some great inspiration for my lettering over the holiday. On a trip back to Michigan my family and I visited an antique store. While I was there I found a huge amount of lettering inspiration that I wanted toContinue reading "Inspiration: Antiques"

‘Showing’ Character Description

Description should be like tasty nuggets of information readers cherry pick out of the pages before them. Not a nutritional paragraph of data they must swallow. This post is all about revising your words to get the more ‘show’ and less ‘tell’ in your character descriptions. For Secondary Characters: Too much description gets boring. The classicContinue reading "‘Showing’ Character Description"

Windows to the sea

One of Costa Rica’s best kept secrets is Playa Ventanas, windows to the sea. It is a beautiful secluded beach with a series of five sea caves, some accessible by sea, and some by foot. We discovered them on a border run to Panama to get our three-month visas renewed. We were looking for a placeContinue reading "Windows to the sea"

Four Month Blog Breakdown

It's been an exciting four months of blogging and we are so happy you are here checking in with us again! I wanted to share our year end status report for anyone who is interested in blogging and building a platform for whatever reason. The report shows the work put into the site in concreteContinue reading "Four Month Blog Breakdown"

10 Steps for Working with an Illustrator

Maybe your story is like mine. You’ve submitted a children’s book to several publishers without pictures and have had no response. Lets be real can a picture book really make an impact without pictures? Maybe… Maybe not… So after reading through the Children’s Writers Market I’ve decided to try again, except with the pictures included.Continue reading "10 Steps for Working with an Illustrator"

On Assignment from Costa Rica

A Christmas like no other. My heart never yearned to spend Christmas Day on a remote beach in the Southern Pacific until I was on assignment in Costa Rica, far from family and friends that I left behind in Michigan. Here, my internal calendar is out of kilter, nonexisitant really, for all the cues fromContinue reading "On Assignment from Costa Rica"

Sheet Music Art

Part of my creative flow are projects that bring me stimulation and the joy of a finished project. This is especially nice when I’m midstream on a novel and the end is farther away than I want to admit. So here is my project of the week! I scored four matching picture frames from aContinue reading "Sheet Music Art"

Magic Realism Is Not

A relatively new term has been popping up all over the publishing realm, Magic Realism. But what exactly is magic realism? And is the classic definition what agents and publishers really want? If you do a quick GoodReads search for magic realism books you will get a haphazard collection of works. Whether or not these are classifiedContinue reading "Magic Realism Is Not"

On Assignment from Costa Rica

Guest Photo Post by Sherry Rought Running the spine to Boruca! Feelings of adventure run high in my soul and I am always looking for a new and exciting path to take. This day we traveled to the tribal reserve of Boruca (Reserva Indígena Boruca) high up in the Talamanca Mountains about 3 1/2 hoursContinue reading "On Assignment from Costa Rica"

Hand Lettering Heroes

Today I wanted to share with you some of the people I look up to most in the Hand Lettering World. There are lots of different kinds of Hand lettering out there, from sign painters to calligraphers and everything in between. This is my list of my top 5 Hand Lettering Heroes. I have beenContinue reading "Hand Lettering Heroes"

Beta Reader Breakdown Part 3, Evaluation time

So you have all your shiny packets back, well except for those first few pages with the coffee marks. But Yay! You have them back. And you’ve glanced through them and you are getting excited about all the positive feedback you are sure to receive! My mind is humming, “I can’t wait for them toContinue reading "Beta Reader Breakdown Part 3, Evaluation time"

On Assignment in Costa Rica

Guest Photo Post by Sherry Rought, Costa Rica. The beauties of Costa Rica are immense. I am in awe of nature here. The juxtaposition of nature and human activity is overwhelming. Leaving the city far behind to breathe deep of fresh mountain air is something that can bring restoration to my soul. Venturing out ontoContinue reading "On Assignment in Costa Rica"

Gift Guide for Writers

Here are some ideas I complied for gifts for writers. Some are practical, others are quirky but I hope you find some ideas you can use. Eat. Sleep. Write. Coffee Mug. Any coffee mug with a fun saying will work. A quick internet search turns up hundreds of options. Find this mug on Amazon. LEDContinue reading "Gift Guide for Writers"

Hand Lettering Tool Guide

For all my lettering friends out there, I made a list of tools I use for hand lettering. I called it a guide because I think there are a lot of good products out there and a lot of different brands that work great. These tools are not "magic" and will not make your letteringContinue reading "Hand Lettering Tool Guide"