Nicki Elson's Not-So-Deep Thoughts

Thank you, thank you to my marvelous crit partner, Jennifer Lane , who gave me the reminder that today's the final 2017 meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group . Since I'm scrambling, I'll go right into the optional IWSG day question: As you look back on 2017, with all its successes and failures, if you could backtrack, what would you do differently? Hmm, I'm torn on this one. On the one hand, I didn't get a heck of a lot written this year, so I wish I'd set myself some firmer, more clearly defined goals from the get-go. On the other hand, I enjoyed separating from my writer-self and seeing that I'm still a whole person without it. It was a good 2017, so in the end, I guess I wouldn't go back and change a thing.  One thing I've learned though... When I 'm in the throes of writing, I always feel guilty that I'm not getting as much done around the house as I should - the cleaning, the cooking, the blah blah blah. I used to b...

HI, everyone! I've been absent from blogland, so I look forward to getting around today to see what's up with y'all. Since I'm using NaNo to get back into the swing of writing, the first half of this month's optional IWSG question is perfect for me: Win or not, do you usually finish your NaNo project?  Wellllll, I do NaNo a bit differently. Rather than a word goal, I have a minimum-writing-time-per-day goal. That's worked better for me in the past, so I'm doing it again. And it's definitely gotten me full-on back into writing mode by the end of the month, which is what I'll count as a finish. Look at me talking all big on day one of NaNo. I think hopping around IWSG will be the perfect thing to get me inspired to rejoin you all in writing world. This post is part of the monthly blog hop/therapy session known as  Insecure Writer's Support Group , founded by the one and clonely  Alex J. Cavanaugh . Click below to join the group! Co-H...

Hi, gang! I hope your Octobers are off to a good start. I sorta blew it on a pact I made with myself during IWSG earlier this year---to finish the first draft of my manuscript by the end of September. I'm not even close to finished, folks, not even close. Nor have I had much of an inkling to seriously dive in. The weird thing is...I'm totally okay with that. A year ago, I think I probably would've freaked out hearing myself say that. But the beauty of not making any real money at writing fiction is that I don't feel beholden to it. And right now, I'm truly appreciating the things I do when I'm not writing---more so than I did before I dove into writing, I think. Here's a picture of one of the things I'm appreciating more. It's a restored prairie across the street from where I live. It's the greatest place to walk and walk and walk whilst I catch up on listening to my favorite podcasts. Since I feel as if I should talk about something...

Congrats to Jessica Therrien on the release of CARRY ME HOME ! Every book is special to its author, but read Jessica's answer to this one-question interview to learn why this new release is especially meaningful to her. Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Goodreads CARRY ME HOME is a fictional novel inspired by the true story of a teenage girl’s involvement in several Mexican gangs in San Jose and Los Angeles. The members of her crew call her, Guera, Spanish for “white girl” and it doesn’t take long for her to get lost in their world of guns and drugs. The question: If you had to choose one song that best captures the essence of CARRY ME HOME, what song would you choose and why? Jessica's answer: CARRY ME HOME is my sister’s story. Although I turned it into a fictional novel, most of it is true. One song that sticks out to me is "My Immortal" by Evanescence. Not because it inspired me to write the novel, but because I remember my mom listening to it when w...

Ay caramba! I totally missed last month's meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. You know how when you have something big coming up and everything you do is geared toward that big thing and you don't really think past it? Well, that's what happened. At the end of July, I took off to Cusco, Peru to meet up with my daughter who'd spent the summer there. After enjoying a few days in Incan splendor, we took off to explore more corners of that wonderful country (you can see pictures of these other destinations  in my latest author newsletter - I've left the free book download open until September 30, if you'd like to partake). I returned to the States on the August date of the IWSG...and proceeded to sleep for 14 hours straight. I've been whining at IWSG about not making any progress on my writing, and that's because instead of plotting and researching my manuscript, I was consumed with plotting and researching this trip. I'm more t...

Welcome to the July 2017  meeting of the Insecure Writers Support Group , a time to vent your writerly frustrations and/or offer encouragement. July 27 is the #IWSGPit event, so get ready to pitch your completed & polished manuscripts. Get the details here . It's going to be a great opportunity for writers, and I hope you all get marvelous leads from it. I myself have nothing to pitch. You see, to have a new completed & polished manuscript, one needs to actually sit down and pound out some new words first. But don't worry. That's not a lame attempt at an answer to this month's optional IWSG question: What is one valuable lesson you've learned since you started writing? Step away and take a deep breath. That's my answer. It can be useful at many different stages during the writing (and publishing) process, but today I specifically apply it to that moment when you receive feedback from your editor. If you're like me, your first instinct ...

I'm thrilled to be taking part in the tour for this wonderful, wonderful novel. You can click on the graphic below to read my five-star review at Goodreads. For my part of the tour, I asked Feather to answer one question:  If you had to pick one song that best captures the essence of Forbidden, which song would you choose and why? Feather Stone: What an honor to be a guest on the blog of my mentor. Thank you, Nicki. Forbidden required that I unleash my very best writing skill to expose Forbidden’s characters’ unforgiveable worst, deepest sorrow, most twisted truth. Hopelessness permeated the plot. I gave Forbidden’s protagonist characters the smallest thread of hope. Together Captain Sharif and Eliza discovered something that has no form, not bound by rules, and is without corruption. It is more powerful than weapons or armor. It is the power of love. Only through love did Hashim Sharif and Eliza MacKay discover the truth about their past and move be...