It is the time of year again where everyone is making resolutions about how they wish to change their life for the new year. I’m all about the “New Year, New Me,” but I’m one of many people who have issues keeping their resolutions. I’m hoping if I make a public declaration of my writing resolutions, I will chose to keep them out of fear of embarrassment. Without further ado, I present my three writing resolutions for 2018.

Why I Failed NaNoWrimo 2017

I failed NaNoWrimo 2017 on my first try. Yes, you read that right.

In case you are unfamiliar with NaNoWrimo, the goal is to write a novel of 50,000 words over the month of November. Currently my project “Alyssa’s Nightmare” has around 1,000 words written.

I know what you’re thinking. Wow Shelby that’s really under the mark. Trust me, I know, and I’ve beaten myself up over it a million times over the past month and a half. Since I’m trying to avoid the never ending cycle of calling myself a bad writer (it’s not good for my confidence), I’ve decided to reflect on exactly why I failed NaNoWrimo this year.

The sad truth is I thought I was 100% prepared.

Redlight

The following is an excerpt from a long nonfiction essay titled "Redlight." "Redlight" chronicles my indecision between making a life in my small hometown after college, or moving somewhere different. These sections appear in a different order within the entire essay, but I feel like they work in this order also. Feel free to leave a comment if you would like to read the rest of the essay. I hope you enjoy.

4 Things I Learned From My College Writing Program

It has officially been two months since I graduated college and completed the undergraduate creative writing program. After reading blogs listing the pros and cons of writing programs, I found myself reflecting on what I learned from four years in my own undergraduate program. In the end, I came up with four things I learned from my writing program that I think could be helpful to all writers.

3 Podcasts Every Writer Should Listen To

Over the past few months, I have been listening to a lot of podcasts. And when I say a lot, I mean it wholeheartedly. For me, listening to podcasts is a great way to learn, or become inspired while cleaning, driving, or getting ready. After listening to a variety of podcasts, I have found three podcasts that every writer should listen to.

How To Fix An Unfocused Draft



Last week I had my first workshop of my final semester. I handed in half of a long nonfiction essay that I was working on. When it came to my actual workshop, I knew something was off about the piece, but I hadn’t decided what that was yet. However, I learning quickly through the 13 people critiquing my draft that my essay was unfocused.  I panicked at first, but I came to the conclusion that writing an unfocused draft is okay.

Why Writing an Unfocused Draft is Okay

I started out with one idea I have been planning to write for a while. I began writing on that concept, but the further I got into the draft, I ended up on a completely different side tangent about the same subject. Here are some things I realized about writing an unfocused draft.

How To Make Good Writing Habits

What are good writing habits and how do we keep them?

This is the question that many wannabe writers, including me, struggle with. I want to make writing a priority, but life always seems to get in the way.

Today, we’ll talk about what our writing habits should be, my own writing habits (or lack thereof), and some ways to get our writing habits to the “should be” category.

I Remain Very Sorry About What I Did To My Boyfriend's Roommate's Ex-Girlfriend

The following piece was a written assignment for my creative nonfiction writing workshop. It was inspired by Jenny Boully’s “I Remain Very Sorry for What I Did to the Little Black Kitten” on Brevity. A link to find that piece is here. Hope you enjoy!