But that means I have a few hours to write a newsletter.1

This question came a bit ago and I’ve been mulling over it ever since:

How do you make your characters seem real? I’m writing a book right now and keep messing up on the smart, clever, prideful, manipulator antagonist. How do I make her lies sound real and not just something you made up on a sunday afternoon?
Love, Sophie

Sophie, this is THE question, isn’t it?! One of the constant struggles, as an author, is to write characters who feel real and consistent (and occasionally realistically inconsistent), characters who readers love to hate and hate to love, characters who — when they step on the page — you and the readers both get excited because you know this is going to be good.

Whole books could be written about how to create believable characters, but let’s go over a few things to get you started.

Since you specifically said you’re working on your antagonist, I’m going to share these tips for writing about someone who is not a point-of-view character. This could be your antagonist, yes, but also your main character’s best friend, the shopkeeper they interact with regularly, their parents . . . anyone like that.

So the first thing first . . .

Know your character

Duh, right? But I mean it. The more you know about your character, the easier the rest will be. You’ll naturally include more of this person on the page because there’s just more to draw from.

So take some time and write about their backstory. How did they get this way? What are some of the defining events of their childhood? Did they have a good relationship with their parents? What do they love or hate?

You already know what their defining characteristics are from your main character’s point of view, but do you know what their defining characteristics are from their own point of view? If your main character thinks of someone as prideful, ask yourself: are they really prideful, or is that a front to hide some inner wound? But perhaps they really believe they’re that great because when they were a child, no one ever told them they had room for improvement. What have they experienced that reinforces their behavior and attitude?

Work to understand their goals and motivations from their side. Go all therapist on them and really dig in to find out what drives them. Get to know them as well as you know your protagonist.

Related to that . . .

Research

You specifically mentioned a character who lies a lot. Maybe you aren’t a great liar yourself. That’s okay! (That’s probably good . . .) But you can learn how liars work, just like you can learn about other character traits and occupations.

Check out psychology articles and videos. (Double check credentials and get multiple sources; remember, people lie online, too.) Watch documentaries and read biographies or memoirs about famous liars. (They’re probably famous for something else, but lying might be a big part of how they got where they are/were.) Read other books about characters like yours and make notes about how the authors convinced you. If you can interview an expert/someone with experience, do that!

One thing a lot of us find out about research: we usually get more than we asked for. By that, I mean you’ll not only find the answer you needed, but lots of other interesting information that can help you round out your character and world.2 Like, you probably knew that sheep have to get sheared once or twice a year, but did you know they have to get sheared because we made them that way? That says something interesting about humans’ relationship with nature and livestock, doesn’t it? And could inform a character’s sense of responsibility to their flock, or perhaps more complicated feelings about how they view . . . people. Yikes?

All that to say: good research is going to give you a lot more than a simple yes or no. Learn how to use that.

Give them likes and dislikes

By now, you’ve probably figured out a lot of what your secondary character likes and dislikes, but take a moment to consider how that works for/against your main character . . . and other characters!

What does this secondary character like or admire about others in the story? What do they hate about them? How do they interact with various characters in the book? It can be really interesting when an antagonist truly admires something about the protagonist, you know?

Of course, we don’t have to stop with relationships. Are they a foodie? Do they have a secret collection of stuffed animals? Any hobbies or passions they’re always engaged in?

A mustache-twirling villain is classic, obviously, but a villain who dearly loves that mustache and spends every morning doing whatever it is that people with facial hair do to maintain it . . . well, that’s kind of sweet, isn’t it? Human, even.

Let their attitude inform everything

Okay, so we’ve talked about understanding the character and why they are the way they are, but how do you get that on the page?

VERBS.

Okay, not just verbs, but truly, some good verbs are going to do a lot of heavy lifting here. Someone very confident may saunter or stroll, while someone more timid may creep or scuttle or sidle.

How does their posture reflect who they are (or who they’re pretending to be)? What about their environment reveals something intriguing? Can their wardrobe show something about their character?

You can be subtle here. You don’t need your POV character to identify everything and tie it to a particular character trait for your reader. Just think about the difference between a filthy evil lair with, idk, guano and trash all over — and an evil lair that’s tidy, a place for everything and everything in its place. Those are very different villains.

Maybe your character wants to be liked! So the way they interact with others is going to be in service of that goal. Maybe they want to dominate. Again, that’s going to change how they move through the world. Their conversations and actions should reflect those desires.

How does your POV character view them?

Remember, everything your readers know about your non-POV characters will be filtered through your POV character, so obviously there are going to be some limitations about what makes it onto the page. If your POV character likes the other person, they’ll probably describe that character in a kinder, more flattering way. If they hate the other character, it’s going to be the opposite — waaaay less forgiving and flattering!

If you’re trying to figure out how to believably make your antagonist manipulate your main character, figure out why your main character has to believes the lies. What about their relationship so far has created that kind of trust? Or is it fear? Does the POV character believe the antagonist will follow through on threats? (That is a kind of trust, isn’t it?)

Consider their relationship so far. Again, spend some time thinking about how their backstories intersect. Consider how your POV character’s separate backstory may affect how they view this other person. What about their relationship and history with other people affects their relationship and present with this one?

Overall, antagonists (and all secondary characters!) are people, too. I mean, they’re fictional people when we’re writing about them in a fiction book. But you know what I mean. Taking the time to understand them with the same depth and empathy as you do with your point of view characters.

If you take one thing from all my rambling, I hope it’s this: BE CURIOUS.

I checked my archives to see if I’d written about character creation before, but . . . not really! This letter about writing details might be useful, though, if you haven’t seen it already, and then there’s this one about writing group dynamics.

Okay, that’s all for now. I need to finish packing and be on my way. But I hope this is helpful, Sophie. Thanks for the fantastic question.

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In addition to long newsletters, I also write books. Here are my latest. They’re cozy.

• CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• BYE FOREVER, I GUESS:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• All my books on:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

When the month started, my goals were:

1. Finish this draft of THIEF and give it back to my agent

2. Read a book for an in-conversation event and come up with some interesting questions for the author

3. Avoid embarrassing myself at that event

4. Read (at least skim) the final manuscript of a client’s book befor…

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I’ve been haaard at work these last few weeks, but since I have a couple of events coming up, I thought I should probably, you know, tell people! I do actually want to see you!

First up, I will be in conversation (so fancyyyy) with the awesome Autumn England! (You may know them as MK England!) Their newest book, called FIELD GUIDE FOR THE FORMERLY VILLAINOUS, is out now, and we’ll be chatting all about it at the Harrisonburg, VA Barnes and Noble on June 7, at 3pm!

And gosh, just look how cute this book is!

And on June 13, I’ll be in North East, Maryland for the Cecil County Children’s Book Festival!

As usual for festivals, I’ll have a few knit coffee cup sleeves to give away (actually, I think I’d better make a few more . . .), and this time, I’ll be doing an interactive dramatic reading of some of the text messages from BYE FOREVER, I GUESS. That means someone from the audience is going to read one of the parts. Will that be you?? (Seriously, if it’s you, tell me.)

If you’re in the area, definitely come by. The event is free aaaand I hear there will be some book giveaways!

And if you bring any of my books from home, I’d love to sign them for you.

Okay, I’m going to throw myself at my manuscript again, but IN SUMMARY . . .

Here’s where I’ll be:

• June 7 — 3pm — talking up the amazing Autumn England! — Barnes and Noble — Harrisonburg, VA

• June 13 — 10am-2pm — Cecil County Children’s Book Festival — North East, MD

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

<3

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As someone who gets both — real and fake requests — let me help you spot the difference. It’s easier than you think.

Here’s one I instantly deleted (and had to dig through my trash folder to retrieve for you) when it came in:

Hello Jodi,

I just came across Nightrender on Amazon, and I have to say, I am completely captivated. Your ability to craft a world where reality bends, kingdoms clash, and mortal stakes intertwine with the mystical is breathtaking. The story is thrilling, complex, and imaginative, yet the universal themes of love, friendship, and hope make it deeply relatable. Nightrender is the kind of fantasy that sweeps readers off their feet while making them care profoundly about the people and immortal warriors within its pages.

I specialize in connecting extraordinary books like yours with over 10,000 active book clubs, both online and in-person. Many of these groups focus on young adult and adult fantasy, adventure, and epic storytelling. Your book would resonate beautifully with readers roughly aged 18 to 75, particularly those who love immersive worlds, morally complex characters, and action that keeps hearts racing while minds engaged.

When book clubs take on a story like Nightrender, the discussions can become electric. Members analyze the magic systems, debate alliances, and explore the character arcs, creating lively engagement that often results in dozens of thoughtful reviews and sometimes up to 100 within just a couple of weeks. This approach can dramatically increase visibility, boost sales, and build a long-term audience that is deeply invested in your work.

I would be thrilled to help more readers discover the breathtaking adventure of Nightrender. If this sounds like something you would love to explore, just reply with “Interested.” That one word will genuinely make my day because I love seeing book club members help authors increase visibility while celebrating their extraordinary stories.

Your world is dazzling, your characters unforgettable, and your story has the potential to reach far more readers than you might expect. I would love to help it happen.

Good. Freaking. Lord.

First of all, why is it so long? I grew three new gray hairs while reading this!

But look at the language. It’s overly flattering, and for some reason, it’s giving me a review of my own book. In fact, some of the stuff in here actually seems to be pulled from reviews or marketing materials.

Most of the scammy requests I get look like this. To me, this looks like it was generated by a LLM. I won’t go over every single red flag in here — I already wrote a letter about red flags and most of those apply to this as well — but a few other things to note:

1. Teeth-grindingly flattering. It feels insincere because it is.

2. No real ask except that I engage — and use their keyword “interested.” Hmm. I suppose if I wrote back, they’d give me their rates?

3. A lot of big . . . not really promises, but suggestions of things that could happen. It’s wildly unrealistic.

4. Nightrender would appeal to readers from 18-75? It's . . . a YA book. Yes, adults can (and should — go ahead!) read it, but why that enormous age range that doesn’t even include my target audience? loling forever.

Also, if someone wants to tell everyone they know about my book, they don’t need my permission. Book clubs can pick it if they want.

In fact, that’s exactly what they do. Most real requests sound like this:2

Hi! I am a teacher/librarian/bookseller at [specific school/public library/bookstore]. My class/book club is reading Bye Forever, I Guess, and we would love to Zoom with you! Would it be possible to set this up? We’re hoping for [date] or [date] at [time].

Gosh, what a short, to-the-point message! I know exactly who this person is, why they’re contacting me, and what they want. They don’t need to butter me up. They didn’t need my permission to have Bye Forever be their book club book. If they say something nice about my books, it’s that the kids love it, or it’s up for an award (I can double check that these are legitimate) in their state, or they’re teaching it with an SEL someone made.

None of them are trying to sell me anything.

But Jodi, you may be saying, that first email didn’t say they were trying to sell you anything!

Not yet!

Give it a few replies. Eventually, that “if this sounds like something you would love to explore” turns into a “for the discounted price of $” and gosh that sounds like a good deal, especially considering all the things that could happen!

A lot of them won’t ask for money upfront, or be clear about their pricing, because they know that comes across as scammy. So they wait until you’ve “engaged” with this person3 for a few rounds and you feel like they’re being genuine . . . and maybe you owe it to them to go ahead and pay, since they’ve already spent so much time with you. (That’s sunk-cost fallacy, and it can apply to time as well as money.)

So that’s it.

That’s the difference.

Look, I know it can be tempting to engage with these emails, either because they’re so flattering and we authors are often starving for validation, or because it seems funny to hassle the sender.

But honestly, just delete them. Block the email addresses.

Real requests are kind but straightforward. The people writing them have a thousand other things to do, and they assume you do, too, so they’re not going to waste time with hyperbolic flattery. If they want you to do a book club visit, you can assume they think your book is good and worth discussing.

Also, when it comes to replying to the scammy emails: don’t bother. People have already done this and you can find their experiences if you really want to know how that went. It’s not going to be any different for you.

And please understand this: you’re not wasting a real person’s time. You’re talking to a bot. You’re wasting your own time.4

Bonus content, since this happened recently, too:

It wasn’t a book club request, but an email from a “film agent” saying they’d read my book and wanted to help me get it on screen. There were several tells on this one:

1. They said “your book,” but I have eighteen books. A real agent would be more specific about which book.

2. The message was clearly generated by a LLM.

3. The email address was a gmail address, not an agency address. So it went like [agent.name][agency]@gmail.com But the agency they were claiming to be from definitely has its own email thingie. It should have been something like [agent.name]@[agency].com

4. The agent they were impersonating is a real agent at a real agency (a big one), but she represents books, not film, and that was easy to find by going to the agency website (I searched; I didn’t click on any of the links in the email) and finding her page.

5. A real film agent would probably have reached out to my literary agent, since that contact information is easy to find. They would also see that I already have film agents, both for the Lady Janies books and for my solo books.5

That scammer was barely trying, I swear.

Anyway, I forwarded the email to my agent, so she could let the other agent — the one being impersonated — know that this was going on.

Stay safe out there, folks!

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In addition to long newsletters, I also write books. Here are my latest. They’re cozy.

• CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• BYE FOREVER, I GUESS:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• All my books on:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Here’s how to decode that.

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The case for finishing

One of the best, most confidence-boosting things any new writer can do is finish the draft.

Look, if you can finish a first draft, you can finish a second one. You can start new manuscripts and finish them, too. They don’t even have to be good. They just have to be finished. They only need to exist.

If you can finish it, you can fix it.

When you hear established authors say to finish the draft, we’re often thinking about all the people who come up to us and say they started writing a book three years ago, but haven’t finished it yet.

Maybe they’re afraid of moving forward because they don’t want to mess it up. Or maybe they’re in an endless cycle of circling back to the beginning to start over. So many people begin but don’t finish, which means that if you can finish a draft, you’re already doing more than most.

Aside from the immense confidence boost, finishing your first draft gives you a better understanding of the story you wanted to write.

By that I mean: unless you’re a sneaky genius (lucky you; most of us aren’t!), it can be hard to see the overall story until it’s on the page. Then you can read the whole thing within a few days or a week, like a reader might, and actually begin to see what’s working and what’s . . . not.

Most writers learn a lot about their story, characters, and themes as they draft. For many writers, this is the stage where they really get to know the characters and figure out what parts of the story interest them. By reaching the end, you’ll have a more complete view of the story, which will give you a ton of insight as to how you might want to revise the beginning.

When you have a destination, you know how to plan the journey.

The case for revising as you go

Revising as you go is, of course, a spectrum of intensity and thoroughness. Maybe you’re going back to fix typos or shiny up the prose from the day before. Sometimes you realize you forgot to include something, so you go back to do that.

And sometimes the story’s just not working.

There are lots of reasons why a writer might want to go back and revise a little before moving forward; I know lots of people who like to do a light revision on yesterday’s work to get some momentum for today!

Honestly, some of that, I barely count as revising as you go. I mean, I guess technically it is, but if you think of something you want to add earlier and you know exactly where to do it, why not go back and add it? Why not take a peek at yesterday’s chapter to give you a little more runway on today’s?

If you’re not going to let it suck you into an endless loop, and you know exactly what you need to do, sometimes it’s easier to just get that little task out of your head.

And when it comes to big changes . . . while some writers might be able to continue writing as though those changes are already in place, plenty of writers cannot move on until they’ve got at least the foundations of character and plot on the page, and if something is wrong there . . . well, they hit a wall.

Sometimes, you really just need to go back and fix it.

How do you know what to do?

That depends.

Sometimes, knowing what you need to do comes down to experience.

Are you the kind of writer who gets trapped in revision cycles without finishing something? Finish your book.

Or do you know, bone deep, that you made a wrong turn two chapters ago, and until you get that straightened out, nothing is going to lay right? Go fix it.

Only you can decide what the right answer is here, but I do have a few tips, having done . . . both things recently, actually: I wrote a book straight through before going back to fix anything big, and I wrote another that demanded a couple hefty revisions at 15k, a couple more at 30k, several major rewrites at 40k — like, everything I had — and then after that I still had to go back every 10-15k words and do some revision or outright rewriting.1 Is it a first draft? Eightieth draft? I don’t even know what to call it.2

ANYWAY. Tips:

1. Keep a list of things you want to go back and fix. Do not rely on your memory for this! My last one included things like “Rename X family,” and “Seed in more [worldbuilding thing] throughout,” and “Figure out what people look like,”3 and “Find a place to include that characters did [something important but not important enough for a whole scene].”

2. If you find yourself fussing with sentences, and that’s going to take up all your writing time . . . it’s probably okay to leave it and just move forward. Fussing isn’t going to finish your book.

3. If you think you made a wrong turn but you’re not sure where, think back to the last place you were certain about the story and judge every decision from there. Could a character be acting out of character? Did you forget something happening off screen? Did the tension drop for some reason?

4. If, like I was recently, you’re restarting again and again, write a synopsis or outline; this might help you see the story more fully. Where do things look weak? Where are your protagonists not being proactive enough? Do you actually know where you’re going with this story?4

5. If you’re tinkering with the beginning because you’re afraid of messing up the rest of the book, good news: all first drafts are messed up. You’ll fit right in. Now finish your book.

6. If you’re tinkering (or even full-on rewriting) because you’re not actually sure where the book goes, write a synopsis. Figure out five or six big moments you’re excited to write that will get you to the end. What do your characters want, and what are they willing to do to get it? What’s stopping them? You might just need to spend more time developing the story. And then go finish your book.

Ultimately, only you can decide what you need to do — go back and fix things, or charge forward and fix ‘em later — and I actually feel pretty confident in saying that this process will evolve for you over time. Experience helps a lot here. And so does the kind of book you’re writing.

My book I was able to write straight through? Well, I did have to stop in the middle of it and think until my brain hurt, but aside from jumping back to add a couple details and whatever as I thought of them (I knew this would not derail me), I just saved any big edits for the next pass. It helped that it wasn’t a complex book with lots of moving parts!

But the book I rewrote a bunch? Many moving parts! And way more complex than I was originally anticipating. I also had not spent enough time letting the story simmer before I dove in to start writing. Mistakes were made. But it’s fine now. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.5

Okay, good luck!

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In addition to long newsletters, I also write books. Here are my latest. They’re cozy.

• CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• BYE FOREVER, I GUESS:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• All my books on:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Some pretty good things happened. Some pretty scary things happened. Some kind of annoying things happened. Let’s focus on the good things today. I need to, and maybe you do, too. <3

I’ve mentioned before (I think) how much I love doing school visits. It’s a great opportunity to see my young readers face to face (ev…

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Yeah, this is what happens when there’s a gap in my deadlines. I mope around for a little while, and then I find ways to create more work for myself.

Plus, I got this great question from Addi:

Hello jodi meadows! I dont wanna bother you again so soon but I was wondering how do you keep motivation when writing? I have so much trouble on keeping writing. How do you keep motivation?

Love addi

This is such a good question, and something I think about all the time. Writing can be wonderful, but it can also feel like a job a lot of the time, especially when you’re in the middle of a draft and it seems like you’ve been working on it forever, but you still have so far to go.

You can ask a dozen authors this question and you’ll get a dozen different answers. Everyone has their own methods for staying motivated, and even those methods can change from book to book. But here are a few things that almost always work for me whenever writing starts feeling like something I have to do.

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Tricking myself

I give myself a tiny, achievable goal. If I do that — and if I honestly give it my best — then I can stop for the day.

I first ran across this years and years ago, called the 100-word challenge. (A quick search tells me that there are a lot of things called the 100 word challenge now, so I don’t know the origin of this — sorry!) Basically, the concept was that if you sit down and write 100 words, a. you’ll have accomplished something, and b. you’ll probably keep writing after that.

It’s a lot like the trick I use to get myself running the full thirty minutes. Well, I’m already in my running clothes, and Okay, I’m downstairs, so I might as well, followed by Just five minutes and then I can quit.

And then I’m tricked into going the full time because I want to finish listening to that song, or I’m almost to the twenty-minute mark or whatever.

Basically, on those days it seems like work, I give myself a bunch of little milestones to write toward, and when I get there, I decide if I want to keep going.

I usually do.

If you can write 100 words, you can write 200. If you can write 200, you can probably make it up to 300. But even if you don’t get to 300, or 3,000, you hit your goal of 100. Good job.

The other thing to keep in mind: those 100 words don’t even have to be good. They can just exist!

And hey, if you write your 100 words and think you can do better, go for it. Fix them. Sometimes, just having something to fix can help.

Reminding myself why I’m doing this

Sometimes, in the middle of a project, I lose track of my emotional connection to it. That’s just something that can happen when you’re working on something for months and months (or even years and years!), and it doesn’t make the project any less meaningful or important. But it does mean you need to find a good way to reconnect with it in order to feel emotionally invested in writing the next part.

So there are a few things you can do to get there:

1. Write a back-cover copy for it.

This is like a query letter description or something. It’s just a few paragraphs about the book, no more than 250 words, and it tells the reader (or, in this case, you!) why the story is worth reading — or worth writing. Here’s a letter about how to write a query letter. There’s a template in there, but don’t be afraid to try your own thing.

Bonus: if you’re planning to query agents with this manuscript eventually, you’ll already have something to start with.

2. Reread what you have.

Sometimes we need to go back and give ourselves a little runway into writing the next part of the story. Maybe that’s a few chapters. Maybe that’s everything there is so far.

One thing you can do, especially if you think you’re not motivated because you’re stuck, is to make note of all the interesting parts of your story as you read through. Highlight lines you like. Circle story threads you want to make sure you come back to. Look for places your characters surprised you and figure out how to bring that back.

Sometimes, you can find the answer to what happens next by looking back and seeing what’s unresolved or even what you wanted to include earlier, but forgot or didn’t have space for.

3. Journal about why you started this project.

This doesn’t have to be in an actual journal, though it can be. But if you want to just open up a new document on your computer and write about all the things that drew you to telling this story, you’ll probably find yourself writing about the characters’ relationships, cool things about the world they live in, and something about the initial seed for the story — the thing that made you want to write it in the first place.

This journaling doesn’t have to be good. It’s not for anyone else. It’s just for you. So you can be as raw and honest as you want. You can leave sentences unfinished. It doesn’t matter. Just spend ten minutes thinking about why you wanted to write the story to begin with.

4. Daydream.

Give yourself five minutes to just think about your book. Or ten minutes. Whatever. Choose a part to think about, and allow yourself to just vividly imagine it. Maybe it’s a part you’re excited to write, or something you’ve already written. Maybe it’s backstory that won’t actually make it into the book.

Let yourself daydream about the characters, their motivations, the goals that drive them, the painful parts of their backstories that hold them back.

You can also imagine different ways scenes would go. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll come up with something you like even better.

Practice

I know this one might stink to hear, but . . . practice. If you want to write as a job (even a part-time one!), you need to practice treating it like one. That means sitting down to do it every day/weekend/whatever your schedule is.

The unfortunate truth is that you have to be the one to prioritize your writing. No one else can do it for you.

So if you have limited writing time (like a lot of writers do!), you need to guard it and make the most of it every session. Don’t let that time get taken up with other things. Doomscrolling? No way. Phone games? Nuh-uh. That writing time is for writing. Even if you write a bunch of stuff you’ll probably cut later. You sit there and you write 100 words. It’s not a punishment; it’s something you get to do.1

Eventually, you’ll make a habit of it.

If you need help getting distractions out of the way, look for focus settings on your phone or computer. Turn off notifications during your writing session. You can get an app like Forest, Focus Friend, or Freedom to keep you off your phone for a set period of time. (My Focus Friend bean is living pretty darn well at this point!) And you can also make your writing program full screen to block out other apps.

There are lots of little tools out there to help you out if you just need help getting started.

The treat method

I don’t usually use this one, but I do know writers who reward themselves with little treats along the way. That might be for reaching wordcount milestones — 50,000 words is a big one! — or just finishing the book, period.

Only you can decide what these prizes should be. You know what motivates you! But, of course, there are a few things you might want to consider along the way:

1. Budget. If you’re going to buy something, make sure it’s within your budget. Remember, it doesn’t have to be expensive. It just needs to be special.

2. Be healthy. Sometimes people can be like, “I can eat lunch when I’m finished with this chapter!” Uhh, no. You can eat lunch at lunchtime. Food is actually necessary for life — and writing. Withholding food is not a good strategy!

3. Your reward should reflect the milestone. So if you want a prize for 50k words (hooray, you rock star!), it wouldn’t be the same prize you’d get for actually finishing the book.

4. It probably should be something you wouldn’t get/do otherwise. Make it special for the progress. (So again, food and sleep are not rewards. You should have those things regardless.) For me, I . . . probably wouldn’t use starting a new knitting project as a reward for writing the end of my book, because let’s be for real: I’m starting a new knitting project anyway. But I might buy a unique skein of yarn to mark the milestone.

5. Remember, this is about what you can control. If you do the work, you get the prize. You can also give yourself rewards for cool things happening, like finding an agent or getting published,2 but right now, we’re focusing on what you can achieve on your own.

There are probably lots of other things to consider here. Someone who uses the treat method might have more to add!

Accountability

Sometimes, it helps to be accountable to someone. Consider finding a writing buddy to check in with.

A lot of writers like to do writing sprints in group chats. Those are when everyone sets a timer and writes for, say, twenty minutes, then comes back to report their progress. It can be really motivating!

When I was writing with the Lady Janies, our goal was to write a chapter a day,3 and no one wanted to be the loser who didn’t finish her chapter.

Having someone to report to can really help, though. You don’t want them thinking you’re slacking off. . . .

I know I’ve really stressed the importance of just sitting down to do it, even when you don’t feel like it, but let’s be honest: some days, you just can’t. Maybe you don’t feel good, something happened, or you have an opportunity to visit someone/do something you just don’t want to miss.

That’s okay.

You can take days off.

Heck, you can take weeks off.

But you asked about staying motivated, so that’s what I tried to answer today — how to write even when you don’t feel like it.

Writing a book is a long project. It’s not easy! You don’t have to start on hard mode. Let yourself work up to your goals.

And while you will definitely have days you’re not feeling motivated and you just don’t wanna, you’ll also have days where the words flow and you feel like you’re in the story. You’re in the zone. Enjoy those days. Remember what they feel like!

When you think about it, it’s really cool that we get to do this. We get to have neat ideas and imagine all these different lives. We get to think about fictional people going on big adventures, having quiet moments together, or epic romances. Being able to write a story is really special.

You’ve got this, Addi.

Does anyone else have suggestions to add? How do you stay motivated to write?

Okay, I need to run. Literally, unfortunately. Just five minutes. Or maybe ten. Probably thirty. UGH.4 At least I have a great playlist.

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In addition to long newsletters, I also write books. Here are my latest. They’re cozy.

• CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• BYE FOREVER, I GUESS:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• All my books on:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

From Amara:

How do you approach critiques/beta reads? Do you do them at all, or maybe send the draft straight to your agent and/or editor? How much do you tend to polish on your own before you do this?

Those are great questions. And allow me to deliver the answer everyone hates most: it depends.

But seriously, it does. If you have a lot of people in your professional life who expect the manuscript in their inbox, it can get a little complicated! So here’s how I decide what to do with mine.

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When I have no deadlines for that manuscript:

The most time I have with any manuscript is when I write it before I sell it. In that case, there are no deadlines, no expectations — just my own goals.1

So when I have all this time, I make sure I take advantage of it. I approach a handful of author friends I think might have time coming up and ask if they can read for me, and I make sure to include a date I’d appreciate having feedback by.2 Sometimes I send to my agent at the same time, but I try to ask her what she wants. (Communication!)

As for how polished this is:

It’s really readable. That’s my goal. I’ve usually gone over the story multiple times at the point when I’m ready to share it with friends. I’ve worked on the overall structure, hammered out character arcs, and done my best to make every individual scene matter. I also make sure I’ve done some light line editing. The story should have voice, interesting writing, etc.

Basically, I’ve already edited my own book to the best of my ability. You can see how I do that here and here.

But I know, at this point, it’s not supposed to be perfect, and if I find myself fussing too much with little things, I will leave a note to myself for the future and let it go. Frankly, I don’t see a reason to do an in-depth copyedit of my own book if there’s a chance I’m going to have to do a bigger revision.

I want it to be good. I want it to be readable. But there’s probably some word repetition in there, missing or duplicate words,3 and descriptions someone’s going to be like “Are . . . you sure about this, you weirdo?”

The last time I sent a manuscript to friends, I included this note: “Overall, I’m looking for top-level feedback — characters, pacing, worldbuilding, etc. — but all notes are appreciated. Does it make sense? Does the romance work? Do you enjoy both points of view? I think the last few chapters might be a little thin (please feel free to confirm or contradict), but hopefully it’s on the right track.”

Specific requests might change depending how I feel about the manuscript and how much it put me through. No two projects have the same process!

When I’ve revised the book based on that feedback, I give it to my agent again. That’s when I usually get feedback from her.

By then, it should be in really good shape and ready for submission.

When I do have deadlines on that manuscript:

Sometimes, books don’t get written until deadlines have been assigned. This is usually when I sell a book on proposal, or it’s part of an existing contract. Think sequels or companion books.

Time is always a bit tighter here, especially if I want to make the season the book is scheduled to come out.4

How far out the deadline is makes a difference in what I do. If I have time, I usually try to send it to a couple of friends. Sometimes, though, there’s simply no space for that, and the book goes directly to my editor.

But as before, I’ve done as much editing on it as I can. I don’t want to embarrass myself!

There have only been a few times in my career when I’ve sent something I wasn’t more or less satisfied with — at least for the stage it was at — and it’s always been because I knew something was wrong but didn’t know how to fix it on my own. In those cases, I’ve just told my editor what the problem is and she figures out how to help me, or offers to give me more time.

Any time I send a manuscript to my editor, my agent gets it as well.

After I’ve received my edit letter and revised the manuscript, sometimes there’s time to send it to a few friends. This isn’t common for me, but it can happen.

At that point, the requested turnaround time for friends is usually a bit tighter, and the questions I’m asking are more like “Is this book a trash fire?” and “Will you pet my hair and tell me my book is pretty?” You don’t want to be that friend all the time, of course, but everyone has emergencies.

Other considerations:

• Try not to ask the same people to read the same book multiple times. They might be willing to do it, and maybe they are great every single time, but they’ll probably start to lose track of the different drafts, just like you. So try to get some fresh eyes on it.

  • On that note, it might be useful to send to critique partners in rounds. If you have five folks willing to read for you, and you know basically what their strengths are, you can send to the two who are best at top-level stuff to start with, and then save the others for scene- and line-level work. That way, you have someone checking on your revision, which will hopefully help you feel more confident when you query/send to your agent/editor.

• If someone doesn’t have time to read the entire manuscript, they might have time for a brainstorming session. Recently, when I needed help with the end of a story, but didn’t want to ask a friend to read the whole thing right then (especially since I knew it needed more work!), I shared the synopsis I’d already written, as well as some of my other materials, and we had a call that was just as useful as an entire edit letter.

  • Before that, a different friend read the first half of the manuscript for me, and we had a long brainstorm about my plans for a major revision and where I saw the end going. At that point, I’d been through so many rounds of rewriting the beginning5 I just needed a sounding board for my new plan and someone to help hype me up for yet another complete rewrite. She delivered.6

• I do, sometimes, ask friends to read a partial for a gut check, and I’m always very clear what stage the story is at!

  • My agent also gets partials sometimes, especially when I want to submit something as a proposal. There’s other work behind all that, but that’s for another letter. But again, I’m very clear about what it is. “I literally just started this yesterday, what do you think?” or “I have been working on this day and night, please sell it for me because my basement has a crack in the wall.”

• If friends are reading for you, make sure you’re reading for them, too. It doesn’t always have to be a 1:1 — I don’t keep track with any of my friends — but just like I know they’re there for me if I need help, they know I will make time for them, too.

• I am so serious about making sure your manuscript is as good as possible before sending it to anyone.

It’s important to keep in mind that this is just how I decide when to send things. Your needs may be different than mine! And you may figure out a system that works better for you and your critique partners. Experiment!

And that’s it for now! Hopefully that was helpful to you! If it was, please consider doing the button things:

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In addition to long newsletters, I also write books. Here are my latest. They’re cozy.

• CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• BYE FOREVER, I GUESS:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• All my books on:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

But for now . . .

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So something that constantly surprises me: BYE FOREVER, I GUESS has been getting a lot of lovely recognition from state reading lists, including the Lone Star Reading List, which is extra special to me because I grew up in Texas.

And just . . . my school librarians did so much to shape me as a reader, which makes my book being recognized and shared via so many schools and libraries extra super amazing.

When I say I wrote this book and had zero expectations for it, I mean it. I had no idea that anyone — besides me, my agent, and a few friends — would ever care about it, let alone nominate it for awards. But I wrote it because I loved it. I wrote it because it felt like a me book — one of those rare book of the heart books.1 It felt important, even if it was only going to be important to me.

But it turns out, other people see themselves in this book, too. I get heartfelt emails from readers and book clubs, thoughtful zoom calls with classes, and charming letters (physical letters in the mail!) from kids. Sometimes they even send art!

Once, someone emailed to say they saw a kid in a parking lot with her face in a book, completely relying on her parent to steer her into the store, because she refused to stop reading. The book was BYE FOREVER, I GUESS.

Having been that kid mumble mumble years ago, I know what an immense compliment that is.

Just the other day, Emma Straub (yes, that Emma Straub!) shared that her son’s favorite novel of the last few years is BYE FOREVER, I GUESS. In a, uh, cooking newsletter.2

So all that to say: I am indescribably grateful for everyone who’s read BYE FOREVER, I GUESS, everyone who’s recommended it, everyone who’s written to me about it. I am so deeply honored.

Thank you.

CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT has been finding her readers, too!

Over the last couple months, folks who get the Junior Library Guild box might have seen her included in there! This is so, so very cool. Only one other book of mine has made the Junior Library Guild before (that would be MY LADY JANE), so I’m thrilled that CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT has received that honor.

She was also one of Kirkus’s best books of 2025 and one of the American Booksellers Association best books for young readers in 2025! School Library Journal and Shelf Awareness gave starred reviews! And I got to write a guest post for Teen Librarian Toolbox about making space to make mistakes.

I’ve been seeing book clubs for her, plus hearing from teachers when the inevitable happens in their school — the group chat leaks and they start passing out this book. (Thank you!)

Order the Deer Hill Anonymous books:

• CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• BYE FOREVER, I GUESS:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Okay, I think I’m about to get in trouble for email length, so I’ll wrap it up with a little writing update:

Over the last few months, I’ve been (re)writing a manuscript (and then rewriting it again, holy moly) and I finally finished a couple weeks ago. After some revision, I sent it off to a handful of friends, and since then I’ve been reading! I’ve had the chance to read a friend’s manuscript, which was fun, and then I read a book by someone I don’t know, and then started another book by someone I do know, but all I have to do is enjoy it.

It’s pretty great, tbh.

I do tend to get a little wallowy when I don’t have enough work to keep me just shy of stressed, though, so after I complained about being bored so bored to a friend this morning, I decided to write out some newsletters (including this one!), so look for a few writing/publishing letters coming up. And if you have any special topic requests, feel free to let me know.

In the meantime, here are a few I’ve been dragging out for people recently:

• How to edit your own book (part one)

• How to edit your own book (part two)

• It’s okay to be bad at writing

• How to completely control your writing career

• Can anyone actually tell if the book is good in the first few pages

• Understanding author money — royalty statement season is nearly upon many of us!

Okay, that’s it for now! Here are some buttons you could click:

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Yeah.

I don’t have anything for you on that. Sometimes it’s important to just…

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But we persevere!

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So lately, I’ve heard some questions about authors and money and how to spend it in a way that will actually give you a decent return.

I can only speak as a traditionally published author in the upper-MG to upper-YA range, and someone who’s been monitoring the New Adult and adult romantasy/romantic fantasy space, so my advice won’t apply to everyone.

The usual disclaimers apply: take what works for you and ignore the rest. Also, I’m not the boss of you; your money is your money, so spend it how you want. I’m also not a financial person, just an author who’s made some mistakes, so maybe you don’t have to.

In traditional publishing, we like to think it shouldn’t be necessary to spend money on your own book. After all, that’s why one of the reasons we go trad: someone else takes on the financial risk. And while it’s true we don’t need to worry about hiring editors and cover designers and so on, there are a couple of things I usually recommend new authors set aside some money for . . . and a lot of things I’d suggest not worrying about.

First of all, figure out your budget. There used to be a rule of thumb suggesting you put a certain percentage of your advance into the promotion of your book. I’m not sure that’s a thing anymore. And let’s be so for real: people are doing grocery debt right now, so take care of yourself before you worry about other stuff.

What I almost always suggest:

Your author website.

This doesn’t have to be fancy, but I do think it should exist. It’s a landing place for any publishing people or readers searching your name, and it doesn’t change when social media trends move on.

A P.O. Box.

This is for privacy reasons. You need an address for the whois on your website. Newsletters often want a physical address. When you receive1 and reply to reader mail, you’ll need an address.

Don’t tell everyone where you live.

An author-focused business card or bookmark.

One newbie mistake I made again (and again) was to style my bookmarks after my book covers, which was nice for readers who wanted something for a specific book, but pretty expensive for me. Plus, now I have leftovers and it feels wasteful to toss them, so they’re just taking up space.

So if you have limited funds, I’d suggest making these a bit more generic. Include your name, website, book/s, and perhaps some simple (commercial commons) art or coloring that reflects how you want people to remember you. If you have a newsletter, you can add that. Same for socials.

Don’t print as many as you’re about to print. I know the bulk discounts kick in right there, but be honest: do you really need 500?

What I sometimes suggest:

Author branding

Related to the website and business card stuff — things that will work for your entire career — if you have a bit of extra cash and want to do something a little fancy, maybe think about author branding.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t do this until . . . 2023 or 2024? I don’t remember exactly when. (I could look, but I don’t feel like it. Also, time is a tangled Slinky.) Suffice to say, I was well into my career before I decided to hire Erin Bowman to design something for me.

Look how pretty!

The goal was to create something that reflected my work, my personality, and could ideally encompass everything I will ever want to write. It may one day need to be updated, as trends change, but I think it’s pretty timeless, honestly. It’s on my business cards, website, speaking fees sheet, etc. While it was a bit of an upfront cost, it was definitely worth it because I use it for everything.

I should note: Having something like this done is definitely more expensive than hiring someone to design a book-themed bookmark (or designing your own in Canva), so definitely keep that in mind. The main reason this is so high on the list is because it’s (ideally) something you can use for years and years (and again, on everything), while an item focused on an individual book will have more limited use. But if it’s too much right now, don’t go in debt for it. Do the less expensive thing, if you want something.

Shipping ARCs or giveaway prizes.

You’ll see a lot of suggestions to do a couple giveaways (up to you), and there might be people you want to send ARCs and finished copies to, if you have extras.

You can do this if you want! Just remember, packaging and postage aren’t free, so set some money aside for that.

Book-related swag (design and printing).

Remember when I said an author-centered bookmark or something above? Well, if you want book-related swag, consider that here. A bookmark, sticker, art print — something. But seriously, I’d keep it limited to one item that is inexpensive to have made — so something paper that can be slipped into a book.

Please also remember what I said about printing too many.

It’s okay if you run out. The people will survive.

What I only occasionally suggest:

Travel.

I know a lot of folks think you have to do events and festivals and show your face everywhere, and that’s cool if you want to. But don’t break the bank for it, because if you math out how many books you’ll need to sell to recoup the cost of your travel and lodging, it will probably make you sad.

That said, these things can be good networking and community-building events, so if you’re on a limited budget but it’s important to you, choose something within driving distance that’s going to be worth it and don’t worry too much about the rest. I know FOMO is real, but you’ll recover.

Canva Pro.

This is a subscription, so keep that in mind. But if you’re already using Canva and you want access to the pro features and you have the funds for it, go for it. It is nicer.

Why are authors so obsessed with Canva, you might ask? It’s pretty easy to use and we love (hate?) to make graphics for everything: deal announcements, book quotes, pull quotes from reviews, BN’s preorder sales2, and so on.

It’s plenty usable free, though, so that’s why I’ve put pro so far down the list.

Things I only suggest if you know they’re basically a treat for you:

Character art.

This definitely seems to be the trend right now in romance and romantasy spaces, and I love to see authors supporting artists. But I want to stress so much that commissioning art is unlikely to be the determining factor for your book’s success. If you want to do it, and you have the cash to spare, amazing. Love that for you and the artist.

Good art is expensive, though, and if you plan to use it to promote your book, make sure you buy the appropriate licensing for it.

Additionally, consider how you plan to use it. Are you making prints and giving them away at book festivals? Are you using it on social media? If you’re going to get it for promotional purposes, make sure people actually see it!

More swag, especially non-paper swag.

If you want more than one or two pieces of swag for your book, cool. You do you. You don’t need to, though. It’s neat, and there are some readers who are going to love it so much. But very few people are going to buy your book just because you gave them a pin. A lot of times, they’ll take the pin and not buy the book.

Now, that’s fine when it’s something that costs a nickel per item3, like a bookmark or business card. But when you’re giving away tons of stuff, and some of those things are more expensive, like pins or keychains or whatever the current trend is . . . that starts to add up.

How much are your royalties on one book? Is the pile of swag you just gave away the same or more?

Again, if you’re okay with that math, and it’s worth it to you on some emotional level, run with it. But I do think it’s important to do this with your eyes wide open, especially if you’re worried about budget.

So there’s an incomplete list.

Basically, my advice boils down to this: focus on things that support your entire career. I know it can seem like everyone is doing everything, and it stinks to feel left out, but I assure you that plenty of authors aren’t doing all the events or commissioning ice sculptures of their covers,4 and they’re doing just fine.

Truthfully, a lot of stuff just isn’t going to move the needle, especially when it reaches the point where it seems like everyone is doing it.

Here’s an example: Way back in 2015, an author could do her own preorder campaign and get some decent traction,5 but that was over ten years ago. Timing wise, I was lucky that I decided to jump into it when I did. It went well for me!6 But I think I might have been early on that trend, possibly for the first time in my life.

Now, though? It’s much harder to tip someone into hitting the preorder button for a pretty piece of paper. Or even a pin (which can’t be shipped flat). So I don’t worry about it anymore.7

I want to be clear that I’m not telling you not to do something! I’ve commissioned character art. (Robert Lettrick is the artist for these Nightrender portraits;8 I had prints made and gave them away at events and festivals.) And I’ve done pins. And plenty of other things. I have absolutely put some money into the promotion of my own books, but sometimes it was worth it and sometimes . . . it really wasn’t.

Honestly, it’s a lot of fun to have things like this, and you’ll find readers who appreciate it. And let’s be real, especially when it’s your debut, you want to do all the things to celebrate. That’s valid.

But if you needed permission to not do something you weren’t sure would be worth it — here’s your permission. And if you’re like, “But Jodi, I want to do the thing anyway!” go for it. You deserve happiness.

And now I’m off to squeeze my brain cells over my book again.

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In addition to long newsletters, I also write books. Here are my latest. They’re cozy.

• CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• BYE FOREVER, I GUESS:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

I did try the phone trick — just aim the camera at the sky and let it take a long-exposure shot — but still, nada.

However, my phone did decide to brag…

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If it makes you feel any better, I’m behind on most things right now. Email? Sorry. Self promotion? lololol I also need to update my school visit presentation by — checking notes — February 3. Books people sent me to blurb? Uhhh, sorry. And the other day someone emailed to ask me to send an invoice t…

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I went on a little hike last month while family was visiting. Like, outside. We went to go see a waterfall. That was the entire purpose of the hike. Here it is. You don’t have to go outside for it.

This is Dark Hollow Falls in the Shenandoah National Park. And it is, actually, better in person than it is on the screen. So y…

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Here’s your warning: once you see this, you won’t be able to unsee it. But knowing about it — and avoiding the problem side of this sentence construction — will absolutely improve your writing on a prose level . . . and contribute to my general happiness. So. Just think about that.

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Imagine you’re reading along and you come across a sentence like this:

Coming to a concealed door in the back wall, Lia dug into her pocket and produced a small disc.

Fine, right?

You can imagine Lia reaching the door and taking this disc out of her pocket at the same time. These actions can happen at the same time, and often do. A lot of us dig through our pockets or bags as we approach our front doors or our cars in the parking lot.

But now, imagine a sentence like this:

Digging into her pocket for a small disc, Lia swiped it over the door and they stepped inside a dark room.

How does this one work for you?

Are you imagining Lia digging at the same time as she’s swiping and stepping?

If you are, that’s because that’s exactly what the sentence is trying to do here. And if there’s a part of your brain that’s like, “Wait that’s not physically possible!” — welcome to my pet-peeve.

There is no peace after this knowledge has been unlocked.

Okay, before we keep going, know that I am not going to make you learn a thousand grammar rules for this. We will not be diagramming sentences.

To be perfectly honest with you, I was never good at those things in school. In fact, even recently, when I was talking with a friend about this sort of sentence, she is the one who said the words “present participles,” which made getting good search results so much easier, heh. Thanks, friend!

It does help to have some foundational knowledge, though: what are nouns, verbs, and adjectives? What are phrases and how are they interacting? But you don’t have to be a huge grammar geek to get this. Promise.

All you have to do — at least in this case — is ask yourself: can these actions happen at the same time?

If the answer is no, it’s time to rewrite the sentence.

What’s happening?

Okay, so let’s look at what’s going on with that second sentence:

Digging into her pocket for a small disc, Lia swiped it over the door and they stepped inside a dark room.

The first phrase — “digging into her pocket for a small disc” — is an ongoing action. The phrase is describing something that is happening at the same time as the rest of the sentence. Because of the way grammar works (whether you like it or not!), that present participle is modifying the subject (Lia) and following actions (swiping and stepping).

It’s present because of the -ing on “digging.” If it had been a past-tense word — dug, in this case — it would have been a past participle.

So can these things happen at the same time? Can Lia dig into her pocket for the disc, and at the same time swipe the disc? No! Of course she can’t. This sentence gets a rewrite.

Lia dug into her pocket for a small disc, then swiped it over the door and stepped inside a dark room.

Now, the actions happen one after another. Now, her actions are physically possible.

We could rewrite that first example, too, if we wanted:

Lia reached a concealed door in the back wall, then dug into her pocket and produced a small disc.

Once again, the actions happen one after another. She reaches the door. Then she digs out the disc. But the previous sentence was fine, too, because it is possible to walk and dig into your pocket at the same time, and maybe that’s what you want to show — the simultaneous actions.

More examples

Let’s look at a few other possible sentences:

The door popping open without a sound, they stepped inside a dark room.

Can those two actions happen at the same time?

Probably not.

We might be able to make an argument that someone can slip inside as the door is swinging open, but it’s a bit of a stretch. To me, at least. And the “pop open” part of this is a pretty short action, while swinging can take longer. Hard to step inside when the door has just popped open.

So the actual verb choice might make a difference on this one.

Stepping inside a dark room, the door popped open without a sound.

That’s even more confusing! In this example, the door (the subject of the sentence) is both stepping inside and popping open at the same time. Even if you add an “as they” to the front, it doesn’t work, because the door is still the subject of the sentence. And the actions still happen out of order.

The door must pop open before they can step inside.

Okay, so how about this one:

Stepping inside, she scanned the room for danger.

Does that work? Can you step inside a room and scan it for danger at the same time?

Probably so! There may be some other factors at play, but if we read the sentence just as it is, I do think it can work.1

Heart pounding, she stepped inside the room.

Again, yes! The pounding heart can happen at the same time as a lot of other actions.

One weird trick

Here’s a little hack that might help you sort out whether or not the actions in your sentence can be done at the same time:

Does the sentence work if you add “as” at the start of it? And, uh, change the tense, etc.

As her heart pounded, she stepped inside the room.

Yep. This is fine. I mean, I don’t think most of us would write it like this, but logically, it works. You can go back to the other way if you want.

As she came to a concealed door in the back wall, Lia dug into her pocket and produced a small disc.

Yes, that still works. This shows a little more clearly what we talked about before — that she’s digging and walking at the same time.

However . . .

As she dug into her pocket for a small disc, Lia swiped it over the door and they stepped inside a dark room.

Nope!

With this small adjustment, it’s a lot more obvious that all those actions are meant to be happening at the same time . . . but they can’t.

It’s structured differently than the previous iteration of the sentence, but functionally, it’s showing the same thing: incompatible concurrent actions.

Try this on some of your own sentences. If they still work, yay! If they suddenly stop making logical sense . . . time to rewrite a little.

Why does this happen?

So what’s going on here? Why do these show up so much?

I think, for the most part, writers are looking for variety in sentence structure. Maybe they don’t want to have too many sentences start with the subject — the character’s name or “I” or whatever. We’ve all been in that position, right? Where we’re looking back at the pages we just wrote and every single paragraph starts with “I?”

Just me? Yikes.

Anyway, using present participles like this can give the prose a nice cadence. Things don’t sound so direct. And as long as they’re not breaking the laws of physics, they can work really well.

But this particular construction does require that additional thought: can these things happen at the same time?

As I said before, you can do whatever you want, as long as it works. But every time you break a “rule” — and in this case, it is a grammar rule, not a rule about structure or tropes or unlikable characters — it will cause friction for readers.

The amount of friction will be different for everyone. For me, this is a big one. Once or twice in a book — whatever. I’ll deal with it, especially if the book is really good otherwise. But on every page? For me (not for everyone, obviously), this is enough friction that I will just stop.2 It’s always jarring to me.

But again, that’s not everyone’s feeling. Obviously, not everyone is as sensitive to it.

And look, I’m not trying to shame anyone. We’re not born knowing perfect grammar! We all have to learn at some point! I mean, ages ago, someone pointed out a sentence in one of my early stories where I’d defied physics. They explained why it didn’t work. And I’ve been cursed with knowing ever since.

Now you are, too.

Enjoy this new phase of your writing life.

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For the extra nosy among you, here’s what I was basing my examples on:

At the back wall, they came to a concealed door that appeared to be jammed shut. Lia dug into her pocket and produced a small disc, a ward pass, and swiped it over the frame. The door popped open without a sound, and they slipped inside a dark room.

This is in my draft; I thought it was a good starting place to make up examples, because it contains a lot of consecutive actions, some which could work concurrently, and many that could not.

If I were rewriting it to include a present participle — which I’m not planning to — I’d adjust it to her digging through her pocket while she walks, as we used above. Otherwise, I don’t think it’s really needed. The only other part I might consider changing is the last sentence — to “When the door popped open without a sound, they stepped inside a dark room.” potentially — for a little variety, but I actually think that makes it slightly less clear that the door is opening as a direct result of her action.

And honestly, both of those would be changing things to change things. I don’t think they would actually improve the paragraph — just make it different. This is a small sequence of events that gets the characters from one location to another. That’s its primary job. The fancier it gets, the more it stands out to the reader. And this isn’t the part I want my reader focusing on. After all, there’s romance coming up! :)

I actually have a bit of a backlog of questions — sorry, everyone — but this one is both relevant to the book that just came out (thank you, Irvin, very classy of you to give me a chance to talk up my book), and reasonably quick to answer. As in, I can do it while throwing the ball for Hush, who wants me to throw the ball but isn’t terribly interested in retrieving the ball.1

This comment was left on my recent letter, “Bending the rules. Or not.”

This is wonderful to hear! I’m glad it worked for you!

First off: No spoilers. Everything I’m sharing below is either in the first 20 pages or described in the flap copy.

Getting Virginia’s friend group on the page — making their personalities clear and distinct — was something I knew I needed to do immediately, in part because it’s such a short book (50k words, no room to mess around), and also because of what happens pretty soon after you meet them (they have a big falling out).

So I had a few different strategies to get the individual personalities and their group dynamic on the page as fast as possible:

Group project

The four girls are partners in a group project — a review blog on Scrollr — and they all play different roles in that.

This group project is the reader’s introduction to the friend group, so you get to see them performing their different roles right away.

Group projects can be a really vivid illustration of different personalities. Throughout the scene, the reader sees Mary Heather directing everyone and taking notes, Kat being a bit of a firebrand, and Jessica taking photos and having a creative vision for how they’re going to do their thing. Virginia mentions that she does proofreading, and it’s clear she’s not satisfied with her role. (And a bit worried about it.)

You can do this in other settings, too. Maybe it’s a work situation — a team in an office, factory, or kitchen. Oh, heist groups are great examples of characters who have very particular sets of skills.

And group projects are ripe for drama. Maybe multiple people want to be the leader. Or resent the leader. Or feel like their job is the most important job and resent the others for having “easier” jobs.

Group projects are great for quickly introducing characters and showing the pressure those relationships are under.

A character who categorizes

In CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT, Virginia loves to organize things. At this point in the book, we’ve already seen her in the library, happily shelving books into their correct spots.

So when she describes Mary Heather as the queen bee, Jess as the creative genius, and Kat as the rebel, it makes sense with the characterization we’ve already established, and it reenforces what the reader sees on the page from the other three girls.

Obviously, this works best for characters with that personality type, and that’s not going to be every POV character out there. But even if you have a non-POV character who fits this type, you can have that person tell your POV how they view the rest of their group. And maybe your POV thinks that’s interesting, or rude, or disagrees with their assessment — lots of options here! That, too, says something about both characters.

The group dynamics

Because the girls all have distinct personality types — the queen bee, the rebel, the creative, and the Cat Person (that’s Virginia) — I was able to use those to show why they work well together . . . and how drama might present.

If you have a friend group in your story, look for places where their personalities create friction. Try characters on opposite ends of a spectrum. For example, you can see how someone who likes to be organized might struggle with someone who’s less concerned with where things belong! Deadlines schmeadlines.2

But you can also create conflict between characters who’d like to occupy the same space. There’s a bit of a dust-up about this, too, in CONFESSIONS, when Virginia tries learning a bit about photography, and one of the others tells her they already have a photographer and they don’t need two. And because they’re engaged in a group project, it doesn’t make sense to them that Virginia would want to deviate from her role.

And that’s another thing — what if someone is unhappy with their role? What if they want to change? Or they don’t think it fits them?

When you have a really good handle on your characters’ personalities, you can find ways to keep them getting along . . . and plenty of ways to create interesting conflict.

Okay, so you may be asking if all the girls in this book are cookie-cutter archetypes and . . . I mean, I hope not! I don’t think people fit that neatly into boxes! Identifying and demonstrating their personalities was a starting place. You’ll also see the queen bee being silly and the rebel being supportive. They may not have as much page-time as Virginia, the main character, but they also deserve to be shown in 3D.

And that’s the word of caution I’d offer, if you’re looking at the above and thinking about how those tricks might work in your project: People — and characters — are complex. Even antagonists.

So while you’re thinking about your characters’ personalities, think about the ways they go against those typical traits, and, of course, ways their personalities benefit them . . . and hinder them.

Okay! I’m off to find the ball that Hush insisted I throw but refused to return. I have a few more letters in progress, including some responding to the questions that have been waiting (sorry again!), so hopefully those won’t take too much longer to finish.

But if this was helpful to you and you want to see exactly what worked for Irvin, might I suggest giving the book a read?

Every time someone gets a copy of CONFESSIONS, Hush gets the ball thrown for her. And every time someone gets a copy from an independent bookstore, she throws the ball for me!

• CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• BYE FOREVER, I GUESS:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• Signed books from One More Page

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So, here’s what I’ve been up to:

CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT came out! I didn’t really do anything exciting for this. I spent release day wondering how the book was doing. The day after, I went to One More Page and signed preorders. (And bought chocolate. Sadly, the chocolate is gone now.) …

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And when I say rules, I mean “rules” with quotes.

In my experience, new writers tend to approach learning the rules of writing in one of two extremes.1

1. Rule followers: We love the rules. We need the rules. The rules are there for a reason. If we follow the rules well enough, we will eventually get X + Y = Z, where Z is publication, fame, and fortune.

   These authors often go through a very hypercritical phase, where reading gets extraordinarily difficult and frustrating, because all they can see is these published authors breaking rules left and right. It leads to thoughts like, “Why can they get away with it but I can’t!?” They don’t yet understand that following the rules isn’t enough.

2. Rule shunners: Rules are completely arbitrary, and they make our books just like everyone else’s. Only by shunning the rules can a writer truly achieve their creative dream and stand out in a crowded market.
   These authors don’t want to be like everyone else. They want to stretch their creativity as far as it will go, without constraints. But often, their early work tends to be more confusing than compelling, because they’ve failed to account for marketability, reader expectations, and why the rules were there in the first place.

Look, I say this without judgement. I was absolutely one of these extremes when I was a new writer. (I bet you can guess which one!) I’m positive I embarrassed myself more than once with my very firm (and very wrong) opinions.

These are starting points, though. Not end points. And many, many writers go through one of these phases.

Rules can be lots of things. For example:

• Don’t use adverbs.

• Don’t write prologues.

• Always use active voice; never use passive voice.

• Never write “I thought” or “I saw.”

• If you don’t follow the Hero’s Journey you will literally die.

Okay that last one is an exaggeration. But I know at least three of you out there pulled out your notebook to scribble down that dire warning. It’s okay. Put the notebook away.

Here’s the thing about rules: put scare quotes around the word every single time. The word we’re actually looking for is guidelines. Or suggestions. Or “things that tend to be well received by large audiences.”

If you’re a rule follower, it’s important to know that following every rule will not necessarily get you the results you want.

If you’re a rule shunner, it’s important to know that shunning every rule will not necessarily get you the results you want.

The reality is just more complex. Rules/guidelines/etc were suggested for reasons. “Don’t use adverbs” likely started out as “My guy, you are overdoing it with the adverbs, and you might want to cut some,” and then it got shortened into advice that passed down writer generations like a family curse.

But the goal isn’t to have zero adverbs; it’s just to recognize when there’s a more powerful verb that could be used.

“Slowly walked” could become “ambled” or “strolled” or “plodded.” All of those have different connotations and reveal some kind of emotion or mood in the character — and they do it a lot better than “slowly walked.”

Does that mean you should never use adverbs? No! Obviously not. Sometimes, it’s the best tool for the job. Note I said could become not should become. It really depends.

Same for prologues, active/passive voice, and “I thought/saw” phrases. A lot of books don’t need prologues, it’s true. And active voice often works better than passive. And I rarely see an “I thought/saw” that actually strengthens the writing . . . but there’s always an exception. Sometimes, breaking one of those rules is exactly what your story needs.

How do you know what you need?

Practice. Experience.

You learn by bending and breaking the rules. See if it works! Or, if you’re a rule shunner, try applying some of those rules to your writing. Worst thing that happens is that you don’t like it and you change it back later.

Try. Fail. Try again.

No, it’s not a fast process. (Sigh!)

It helps to think of “rules” as things that generally work well for a lot of readers. They’re not a blueprint for success, but a guideline to telling a story that reaches the intended audience.

Think of “rules” as a short wooden fence along a hiking trail. It’s meant to keep you going in a fairly safe direction. That doesn’t mean you can’t hop the fence. Maybe there’s something cool on the other side! But maybe there’s also a patch of poison ivy. Is it worth the risk? Only you can say! Maybe that cool thing is really cool. Or maybe it’s just a distraction and now you’re wondering if cutting off your leg would be preferable to the itching.

Here are some things to consider when you’re deciding whether or not to go against the grain.

Friction

Whenever you do something that doesn’t fall into normal reader expectations, you introduce friction. As in, readers often want reading to be a smooth experience. But sometimes, a writer will do something (either intentionally or unintentionally) that slows the reader, giving them pause, making them think for a second, or go back to reread something. That’s friction. Depending on the amount of friction, some readers will push through. Others will put the book down.

Different readers accept different amounts of friction. Some of this is just unpredictable. You can’t account for every individual reader out there.

Take that very popular book without quotation marks. It’s huge. So many people read it in spite of the lack of quotation marks — even though quotation marks are a pretty well established punctuational rule. I’ll admit . . . I haven’t read it. The lack of quotation marks is a bit more friction than I’m normally up for. But when I talk to friends about that book, I usually hear the author made it work!

What the author did well was more powerful than the friction. That’s why he was able to break that rule.

Can everyone do that? Shrug emoji! Everyone can certainly try.

You can totally change things up if you want to! Be weird! Try something new! There are no writing police coming to stop you. But if you introduce a lot of friction, you need to understand that that you might lose some readers.

I’ll also add that friction isn’t always rule based. Sometimes it’s something intrinsic to the story, like complex language, dense worldbuilding, or unlikeable characters. Length can also be friction; if a book looks intimidating, people might decide to skip it. But this kind of leads into . . .

Market

Understanding your readership is also going to benefit you when it comes to rules. What will they accept? What will they absolutely revolt over? And what about the editors and publishers, who have their own rules?

Well, if you write in a subgenre that has a lot of books with more experimental styles, those readers are more likely to accept an unusual structure and uncertain resolution than, say, capital R Romance readers, who tend to expect books to unfold in a familiar way, complete with a happily ever after. If you don’t give those readers their HEA, they will turn on you. And they will be right to do it!

Publishers know this. So a Romance imprint simply will not take a book that doesn’t deliver the HEA. Or, if the book is really good and they still want to publish it, they will call it something else, and they will not sell it to the Romance readers because it breaks the promise of Romance.

While that’s a pretty severe example, other things may simply increase the hurdles you need to overcome to get the book published.

Is it a middle grade, but it’s 200,000 words? It better be freaking amazing.2 To sell any book that big, let alone a middle grade, the whole book needs to be airtight.

Does it have a prologue at a time when prologues are out of fashion? Better make it a really good prologue.

Once again, you can do whatever you want. But you may need to adjust your market, or make sure write a banger of a book. (Ideally we’re always writing our best.)

Reader trust

And finally, an aspect I think we sometimes overlook: building reader trust and being able to “cash in” on that later.

For example, you’ve probably seen one of your favorite authors release something that doesn’t initially appeal to you, but . . . you love that author. You give it a chance anyway.

That’s an author cashing in some of that trust they’ve built up in you. If they wow you with this new thing, then hooray! They’ve built up more trust! And if the new thing is disappointing . . . well, you’re less likely to take a chance on something that isn’t what you originally started reading them for.

If you’re a new writer, it’s unlikely you have much reader trust built up. There’s nothing wrong with that! But if you’ve ever wondered how more established authors get away with breaking all kinds of rules, like slower openings, unusual character development, or even no quotation marks — well, reader trust is probably a big part of it.

Their readers will accept more friction and “broken rules” because they trust the author will deliver a book they enjoy.

Practice and experience are things you just can’t rush. It takes as long as it takes. But you can do yourself a huge favor by understanding:

• Why the rules are there in the first place.

• What is worth following or breaking for the sake of your story.

• Whether you have the skill to do pull it off successfully.

When you understand why certain things generally work, you’ll be able to “break rules” intentionally, with precision and skill rather than cold hard defiance.

Remember that magic system with rules and limitations are often particularly compelling, because those rules and limitations force characters to find creative solutions that don’t break the worldbuilding.

And writing isn’t that different from magic, is it?

Regardless where you are in your writing journey, and regardless of whether you’re more of a rule follower or a rule shunner, here’s the thing I most want you to take away from this letter is: You can do anything as long as you do it well.

Heeeey, casual reminder that I had a book out the other week! It’d be lovely if you wanted to give it a read.

• CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT (the new one):
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• BYE FOREVER, I GUESS:
  Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• Signed books from One More Page

Speaking of reader trust, when I announced BYE FOREVER, I GUESS, it was a big departure from my fantasy books, and the funny historical fantasies. Bye Forever is, after all, a middle-grade romcom. More than a few of my longtime readers raised an eyebrow, but took a chance on the book anyway. I’m really grateful to have earned that level of trust. Thanks for following me down a new path.

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Today, my eighteenth book releases! That is just wildly thrilling, and I’m so grateful that I get to keep doing this.

I’m definitely feeling a bit under prepared for this release. Did I take all the photos I wanted to take? Nope.1 Did I have this newsletter written out ahead of time? Also nope.2 Did I design and print bookmarks? Uh, no.3 Plus a thousand other little things.

And still, I’m hoping this book finds its readers. I think it will. I’ve been publishing long enough that I know bookmarks won’t move the needle. Not meaningfully. And I’ve already seen a lot of enthusiasm for this story — both from people who want to read it themselves, and from those who can’t wait to give it to someone they care about.

This one is about a girl who blows up her friend group . . . and they revenge post receipts of the super mean things she said about their classmates—and the boy she likes. 🙃

But it’s also about finding out who your real friends are, trying to reconcile with things you did that hurt other people, and how great cats are. (The actual greatest.)

If you like hot chocolate, weaving, libraries, not getting lost in the woods, photography, cats, racing pigeons, anonymous romance, surprise dance parties, and imagining the end of the world (but in, like, a cozy way), get this book on your TBR.

So what plans do I have to celebrate this release?

Well, I’m going to visit my friends at One More Page Books in Arlington!

Order from One More Page:
BYE FOREVER, I GUESS | CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT

Originally, I was planning to go there today, but because of a little website hiccup last week — one that disabled checkouts on the very day I sent my last newsletter, go figure! — we decided to give it one more day. So I’ll be going to One More Page on Wednesday the 22nd, which means you have another day to order books from them.

They have several of my other books in stock right now (including My Lady Jane and Nightrender), so if you want any of those books signed and personalized, now is a great time to grab them.

Just send your order by Wednesday morning. After that, they will have signed copies, but not personalized.

In addition to going to the bookstore and buying all their chocolate, I’m working on getting some school visits set up. I really love talking with students, so if you’re interested in having me go to your school, feel free to email or fill out the contact form on my website.

If you want the cat sweater to come to your school, you have to bring me too.

With every book release, people ask me what they can do to support my books beyond buying a copy. I have a lot of suggestions!

1. Request that your school or public library add a copy to their collection

   1. If they have a copy, check it out to keep it in circulation — especially older books

2. Talk about the book on social media

   1. Engage with others when they talk about the book

   2. Use the hashtag (for this book, it’s #ConfessionsFromTheGroupChat)

   3. Share photos, graphics, and posts others (including the author) make

      1. Need some ideas for this book? Think friend groups, cozy vibes, You’ve Got Mail, library kids, online friendships, and photography, knitting. Hot chocolate also works well.

3. Post reviews on retail sites (primarily Amazon and Barnes and Noble)

4. Talk to your local booksellers about the book — why you like it, what kind of other readers you think would be interested, and what books they could compare it to

5. And, of course, buy a copy if you are able

   1. If you somehow end up with extras, you can put them in a Free Little Library, give them to friends, or donate them

The best thing that can happen to any book is for organic, word-of-mouth excitement to spread about it. So if you love a book — any book, but also mine — talk about it.

Sharing reviews on retail sites is particularly important, since algorithms will pick up the activity, and people on the page will see a high number of reviews and decide to take a chance, too.

Think about it: are you more likely to buy the item with 20 five-star reviews, or 1,000 reviews and a 4.3-star average? Volume matters. (So if you’ve already read CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT and you have a review written, please give it a little copy and paste into Barnes and Noble and Amazon.)

Reader support is vital to my ability to write and publish more books in the future. Without you, I don’t have a job. So thank you.

Order the Deer Hill Anonymous books:

• CONFESSIONS FROM THE GROUP CHAT:
  One More Page (signed/personalized) | Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

• BYE FOREVER, I GUESS:
  One More Page (signed/personalized) | Bookshop.org | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

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