My Go-To Book

Happy February! To start off the month, I'm going to recommend my absolutely favorite go-to book for writing.

I can't believe I've never posted about this, but then it wasn't until late last night I was sifting through my many boxes of books in my garage searching for inspiration, and there at the bottom of a box containing at least a baker's dozen of my favorite how-to writing books was my ultimate go-to writing book, The ABC's of Writing Fiction by Ann Copeland. It's been years since I've cracked open this book due to the fact I haven't wanted to sift through all those intimidating unpacked boxes in my garage since I've since moved to Eugene, but wow am I glad I did! How I had forgotten how useful it is, in both inspiration and information. New ideas and new ways of writing have since been flooding my head and flowing onto the pages of my latest novel-in-progress. Then it hit me; I needed to share this book on my blog as I think everyone would benefit from it, even already published authors. I honestly have no idea how Copeland does it, but somehow in just a few short paragraphs she teaches you not just how to write, but how to write better. It's always fun to fall in love with a book, but when it's a book that's geared towards not just learning but improvement—personally, that's the best kind of book there is. 📖💖🤗

You can find out more in my helpful links tab "My Go-To Writing Book"

A while or Awhile?

Because so many writers have trouble with this and have asked me this exact question, I've decided to go ahead and make a post out of this with a very short cheat-sheet (you'll also be able to find this cheat-sheet in my list of Helpful Tips):

A while = a period of time (can be replaced by a definite period of time)
Awhile = for a time (i.e. can be replaced by an adverb*)

Here are a few examples regarding these two terms:

• Ronnie went to the park for a while 
• Ronnie went to the part for an hour 

• Ronnie walked to the park for awhile
• Ronnie walked to the park quickly

*For those who aren't sure what an adverb is, in short it's a verb ending in -ly and can be used like an adjective to describe how something (an action) is completed. You can also think of it like a math equation in which verb + adjective = adverb. You can learn more about adverbs under Helpful Tips - "More About Adverbs" or read Ann Copeland's The ABC's of Writing Fiction chapter "Adverbs"

Quick Check-In

I did not realize how much time has passed since my last post. Then again, there hasn't been that much change regarding the current events in my writing life. I'm still on the search for an editor for Shattered Lives, I've been slowly making my way through my new sci-fi book, and I keep meaning to get back to editing Shattered Lives on my own in hopes to cut it down some more (and hopefully make hiring a professional editor more affordable too), but health keeps getting in the way. Which is pretty much a given as this seems to be a regularly occurring theme throughout my life. Then again, that's what happens when you have an auto-immune disease. Sometimes you can push through and be productive and proactive, other times you just have to sleep all the time, or get brain fog and can't do anything no matter how great you might otherwise feel.

Anyhow, I'm hoping to start feeling better again enough to start getting back to studying for my course I've been working through and to also keep writing this new book and keep trucking away with S.L., but I guess it'll happen when it happens. And so concludes my quick check-in.

I hope everyone had a good winter break and some very fun-filled holidays this winter season!

-Sabrina S.K. Regan