Both for your story's success, and your own mental health, letting go of your story on an emotional level is very important. We get so invested, so involved, so wrapped up and connected to our stories. And that's not a bad thing, but when you hit writer's block, or when you can't figure out this one character, or when you get harsh comments from a beta ... your feelings and emotions will plummet. You won't want to work on the book anymore because you'll feel like it's trash, and since your book is trash, obviously that means you are too, right?

You are a beautiful person, and writing takes time and growth. Each story you write will shape you more, and you will find yourself getting better and better and better ...

So let go of your story, friends. Just because it's a part of you doesn't mean it defines you.


There are going to be things you struggle with and face in life, but only by identifying those problems and dealing with them are things going to get better. It's so easy and tempting to ignore problems. I am a pro at that. But the longer you ignore something, the more time it has to sit and simmer in your heart and mind, until it's almost so large, you can't face it at all.

Be honest with others, but also be honest with yourself.


If you have problems, try to find solutions for them! Google it, even if it's far fetched and likely won't get a pinpointed response. Telling the truth to yourself about a given problem is the first step. Finding answers and taking action to help yourself overcome it is the next.

I got a bookstagram this year, and I've really enjoyed it! I haven't posted as often as I would like to, but that's because I've been a naughty reader and been very ... slow on reading. I've read 38 books so far, and I'm aiming for 40 before the year ends.


Looking back on this year from a writing standpoint, I'm actually fairly satisfied? I worked really hard to get draft 2 of The Thief's Conspiracy done, and after almost a year of work, I finished in February. And after reading through that draft, I realized it wasn't as much of a wreck as I had feared. Edits had been very successful. Granted, it still needs a ton of work, but it's better. And it wouldn't have gotten better if I hadn't stuck it out and worked.

I'm not going to explain this one. Except for some sly smirking towards the Tricky Seven.

If you haven't listened to any of those songs, go listen now. Forget this post. Listen to Just Like Yesterday. IT IS BEAUTIFUL AND WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

I got a Twitter guys. After ages and ages of my writer frens telling me I needed one (because for some reason that's where it's at for all the authors?) I finally caved and got an account. So you should go get one too! It's great! Much sass! All the snark!

I flew for the first time this year. I actually flew twice. The first time was with my cousin to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the Minneapolis Young Writer's Workshop. And the second time was to Arizona to visit my best friend. I was completely on my own the second time, which was a little stressful but completely chill.

When you're doing something new, it's important to take a deep breath and remember that this may be new for you, but a lot of people have done it before and if they can do it, you can too.

*coughs* That one's a mouth full. And a rather recent realization. Recently I've found it to be true, both in writing and in life, that planning is a very useful tool for effectiveness. It helps organize your thoughts and actions, and helps you to be productive. I even wrote a post on it!

STORY TIME! On my flight back from Arizona, I sat down next to Sara Ella. I knew who she was but I was terrified to talk to her. And I almost didn't! I almost let the opportunity pass me by, but I toughed up and said hi. She was amazing and wonderful and lovely, and I am so thankful to have talked to her! If I hadn't, a lot of things would not have been put into motion.

Like me attending the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in 2018. That's right. After a month of prayer and heart searching and consideration, I've made the decision to save up and attend this conference, as it will be held near me this coming year. I am so excited and thrilled, and I can't wait to see what I learn through this experience!

Well, that's it for me. Tell me, what have you learned in 2017?

I got home from work and was doing Very Important Things like scrolling through pinterest. And I came upon a graphic that said, "Remember what you are."

This was a curious statement to me. Why not who? Why what? We are people. But what about the whats of who we are?

As writers, we have a unique situation. Writing is such a consuming thing. It is both a passion, but also hopefully a career. It is so much more than a hobby. I always wince when people call it that. Do they understand just how much this means to me?

Writing isn't just something we do. It becomes part of who we are.

But, if you're anything like me, we walk a dangerous line. Writing is a part of who we are, yes. It's very, very important to us.

But it's not who we are.

And I'm speaking as a Christian right now. As a beloved child of God, I am a member of His family. I have been seated in Heavenly places. I have been called according to His purpose. I have been made holy and pure. I am beloved and blessed.

So why is it a dangerous line to walk? Why would identifying yourself as a writer be a bad thing?

Because if we hinge our identity on something temporal, it can be taken away.

In other words, my writing is a physical act. When I die, my books will turn to dust right along with me. And on a lesser scale than that, my books can fail. I could never get published. I could get published, but no one likes my work and it does horribly.

What would happen to my sense of self? My self esteem would crumble. Because I, being a writer, would be a failure.

And even less than that. Now, before I'm even published. I could get a negative comment from a beta and it might crush me. If that's what I'm basing my self-worth on, of course negative words on my work would crush me.

But my God? My God is eternal. And He does not fail. My status as His child can only be taken away if I choose to cast it aside--and I have no plans on that.

You want to know a little secret?

Ever since I've given myself to Jesus--ever since I stopped letting my work define who I am--I've found that it's a lot easier to both explain my book to people and share my work with them. I used to freeze up and freak out when someone asked me what my book was about, but now I smile and have a mostly coherent response to give.

Because I'm not afraid of being crushed by their words. It's okay if they think I'm stupid. My worth isn't defined by my "stupid" idea, or their opinion of me.

So who am I?

I write books. I play piano. I bake things. I make coffee. I read a lot. These things matter, and they're a part of me. But they do not define me. 

I am a Christian. That's who I am. And no one can take that from me.

Who are you? Where do you tend to focus your sense of self?

Finding titles is hard. But the goal of every story is to hook you. To draw you in. And the title is what does that first.

Think about it. You're in the bookstore, running your hands along the beautiful spines of hundreds of volumes. You can't pick up every book to read the back cover blurb or inspect the cover or glance at the first page. Only a select few get that privilege.

The title is the first test.

And this applies to blog posts, too. When I'm scrolling through my blogger reading list and my email, there are simply too many blogs to read all the posts I see. So I usually pick the ones that sound like I'll connect with them.

And how do I get that idea? What about the article or book tells me I might find it interesting?

The title.

Titles used to be super hard for me. I'd agonize over them, unsure if they were good or not. Of course, the first four years I wrote I was committed to the same book series. And that series was ... cliche. It was not the most original idea in the world, and as a result the title was not easy to find.

I've grown a lot since that nine book series I'd planned. And I've discovered a lot about titles.

Let's break down some of the different types of titles, shall we?

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The Thief Lord. The Book Thief. The False Prince. The Lost Girl of Astor Street. Peter and the Starcatchers. Steelheart. Coraline. The list goes on and on. Names aren't my favorite types of titles, and I think the phase of that has passed. But the opportunities for titles are endless. It can be the title of the main character (The False Prince, The Thief Lord, The Book Thief). It could be the title of an important minor character (The Prisoner of Azkaban). It could be the title of someone who was hurt (The Lost Girl of Astor Street).

Every story has someone that's important to the plot. Someone that set everything in motion. Sometimes, the title you give them is just a good description of who they are, and being who they are is important enough to warrant their label being the title of the story. Sometimes, it's the reason they are called what they are that gets them on the spine of a book.

Either way, the name/title tactic is a common but good approach. You could also fit groups of people or organizations under this category (like The Mysterious Benedict Society or The Boxcar Children or The Fellowship of the Ring or The Color Project). My current project is called The Dream Walkers. I gave it its name because the basic premise is about a group of children who go to a land of dreams every night, until one of them gets stuck there and they have go venture deeper in this world to save him. When you read the book, you come to know that these children are called Dream Walkers. And these children are the reason this story exists.

Howl's Moving Castle. Treasure Island. The City of Ember. The Westing Game. The Blackthorn Key. Serafina and the Black Cloak. The Screaming Staircase and The Whispering Skull. Dragon Slippers. 

The title could be something they're searching for (Treasure Island) or some puzzle they're trying to solve. It could be something everyone is after, or a place no one dares to go.

I wrote a book in July called The House at the End of the Lane. The title is tentative because it's similar to another well known book that I didn't know about until after I'd already come up with the title and let it stick, but I still like it because it plants that seed in readers' minds. They know there's something about that house at the end of the lane that will play a key role in the book. It'll be important. It's almost like a hook.

Pride and Prejudice. Divergent. Dare, Deny, Defy, and Deliver by Tricia Mingerink. A Proper Pursuit. Summerlost. 

It could be a lesson that they learn. A misconception they start out having, but have to learn to overcome. It could be task they have to complete, or a milestone they're working towards. Or it could foreshadow events later in the book.

I've had a story idea for ages that I'm still fleshing out, and I got an idea for the title today (hence, the post). I'm calling it Ashes of the Dawn and it's foreshadowing of what happens by the end of the book, with a little theme thrown in as well.


These are just three categories, and they cover a lot. And of course, you can always combine them. You could specify a name with an object or an object with a theme or place. The books in my YA series are combinations of people titles and actions/objects. The Thief's Conspiracy, The King's Vow, The Queen's Game, and The Hunter's Lament. 

Hopefully me breaking down the different types of book titles gave you some ideas. Go look at your book shelf and analyze what titles are your favorites. Go to the library or scroll through goodreads and see which titles catch your interest and think about why. Watch for cliches, too. Words that commonly come up in titles (like "thief") would be best to avoid if you want something really original. Then again, one of my favorite book titles is The Thief's Conspiracy. I was miffed that the book wanted to be called that, but I couldn't really say no. So if you have a really insistent title, don't throw it out just because one of the words is common in book titles.

Now you might be thinking, "Right, but how do I find out which type of title to go for?"

And the answer is, you just have to experiment. Sit down and pull out your notebook. Write down key people, key titles, key objects, places, themes. Write everything you can think of. Create an aesthetic of words for your story. Then string them together. See if any will fit and toss the ones that don't. The title I finally came up with today (after trying to find one for nearly a year) was the last of about fifteen-twenty combinations of the words dawn and ash. It took a lot of tries before I finally saw that they fit together and worked.

Don't be afraid to put down stupid ideas, either. Get it all out in the open. We have to scrape the weeds off the top before we can reach the rich earth underneath.

I've gone on enough. What about you guys? What category does your book title fall into? Are you trying to find a book title? If so, which category is your favorite?