jpagaduan.com

Category: writing

  • Underwriting

    I am a chronic underwriter. It’s something I’ve had to accept. My first drafts are lean, clocking in between 35k and 50k words for the first pass. It’s because I’m in a race to the end and my first goal is to get out as much as fast as possible. Details, unless they’re especially loud,…

  • NaNoWriMo 2021

    As November approaches more and more people are gearing up to participate in NaNoWriMo. But what is it? Well, the name is short for “Nation Novel Writing Month,” and as the name implies it’s for writing an entire novel, beginning to end, in November. Last year I participated, but this year I’m sitting out. In two years, I’ve turned…

  • How many is too many?

    WIPs (Work in Progress) progress faster if you mainly focus on one at a time. Of course, sometimes it’s not possible. Maybe you’re really stuck and need to get your head out of it for a while. Maybe (like me) you get so engrossed you absolutely need to switch gears for a little while to…

  • I’m done. Now what?

    I finished my first draft. It still needs work, so what comes next? Novel writing is a lot of work, and by the end for me it becomes all-consuming; pushing everything else out of the picture because I can’t focus on anything else. Now that I’m done with this draft, I feel spent, as well…

  • Writer’s block

    When I have writer’s block, it’s procrastination in disguise. It’s not that I can’t write, it’s that my brain is trying to come up with last-minute distractions. My go to method for dealing with this is a cup of coffee (iced when it’s warm, hot when it’s cold) and some journaling.   Occasionally it’s not procrastination.…

  • Writing every day isn’t always possible

    Why do I write every day? Well, it’s complicated. I personally prefer to, but lately life has been stressful, so I’ve been taking more mental health days than I usually do. Today all I managed was a couple lines in one document and two paragraphs apiece in two others. I got a few ideas started…

  • Coping Skills are Fundamental

    A small reason why I write is therapy. Not that I intended to do that, at least not at first. For a while in the middle, and even occasionally today, it can help me process some of my own difficult feelings. But the reality is writing can only do so much. At the end of…

  • But why fantasy?

    Why fantasy? Well, it’s comforting. I grew up with nerdy parents, who passed their love onto me. I also have always enjoyed stories about fantastical things that would never happen. My dad is the biggest reason I’m so big into fantasy. To this day he is still one of the few people in my life that, if I like something,…

  • Nonbinary

    I’m sure people have noticed by now that my pronouns are they/them. That’s because I’m nonbinary. Nonbinary falls under the trans umbrella, though you don’t have to identify as trans to be nonbinary. I myself do identify as trans, though I have no desire to medically transition. You don’t have to transition to be valid. After…

  • 3 AM

    Three AM and I are unfortunate friends. For as long as I can remember, I’ve struggled to sleep well. Even as a baby sleep eluded me, and it’s only gotten easier as I’ve gotten older. Three AM is said to be the time of artists and dreamers, but with it comes a few demons as well. I’m never up at three AM because I want to be, after…