Sakura Skye's Blog

Before you write, write! I have been guilty of sitting down with little more than a burning idea and a vague notion of who my characters were. It showed. I spent hours writing, deleting, and staring at my computer screen. It was counter-productive and resulted in hit and miss writing. Some things came out great and others…not so much. Despite my reluctance to do it, I have found that writing a fairly detailed outline not only helps me to capture those fleeting gems of dialogue and description but to avoid staring at my screen with no idea where the hell this story is going. I do not subscribe to the three-act structure, but I do write “beats,” quick scene descriptions that show me where I am going. If you are usually a pantser, or (like me) have characters that tend to do what they want and not what you tell them, writing an outline can help you direct your story back on track when it all falls apart, and you have no idea what to write. If you write non-fiction outlines are doubly important because they help you ensure that your readers know where you are going and get there safely.
Its’s a marathon, not a sprint, stupid! You may spend all day writing, but you cannot write all day. One of the biggest mistakes is to schedule long writing periods with no breaks. What I mean is actually “writing” where words go onto paper. Not the writing that involves a fair amount of “research” and climbing out of Wikipedia holes or diving into YouTube vortexes. Those things are very necessary for the writing process for reasons I will explain in another post, but are not “writing.” The amount of time you spend “writing” should be moderate so that you don’t exhaust your creative juices. Adding 1500 words a day for a month is better than writing 10K furious words and then spend the next three weeks screaming at your computer screen and weeping uncontrollably because not one more word will come.
Get moving; it’s good for you and your writing. Writers spend a lot of time sitting on our asses. It’s unavoidable unless you are one of the lucky bastards who have one of those walking desks…in which case, I hate you. But, what we often overlook is the significant benefits to mental function and acuity that exercise provides. Yes, getting up and walking away from your desk will make you more productive once you return to it. Many creatives find that they have breakthrough moments in the middle of a run (or brisk walk, in my case) or after a workout. Not only will you be MORE energetic, have increased focus and mental agility, you also lower your chances of dying from a stroke brought on by your sedentary lifestyle and stress over not being able to write a single thing worth printing.
Break out your hobby chest, or camera, or whatever the heck you do other than write. In short, do something creative that isn’t writing. You have other talents and hobbies, hopefully. Explore them. Sometimes allowing yourself to be creative in other areas acts as both a source of inspiration as well as a pressure valve for the looming deadline and complete lack of manuscript.
Relax, it’s okay to suck! Sometimes every word you write is SHITE! In fact, most days I feel that almost every word I write is complete garbage, but other people seem to think otherwise. The truth is that you have to wade through the drivel to get to the good stuff. Give yourself permission to write bad dialogue, sketchy scenes, descriptions where you may occasionally confuse the character’s names, etc. It’s all part of the process. It doesn’t have to be inspiring. That is why we have an editing process. Commit to the process, not the outcome.
Be somebody else! Write using a different voice or from the perspective of your tea kettle. When I was a little girl, one of my favorite books was written from the point of view of an old wooden doll. I read it at least a dozen times. Breaking free of your “voice” can be liberating and also can get your juices flowing. These little writing challenges can be just what you need to keep moving forward.
Read some of your old writing. Right or wrong, just read it. I like to read some of the things I am most proud of because they remind me what is unique and remarkable about my voice and style. Others like to go back and cannibalise old works, demonstrating how they have evolved. My point is that a look backwards may be just what you need to move forward.
Make “research” a habit. Read and watching television with purpose can be a great way to increase your story telling ability. Sometimes I will watch a show with my mother, and she will say “I didn’t think you would like this.” My answer is almost always, the writing is so smart and crisp. I am not just consuming; I am paying attention to the use of language, pacing, dialogue, and overall tone. I am watching from a writer’s perspective. Similarly, when I venture outside of my reading comfort zone, I do so with the intention to discover uses of language that I may have never thought of before. It looks like goofing off but it is research, and I do it daily. I not only get out of the echo chamber of my mind and offer my creative genius fresh meat to feast on, but I am also better able to be critical of my work.
Write something fun. For me, this blog is fun. It is my way of interacting with my readers. Ther is no pressure to be perfect or for this blog to “perform”. When I hit a road block and can’t seem to find my way around, I can write something silly, or fun and share it with the world. That sense of gratification reminds me why I chose this profession and the joy of writing. Sometimes what we MUST write is not fun. Sometimes we may find the subject stale or the project tedious. At moments like that, writing 500-1000 words about something you enjoy may be just what the doctor ordered. When you come back, you may find less mental resistance.
Think Pavlov. You ring the bell, and the dog salivates. Train yourself to get into a “flow” state when you ____. For me, it is the presence of a timer on my desk. I see the timer ticking away, and my mind knows that this is time to work. It will be rewarded in the end with a few minutes of relaxation, but the timer means work. For others, it is sitting at a workstation. Whatever your ringing bell is, use it. If you don’t have one, make one. Let that thing become the trigger that tells your mind when it’s time to work, and you will find less resistance.

I hope you have enjoyed my tips. Let me know in the comment is you have ay that I missed or if any of them work for you.

If you have been paying attention at all you know that the things I find hilarious are the things that are true. I love things that are weird and true or sad and true or true despite the odds that it would probably not be true. Once again, I have stumbled upon another one of those golden gems of hilarity that is especially funny to writers but is also just pretty comical all around…because it is true.

If you liked that, please show Ms. Moreci some love and buy her awesome book! I bought a copy the day it was released and I am personally recommending it if you are into new adult, science fiction, action adventure, awesomeness. Links below!

Also, if you are one of the millions who prefer to read books on platforms other than Kindle, Discovered: Black Creek Pack Book 2  is now WIDE! Yes, it is there on iBooks and Kobo right now. I am avoiding Nook because it looks like it is dying and the service on the author side is subpar. Sorry. So go buy it, and leave reviews, and thank you to everybody who has already read it.

Links to Jenna’s Book

BUY THE BOOK: http://bitly.com/EVETheAwakening

ORDER A SIGNED COPY: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1nae1…

READ THE BOOK: http://jennamoreci.com

This is a GREAT article from Level’s blog about planning for time off/vacation. With summer right around the corner, I know everybody is thinking about how to fit into their bikini but we also need to think about how we are going to afford to spend time on the beach. If you are a freelancer or self-employed, this little reminder may make taking a REAL vacation reality instead of one of those things you swear you are going to do…next year. This article can be found Here, be a dear, and follow the Level blog for more great tips. 

We all need to step away from work sometimes. Even if you love your job and your coworkers, it can help to take a real break, clear your head, and return to your office refreshed and re-energized. But unless your ideal vacation is staying home surfing the internet and playing video games (hey, we love our video games too!), your time off work may require a bit more planning – both logistically and financially. To help you make the most of your time off, here are some tips on how to prepare.

Determine what your time off will cost you.

What do you mean by “time off?”  Are you planning for a 10-day vacation, a 3-week break between jobs, a 6-month sabbatical from your current company, or a career break of unknown length? The type of time off, as well as how long your break will be, makes a big difference in how much you need to save, what your spending habits will be, and whether you’ll still have paid vacation from your current employer to cover some of your costs.
Where are you going? Knowing where you want to spend your time off will help you estimate the cost of flights, lodging, food, and activities. While a staycation is arguably your cheapest option, you can still find affordable destinations around the globe. Even a 2-week trip to Europe for less than $1000 is possible with smart planning and a flexible schedule, especially with these tips on how to save money while traveling internationally.
What expenses will you have? Some costs are obvious: how you’ll get there, where you’ll stay, what you’ll do, but others expenses can surprise you. Fees for ATM use, currency exchange, and cell phone usage abroad – as well assneaky hotel charges and airline fees – should be included in your budget. You’ll also want to consider travel insurance to protect you from unexpected expenses like medical emergencies or unavoidable trip cancellation. If your time off doesn’t have a clear end date, make sure you budget beyond the end of your trip and have enough money to live off of while you’re looking for your next job.

Figure out how you will you pay for it.

Will your company help? If you’re really lucky, you work for a company that actually pays you to take a vacation! But even if your job won’t give you extra cash, you may be able to get paid time off, which at least means you won’t lose money while you’re away from work.
Can you make money off of travelers? When you live in a city that tourists are drawn to, you may be able to make some money off of them to fund you own trip. Renting out your apartment or car, or playing tour guide can help you pull in some extra cash.
Are there other easy ways you can earn money? There are tons of opportunities to make money wherever you’re located, with plenty ofwebsites and apps to help you find part-time, flexible work. But if you go the sharing economy route (like becoming a casual driver), keep these things in mind.Would you be willing to keep working part-time? If you want to free yourself from the corporate rat race, but don’t have the money to take a gap year, consider the digital nomad lifestyle instead. You may be able to supplement your savings by working part-time on projects from the road, especially if all you need is internet access.

Find the right savings strategy.

What is your savings goal? After going through these first two steps, you should have a good idea of what you need to save for the kind of experience you want. Even if you’re able to make extra money in some of the ways we mentioned, you’ll probably still need to put away a little extra each month so you can make the most of your time off.
How will you cut back? Saving more is usually tied to spending less money, so it’s important to get your priorities in order. For most people,experiential spending brings them the most joy, so you may want to start bytracking your material purchases and seeing where you can make relatively painless cuts.
What will keep you on track? Once you have a savings goal and an understanding of how your money is being spent, you can take meaningful steps to reduce your spending. Downloading and using the Level Money appis a great way to keep tabs on your progress without the need for cumbersome spreadsheets or detailed record-keeping.

Answer these questions and you’ll be well on your way to enjoying the time off that you deserve!

Level Money, powered by Capital One.

This compensated endorsement is an opinion expressed by the author at or through this blog are the opinions of the individual author, and may not reflect the opinions of any other person, legal entity or corporation. The author’s opinions are not to be interpreted or held accountable as financial advice or recommendations.

Currently, I am working on the last installment of the Black Creek Pack Trilogy. I didn’t originally intend for it to be a trilogy. I tried not to limit myself. But, I am coming to the point where I feel like Devoured, the last book in the series, will answer all of the questions and leave the readers feeling like they have read “the whole story”.

As always, as soon as I sit down to complete a task, a million things in my “real life” go to hell and I am forced to split my attention. It’s as if the people in my life don’t realize that when I am sitting at my desk, tapping away furiously on my laptop, I am WORKING! No, cat, you cannot nap on the keyboard. No, I cannot give you my opinion on a twenty-minute story about something that happened at work. No, I cannot help you figure out why your soup smells weird. No, I cannot find ticket prices for your next vacation to another one of the least romantic places in Eastern Europe. I am working.

My own feelings on the completion of this story arch aren’t helping either.

I am a little sad to see the end of this series. I think I may revisit Black Creek once or twice in the future and tell another story featuring a different pairing. I don’t think any one idea has occupied my mind for as long as Black Creek has. So, in honor of the men who have ruined my days and nights for months on end, I have given the series a new look, designed by a great cover designer who you can reach HERE.

She is fast, agreeable and creative. Working with her is great because she keeps you in the loop at every step of the process and if you let her know what you want she will bust her hump to make it happen. SO, if you are a fellow romance/erotica writer (or an aspiring writer who can’t afford to spend a million dollars on the cover art) please look her up and put her skills to use.

And tip her. ALWAYS tip your cover designer!

If you haven’t already read Book 1 and 2 of the Black Creek Pack, you can still get those for $1.99 HERE.

As always #ReadRateReview, and don’t forget to click the subscribe button to get updates whenever I publish.

In honor of the first week of my latest release, The Last Kiss, I am running a 48-hour promotion. Start your weekend on the right foot with THREE M/M romances for less than a buck. For $0.99 you get:

Desired for FREE.
Discovered for FREE
The Last Kiss for only $0.99

Once again, thank you so much to all of you who have bought my books and made it possible to continue writing the things I enjoy. Don’t forget to #ReadRateReview whenever you get a chance, writers thrive on feedback.

As always, be sure to like, comment and subscribe for more updates.

The day has finally come, my pretties and The Last Kiss is done and out in the world. You can find it HERE.

The Last Kiss is a little bit of a departure for me because it deals with a younger set of characters and is NOT paranormal. The plot really revolves around a passionate love affair between two boys and the sacrifices they make to be together in a way that is authentic and honest. I contemplated letting it end on a bittersweet note, but I think the world is full of enough love stories that end on a sour note. So, there is an HFN ending to the story with plenty of room for a sequel if it performs well.

Be sure to check it out and #ReadRateReview. As always, I appreciate all of your support and feedback. Be on the lookout for my next book, and don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe.

 

A long time ago I may have mentioned that, like a lot of writers, I used to write fanfiction. Well, recently I fell into a creative slump and needed to switch the script and write something different. So…I opened a NEW WATTPAD account and have set up TWO new projects for myself that I will be working on there. One of them is a fanfiction that I started but never finished. The other is a bit ambitious, an AMBW sci-fi romance set in a perilous future with a Yoruba scientist and a Yakuza style assassin as the MCs.

I posted the first chapter of my fanfiction for those who are interested. Be on the look out for the AMBW! I am finishing up The Last Kiss this week so that should drop soon AND Discovered will be FREE this weekend on Amazon!

Excited yet? I am!

 

https://embed.wattpad.com/story/63776756

the blacktress diaries

 Grade: A

Genre: Historic Romance, Asian Romance

It is incredible how lucky I have been with choosing reading material, and it’s only the second month of the year. This wasn’t supposed to be my next read, but after mentioning in my Forbidden post that I wanted to actively ready more diversely in the romance genre, I took the plunge. Plus, I already broke free from Recency England, so I figured I’d continue the trend so that I’ll actually miss it when I come back.

I actually only chose to request Butterfly Swords to start with because it was one of the few Jeannie Lins available at my library, but thankfully I accidentally picked the start of the Tang Dynasty series.

My new fuzzy slippers/socks are my new favorite reading companions!

It’s hard for me to mention much of the plot outside of what is on the back cover without…

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So if you haven’t seen it yet, this is the “controversial” new video from Beyonce for Formation. Watch it and judge for yourself.

The following views are my opinions and my opinions only. Also, I drop the f-bomb once or twice. 

I thought long and hard about whether or not I wanted to even address this issue because I would hate to alienate any of my readers or attract negative people to my blog when I try so hard to keep this space a positive place. But, even as a professional, I find that I am unable to escape the blow-back of the latest Beyonce bomb and since I am going to get debris in my locs anyway I might as well have my say.

If you didn’t know by now, I am black. Specifically Afro-Carribean, but that’s another topic. And so when topics like state sponsored violence against black and brown bodies come up they hit me at home. What I see reflected on television is often the very real fear I live with every day. I often find myself critiquing the representation of black and brown bodies on television and in movies instead of just enjoying the damn show. I often have to remind my educated and well-meaning friends that ALL LIVES cannot matter until we can comfortably say BLACK LIVES matter without it being seen as subversive.

So, being anti-police brutality is not the same as being anti-police. Being pro-black  or even pro-queer is not the same as being anti-white or anti-hetero. Loving myself and my history and embracing people and movements that some people may find unsettling is not race baiting, reverse racism (is that even a thing?), or being anti-white. There are some people in this country who love Former Presidents Jefferson, Jackson, and Washington and their vision of America was troublesome as fuck, to say the least. And yet I don’t see anybody rushing to take their faces off of the money.

So, Beyonce, in a media blitz to end all blitzes, released Formation out of nowhere the day before the Superbowl, then showed up and showed out at the half-time show (seriously I don’t know who played or who won but I surely tuned in for that show), and then released her new tour schedule. She paid homage to the Black Panther Party on their 50th Anniversary and told us all that she wanted to do something that we could be proud of.

Well, I was proud.

And I am not a Bey-hive member by any means. I thought her little romp into cultural appropriation with Coldplay was a bit out of line, but not fatal.  See that HERE and you will get what I mean. She looked stunning but this was not the time to play dress up.

When the backlash against Formation came out I was honestly shocked. What show were these people watching? I saw a celebration of the women who I admire and respect. I saw a global icon directly addressing a very distressing reality. I saw pride. I saw hope. I saw big booty, brown skin girls with kinky hair unapologetically being themselves. Where is the hate in that? ( I also saw Beyonce almost fall but that is another story.)

In a place and time that is so heavily driven by identity politics, I have to question the identity of people who were so outraged by the imagery of a little black boy in a hoodie overcoming police brutality with the power of dance.

My personal identity isn’t built on my assumed superiority to anybody else. Therefore, seeing other people of color celebrate their heritage doesn’t offend me. Seeing them express the grievances present in their communities through art and pop culture doesn’t offend me. I don’t need to see others as less than myself to be proud of who I am. Nor do I have to give up the parts of my history or culture that may be upsetting to others in order to get along. It is not my job to make YOU comfortable. I am under no obligation to embrace a version of history that waters down the truth or obliterates the nuances of who we have been as people.

The Black Panther Party was subversive, and rightfully so. But, that was not all that they were. Police violence against black and brown and queer bodies is REAL, but that is not ALL that there is to the story.

And Beyonce did what few artists will ever do, and perhaps what ONLY she COULD do.  She called us all to the table and used her own body to spark a conversation.

I am going to leave this with Tre Melvin who answered  Formation haters is about as well as anyone could. Please watch, like and share. If you take nothing else away from this post, remember that love always wins but not without a fight. Let’s get in formation.

Source: #BlackHistory: The Lives of Ancient Egyptian Women