Meredith Allard's Blog

Here’s my yearly November reminder (to myself and everyone else) about the power of gratitude. Lately, as I’ve been thinking about what I’m grateful for, it always comes back to being a creative person. I know that I’m wired differently because I’m creative. I chase my Muse (though she rarely allows herself to be caught when I want her). I wrestle with deadlines, grapple with self-doubt, and pour my very essence into my writing. I have deliberately chosen to embrace the writing life, and as much as I love it, the path can be exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. 

Many of us creatives will tell you that being creative is often a double-edged sword. The pursuit of perfection can be challenging as I strive for excellence, which is good, but that can lead to a lot of self-criticism, which is bad. I’ve talked before about how I struggled with compare-itis for years. There’s also always this sense of “What’s next?” When being a creative person feels like homework, the joy of creation can be overshadowed.

Gratitude shifts my perspective. When I’m stuck, as I was for months with my current WIP, actively seeking things to be grateful for helps me focus on what’s right with my draft. When I was stuck in my novel, I had to keep reminding myself that I’m making progress. Sticking with it allowed me to see the positive side. The creative journey is full of setbacks. Gratitude helps you develop a thicker skin by reminding you of your foundational strengths and resources. If you’re grateful for the simple reality of being creative, of simply trying something fun and new, the creative life becomes much more rewarding. Here are some things that we can be grateful for as creatives.

Creativity Amplifies Joy and Energy 

When you appreciate the small wins, you build momentum and rediscover the pure joy that drew you to writing in the first place. When your mind is in a state of appreciation, it’s more open and less constrained by fear or judgment, which helps us discover new ideas, unexpected connections, and even those much-needed breakthroughs.

Creativity Connects You to Your Why

It’s important to remember your why, especially when you find yourself stuck in a project, as I was for many months. Why did you choose to write this specific work? What was it about that topic or those characters that called your name? Why do you choose to create in the first place? Chances are, it’s not just for fame or fortune, or at least it isn’t for me. It’s for the joy of expression, the connection, the challenge, and discovering the beauty that surrounds us every day. Gratitude reconnects you to that spark of creativity, and for a creative person, there’s nothing better.

What Else Can Creatives Be Thankful For? 

There are so many things to be thankful for when you’re a creative person. Here is a short list. Hopefully, it inspires you to consider a few reasons of your own.

The power of imagination and being able to envision things that don’t exist yet.Our unique perspectives and the unique ways we see the world which are the roots of our authentic voices.Resilience and persistence, as well as the ability to keep going after a setback or a rejection.Our curiosity and our drive to learn new skills, explore new mediums, and seek out inspiration.The joy of creation and the pleasure of turning an abstract idea into something tangible that we can share with others. “Aha!” moments with those sudden breakthroughs and flashes of insight that solve a creative puzzle.Last, but definitely not least, is the finished piece. Nothing beats the feeling of holding a completed work in your hands, regardless of its commercial success.

What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends. I hope the day is everything you wish it to be.

Categories: Creativity, Inspiration, Writing, Writing InspirationTags: creative writing, creativity, gratitude practice, writing, writing inspiration, writing life, writing motivation

When I wrote The Swirl and Swing of Words in 2024, I was coming off of a writing hiatus, one of several that I’ve taken over the 25 years that I’ve been a published writer. I had hopped from one project to the next for 13 years; beginning in 2009, when I began writing Her Dear & Loving Husband, through 2022, when The Duchess of Idaho was published, I wrote 11 novels, one nonfiction book, and a PhD dissertation, which is 200 pages and required more work than any novel I’ve written. At the time, I loved every minute of writing those projects. I had so many ideas that jumping from project to project seemed the only way to get all of those ideas out of my head. 

When I began The Copperfield Review in 2000, I was lucky enough to interview the historical novelist John Jakes, and one thing he said that has stuck with me is how he hoped he would live long enough to write all the stories he wanted to tell. That’s how I feel too. But after 13 years, with a pandemic and a worsening hearing loss thrown in, I was burned out, and I needed to step away. For how long? At the time, I didn’t know, but I’d been through burnout before and I trusted that I would know when it was time to write again. 

After journaling about why I felt so exhausted, I realized that I felt as if my creativity was becoming the same ol’ same ol’ and it was time to make some changes. I ran The Copperfield Review for 22 years before I had an inkling of closing it down. By 2022, I wasn’t excited about running the journal anymore. The amount of work keeping a literary journal afloat was very different in 2022 than it was in 2000, and I had to look seriously at why I was keeping the journal open. Whenever we do something for a sustained period, we have to evaluate whether that something still serves us or if we’re continuing out of habit. 

By 2023, I knew I was continuing Copperfield out of habit, and it was time to move on, though it was hard because Copperfield had been such an important part of my life for more than two decades. I was thrilled by Copperfield’s reputation as a home for literary excellence, and I was honored that Copperfield became a respected journal that writers wanted to be published in. I loved that The Copperfield Review was the first published credit for many up-and-coming writers. But when the financial difficulties of keeping the journal running became too much, and the joy was gone, it was time to move on. I knew when I closed the journal in 2023 that I had made the right decision because I felt relieved instead of sad. If something isn’t working, we need to let it go, whatever it is. We need to be brave enough to make changes when they’re needed.

Whenever I feel the need to take a hiatus, I ask myself the question who am I if I’m not writing? It’s a question that can send a shiver down my spine, especially since I identify so strongly with writing. When I think of myself as not writing, I feel as if I’m in a void. As writers, we often measure our worth in word counts, completed drafts, and published pieces. When the laptop is closed, the notebook is tucked away, and the Muse has gone astray, who are we then? The question feels more complicated for those of us juggling jobs, families, and, you know, just life. Whatever precious writing time we have is often squeezed into the margins of our lives. Who am I when I’m resting, working, or simply living my life?

It turns out I’m myself, with all of my unique talents and imperfections. Over many years, I’ve learned that, perhaps more importantly, who I am when I’m not writing is the secret ingredient to who I become when I am writing. Because I live a full life, I have more knowledge and creativity to spend on my imagined worlds.  

E.E. Cummings said, “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” It also takes courage to look at your life, as a human and as a creator, and do the work your heart calls out for you to do. During my most recent hiatus, I felt relieved when I didn’t have a writing project hanging over me. Then, when the idea for my current WIP dawned, I went from feeling frustrated and limited in what I could write to great excitement at seeing what I could make of this new genre. I tend to have my best ideas for new writing projects when I’m taking time away. 

There’s this romantic ideal of the writer (though I’m not so sure how romantic it really is) hunched over a desk, fueled by coffee (something stronger if you’re Hemingway) and angst, utterly consumed by their manuscript, with no time or desire for the mundane real world. Writers live lives of the mind, you know. While intense periods of focus are certainly part of the process, a sustainable writing life isn’t built on constant creative output. It’s built on a well-rounded existence. 

You are still yourself when you’re not writing. Actively cultivate your relationships, interests, and hobbies. Lean into the parts of your identity that aren’t all about being a writer. You’ll appreciate your writing time more for it.

When we are not writing, we are still vast, complex, multi-faceted individuals living rich and varied lives. Those rich and diverse lives will bring depth, authenticity, and resilience to our pages. Celebrate your hobbies, relationships, work, and moments of rest. The more we nurture our whole person, the better we feed the writer within.

Categories: Creative Writing, Creativity, The Writer’s Life, Writing, Writing InspirationTags: creative self-care, creative writing, creative writing inspiration, writing, writing and work-life balance, writing burnout, writing inspiration

Occasionally, I’ll watch a YouTube video about personal library tours. It’s kind of fun to see what books other people surround themselves with. Since I’m writing these handy-dandy little blogs, I thought I’d do a written version. Here’s a sneak peek at the physical books I have at home. I have many more on my Kindle.

I don’t keep many physical books since I don’t have a lot of space and I hate clutter. Once I’ve bought some new books that I don’t have room for, I’ll unhaul a few that I’m unlikely to reread or that I ended up DNFing because I couldn’t get into them. I have one main bookcase of four shelves and a smaller end table with two shelves, and that’s the extent of my personal library of physical books. 

Even with the limited space, I find there’s nothing quite like looking at a fully-stocked bookshelf. For me, a bookcase is more than just a storage unit. My collection of books is a self-portrait painted in paper and ink. As anyone can tell by looking at my shelves, you can see that I’m an eclectic reader. I read mainly classics. In my world, Charles Dickens gets his own shelf. No joke. I also have a lot more contemporary favorites and some new authors I’m discovering. My bookshelves are a curious and contradictory mix that reveals how I love to jump between the stark and the surreal. 

I have BA and MA degrees in English, and like most English majors, I spent years steeped in the classics. In fact, for a long time I read nothing else. It was Oprah’s Book Club that prompted me to read closer to my own century. I’ve read many of the books from Oprah’s Book Club, and I’ve enjoyed most of them. I discovered one of my favorite authors, Abraham Verghese, through his wonderful novel The Covenant of Water, which was an Oprah’s Book Club pick. After discovering some more modern-day favorites, I went in the opposite direction and read only more modern works. I’m pleased to say that now I strike a balance where I read some newer authors and some classic authors.

The bottom shelf of my bookcase.

There are times when I wish that my shelves were a little more organized than they are. The books are organized, just in a way that suits the limited space I have. You can see my collection of newer black Penguin classics. I also have a few of the orange classics for the Toni Morrison novels. Many of the books I have on my shelves are special to me, not because they were expensive (you can see that all of the ones pictured are paperbacks), but because many of them have been with me since my university days and they have emotional resonance. The older black Penguin edition of Thoreau belonged to my uncle. 

The Penguin Black Classics line up in their iconic spines next to the vibrant, modern covers of Haruki Murakami. Nearby, the deep American voices of Toni Morrison and Henry David Thoreau anchor the collection, inviting both a journey into the past and a meditation on the present. The Penguin Classics are foundational texts for students of literature. Here are some of my favorites: Frankenstein, Crime and Punishment, the works of Poe, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and a few Hardys, among others. The only book on this shelf I haven’t read is The Count of Monte Cristo, and I have that high on my TBR list. 

If the classics represent tradition, then Toni Morrison and Haruki Murakami represent the power of more contemporary voices to push the boundaries of realism. Toni Morrison is a foundational author for me in so many ways. Her lush language and powerful focus on trauma and identity helped to shape who I wanted to be as a writer, and I used to spend hours copying out passages from her books in my spiral-bound notebook as I tried to understand how to craft poetry in prose.

I adore Haruki Murakami. I love that he’s willing to let his imagination soar. In an interview, Murakami said that he never puts any limits on his imagination when he’s writing. He’s one of the few authors who is never boring. He offers a road to the surreal and the deeply strange, and his novels often blend pop culture, jazz, existential dread, mystery, and humor. I mean, Colonel Sanders? That’s funny. 

I love Thoreau, and we see so much of his message today in the minimalist movement as well as our trek back toward nature and simpler living. I’ve always seen Thoreau as the quiet rebel on my shelf, whispering that perhaps I should leave aside material considerations, honor what is truly important to me, and live deliberately. Thoreau reminds me to value simplicity, self-reliance, and independent thought over accumulation and societal noise.

Sally Rooney is hit and miss for me, quite honestly. I liked Normal People but not Beautiful World, Where Are You? The two books will likely be donated at some point. Nothing against Rooney. I’m just not sure I’d leave her shelf space when mine is so limited and there are other books I’d rather keep close.  

My shelf space is carefully curated, so when I look at my bookcases, I only see books that bring me joy. The books I surround myself with are a conversation between the past, the present, and the existential. Over the years, I’ve learned that I don’t have to choose between a deep dive into classic literature and a late-night journey with a missing cat. Both are essential for well-rounded readers. 

We’ll take a look at another one of my shelves soon.

Categories: Book Recommendations, Book Reviews, Books, ReadingTags: Best Penguin Classics, Book Recommendations, books, Bookshelf Aesthetic, Literary Canon and Contemporary Writers, Must-read Classics and Modern Fiction, reading, what to read next

I love sharing what I’ve learned about writing with everyone, and I’ve been enjoying sharing the process posts while I’ve been studying my own writing process in depth as I’m working on my latest novel. I also love sharing snippets from my historical research. 

This week, I wanted to share an author update since I feel like I haven’t done that here on the blog for some time. I send out monthly updates about my work in progress in my newsletter, along with life updates and ideas for creative inspiration. If you’re interested, you can sign up for my newsletter here. The newsletter is completely free and you can unsubscribe at any time.

The L.A. Dodgers Win the 2025 World Series!

Yes, I know this has nothing to do with my latest book or other news, but this is exciting for me. I’ve been a Dodger fan since 1978, and while they have been the best team in baseball for the past two years, we had a looong dry spell when being a Dodger fan was painful, though many of us stuck by our boys in blue. We’re now being rewarded for our undying loyalty.

Even if you’re not a Dodger fan, it was still an amazing, hold-your-breath kind of World Series. Hats off to the Toronto Blue Jays for playing such great baseball.

Latest on My Upcoming Book

The first question I get asked is: When is the book coming out? My answer is: I don’t yet have a release date for my upcoming book, but I’ll let you know as soon as I do. If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, you know that I’m terrible about guessing when books will be done. My best guess at this point is Spring 2026, but don’t hold me to that. I promise that when I have a date, you’ll be the first to know. 

The next question I get asked is: What is the book about? My answer is: This is one of those books that’s nearly impossible to talk about without major spoilers! What I can say right now is that it’s Dark Academia, as in it’s set on a university campus, it’s Gothic, complete with creepy mansion and thundering skies, and it’s a murder mystery. I was inspired with the idea after reading Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, though that’s all I can say about that. Again, spoilers! One teaser I can give you is that there is a huge secret underlying the story. I mean, it’s a monster of a secret. I mean, I think I’m going to have some kind of prize for readers who can guess what the secret is after they read the book, it’s that big.

I had a cover tease a few months ago, and I’m going to do another cover reveal early in 2026. 

In addition to the new novel, I’m working on some literary scholarship about my main man, Charles Dickens, though I don’t expect that to be ready for its close-up until late 2026. 

New Stories From Old Friends

For the past few weeks, I’ve been quietly adding new short stories from both the Loving Husband and the Hembry Castle worlds here on my website. I’m pleased to report that I now have three shorts—two from the Loving Husband world and one from Hembry Castle. 

Of the three shorts I have so far, I particularly like “Departures and Shadows,” about James Wentworth in his pre-Her Dear & Loving Husband days. When I first imagined James Wentworth, I thought of him less as a paranormal creature and more as a man burdened by time. Immortality for James isn’t a gift; instead, it’s a quiet tragedy. He has lived through centuries of wonder and horror, yet what haunts him most is the relentless solitude. “Departures and Shadows” explores a single experience in his long life when his desire to settle somewhere collides once again with the truth of what he is.

You can find all three short stories here on the website on the Extras pages for the Loving Husband Series and the Hembry Castle Chronicles. They are free to read and a gift to my wonderful readers. I’ve been having an amazing time bringing these short pieces to life while I explore these beloved characters from different angles. I have two more shorts I’m writing while my current #WIP rests in its second “baking stage.” The next short story from Hembry Castle will be told from Edward’s point of view, and the next short story from the Loving Husband world will be told from Sarah’s point of view. I hope you enjoy reading them. If you do, please let me know!

I’ll have another author update in January 2026. Happy reading!

Fans of the Loving Husband Series know that I’ve written about a vampire or two. Maybe three. Four? To be honest, I still don’t read anything bloody or violent since I’m not into the horror genre. I won’t go into how I came to write Her Dear & Loving Husband (it’s here if you’re interested), but come to write about vampires I did, and in the process I became fascinated with the history of the supernatural legend. 

In the dim corners of European folklore, the vampire was a revenant, a corpse that refused to stay still. The vampire was a story for the frightened and the faithful, and in a time before science could explain things, the vampire legend became a way to make sense of what could not be understood through reason. As time passed and superstition gave way to science and art, something remarkable happened–the vampire began to reflect not only our fears of death but also our fears of ourselves.

Romantic Era Vampires

The earliest literary vampires emerged from the Romantic imagination. John Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819) was written in the same ghost story contest that gave us Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Polidori’s vampire, Lord Ruthven, is not a creature of the grave but of the drawing room. Ruthven is a man of wit and appetite who devours not bodies, but souls. I’ve just read The Vampyre, and while it’s not heavy on vampire lore, it’s the first time we see vampires as aristocratic, elegant, and morally corrupt. In fact, Polidori based Ruthven on Lord Byron.

Varney the Vampire (1854), attributed to both James Malcolm Rymer and Thomas Peckett Prest, did more to shape our modern vision of vampires since many of our common vampire tropes began here. Varney has fangs. He has superhuman strength. I may have used that one myself once or twice–the superhuman strength, that is. Unlike James Wentworth and other vampires since Nosferatu, Varney can stand in the sunlight. Like James Wentworth, Varney despises his vampiric nature yet he is controlled by it. Carmilla (1872) by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu is the story of a young woman caught up in the charms of a vampire who appears to be a young woman herself. It’s a short read, but it’s a fascinating look into the hold that the supernatural are believed to have over humans. 

Dracula

When Bram Stoker published Dracula (1897), we received our best known vampire. Count Dracula is a symbol of everything the Victorians could not name aloud, such as the fear of the foreign, the allure of the forbidden, and the secret pulse of desire beneath a polished veneer. In Stoker’s hands, Dracula is both a predator and a reflection of our hidden selves. I read Dracula for the first time when I was writing Her Dear & Loving Husband and I loved it. I loved the way Stoker used an epistolary format of letters, articles, and shipping reports to tell the story. I loved the suave nature of Count Dracula himself. It’s easy to see how this novel added ammunition to a vampire craze that continues to this day. 

Moral Introspection

Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (1976) reimagined the undead as beings of immense sorrow, trapped by their conscience. Rice’s vampires contemplate eternity as a burden rather than a gift, and they are damned not for feeding on blood but for their endless capacity to feel. Rice’s vampires are philosophers of the dark, forever asking whether immortality absolves or condemns. I may have pulled a few ideas for my own vampires from Interview with the Vampire. 

Contemporary Vampires

In the 21st century, the vampire has splintered into countless interpretations—each a mirror held up to a different human anxiety. They wander through fiction, television, and film, sometimes monstrous, sometimes mundane. In Justin Cronin’s The Passage they embody the collapse of civilization. In Octavia E. Butler’s Fledgling they become a meditation on identity and belonging. The vampire has shed its aristocratic cape but not its shadow. What remains constant is the way the vampire invites us to question what it means to consume endure. Perhaps that’s why the vampire never fades. It is not only a monster but a symbol for the darkness that accompanies us.

In its long literary life, the vampire has moved from graveyard to conscience and from horror to heartbreak. What fascinates me the most is not the vampire’s thirst for blood. I’m more interested in the vampire’s struggle to find meaning in its endless existence. Beneath the darkness lies a yearning for a peace that never comes and a desire to make sense of their endless memories. Perhaps that’s why I write about them–not to chase the monster, but to listen for the echo of the human it once was and perhaps still longs to be. 

Happy Halloween!

Categories: Books, News, The Loving Husband Series, VampiresTags: Anne Rice, Bram Stoker, gothic literature, modern Gothic, Romanticism, symbolism in fiction, The Loving Husband Series, vampire books, vampire legends, vampires as metaphor

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The Loving Husband Trilogy Box Set will be a Kindle Countdown sale starting tomorrow, 10/15, on Amazon. If you have Kindle Unlimited, all three books are FREE until 11/16. This Halloween, surrender to the shadows of the paranormal with three novels, one Gothic romance, and many deadly secrets. The countdown begins at 99c and will rise to the trilogy’s normal price of $5.99 by 10/22. If you’ve been wanting to read all three books of the Loving Husband Trilogy, now is your chance.

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Every writer is different. Some people spend forty hours a week in an office or working from home. I happen to be in a school teaching high school English. I shared my daily routine as a working writer here.

So many people use having a job as an excuse not to write, claiming it’s too hard to find the time. The reality is that most writers have various streams of income and have to juggle many things in a day besides writing. I wrote 12 novels and edited a literary journal while working full time as an English teacher. Having a job isn’t an excuse not to write. It can be more challenging to find the time, certainly, but the time is there if you’re willing to put away the distractions to focus on what is really important to you. 

Most weeks, I find a few hours in the early evening after work when I can get some writing done. Even so, I look forward to the weekend as an opportunity to unwind as well as make some progress on my WIP. The weekend can be a great time to catch up, but there has to be a balance between writing and living our lives. 

It can be hard not to put a lot of pressure on myself to get a lot done over the weekend. I’ve learned the hard way that weekends are precious during the school year, and they’re not just for writing. They’re for me. I like to get some writing done, yes, but I also need to build in some fun time too. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made is treating the weekend like catch-up time, especially when I didn’t get a lot done during the week. They problem with that mindset is that it turns writing into a chore.

I’ve found it helpful to reframe my mindset. That’s true of so many things in life, isn’t it? So often it’s not the experience itself, but how we respond to it. I’ve come to think of the weekend as time to nurture my creativity as well as myself. As artists, we need to refill our creative wells. We can’t fill our story buckets from empty wells. Our creativity needs to be refilled as much as our word counts needs to grow. 

Morning

I usually run my errands on Saturday mornings, and I prefer to get everything done early so I have the rest of the day to myself. I go grocery shopping and finish whatever other errands need doing, and then I head to a favorite coffee shop. Then I come home and make breakfast.

After I give myself some time to enjoy a favorite TV program or two, I get writing. I don’t write all day, and I don’t write every weekend. Some weekends I’m just plain tired and need to rest, or I have other things planned. I love writing, but I still need to live my life. I don’t often do marathon sessions on the weekend. I write for two, three, sometimes four hours. I need to pace myself on Saturdays and Sundays. I’d rather get one solid hour of writing time than a full day of forced, half-hearted work. I’ve seen too many working writers go for eight-hour marathon sessions on the weekend and then burn themselves out. Not only do they fail in meeting their goals, but they’re hard on themselves for not achieving those goals.

Afternoon

I usually save my hobbies, like coloring or my reading journal, for weekend afternoons. I have more time to work on my reading journal on Sundays, for example, and I can take my time planning my spreads and searching my supply stash. I also use the time to watch TV and movies that I don’t get to during the week. I don’t watch much TV during the week because I’m either at work or writing, so weekends are when I watch whatever is hanging out on my TBW list. I love Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I’ve also been watching the latest season of The Great British Bake-Off. I went to see the final Downton Abbey movie, which surprises exactly zero people, I know. What is a week-end?

Evenings

My evening routine doesn’t change much on the weekend. I turn everything off, as in TV and computer, at about 7 pm, especially on Sundays when I have to go to work in the morning. I pull out my book and read for the rest of the night. It’s my way of winding down.

All of this is subject to change depending on where I am in the writing process. When I’m writing a first draft, I put in my 500 words and call it a day. When I’m in the flow, which is usually the third draft stage for me, I might write for several hours. If the words and ideas are coming, I don’t like to stop them. 

As with any routine, everything here is fluid. If I want to go to the movies, or to the park, or just sit on my little plant-filled patio, I can. That’s the joy of a weekend. I like getting some of my writing done during those two days, but I also like having space to relax. 

Over time, I’ve learned that my weekend routine isn’t about writing perfect pages or making massive progress on my word count. Weekends are about building a sustainable writing life. Writing is a marathon, not a sprint. I’ve learned to embrace the balance and ditch the guilt for not doing more. As a result, my weekends have become both productive and creative, as well as time to refill my well.

In Painting the Past: A Guide for Writing Historical Fiction, I waxed poetic about how I love to listen to music as a way to get into the mindset of my story while I’m writing. Sometimes I listen to whatever I want. Sometimes I listen to music inspired by the time or the mood I’m writing about. 

I’m currently immersed in my Dark Academia novel. Luckily for me, there are some wonderful options for creating playlists, especially on YouTube and Spotify, to get into the Dark Academia mood. Some of my choices for Dark Classical music are pieces I already have since I love classical music. 

When I sit down to write my novel, complete with a secret library, secret rituals, and competing scholars, the music allows me to slip easily into that world. As I’m listening, I’m transported to a dimly lit corridor, a Gothic mansion, or a cottage by the raging sea. Listening to music while I’m writing helps to evoke the right mood and gives my imagination cues about where to go.

Why a Playlist Helps

Music helps to immerse me in the world of my story.  If we want our readers to fall into our fictional worlds, we, the writers, must fall in first so we can lead the way. My Dark Academia playlist creates a doorway that leads me into that world. 

Dark Academia is about melancholy. It’s about music in minor keys with slow builds or unexpected dissonance. Having a go-to soundtrack makes it easier for me to slip into that mind space when I’m writing because when I hear the music, I know it’s time to get to work. Mainly, I love music because it helps me get the right emotions onto the page. 

My Dark Classical Playlist

When I listen to Dark Academia music, I love brooding strings and a minor-key piano. Here are some of my favorites.

Chopin, Nocturne in C-sharp Minor (melancholy)
Rachmaninoff, Prelude in C-sharp Minor (stormy crescendos)
Max Richter, On the Nature of Daylight (more melancholy; a lot by Richter will do for Dark Academia)
Arvo Part, Spiegel im Spiegel (meditative)
Clint Mansell, Lux Aeterna (dark intensity)
Agnes Obel, Riverside (ethereal vocals)
The Tallis Scholars Sing Thomas Tallis, Spem in alium (ethereal vocals)

Chant by the Benedictine monks of Santo Domingo de Silos (which I’ve had since 1994) also has some good Dark Academia vibes. I also love listening to movie soundtracks for their atmospheric effect. Some of my favorites are from the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice, the 2019 version of Little Women, Wolf Hall, and, of course, one of my all-time favorites, Harry Potter. 

YouTube Has Great Ambiance

There are some wonderful ambiance videos on YouTube that not only have Dark Academia music but also a matching scene to ponder. Here are some of my favorite ambiance videos with music.

Victorian House Private Library

The Winter Library

Mystical Winter Manor

Dark Classical Academia

You’re Writing Your Masterpiece

Dark Academia at the Ocean’s Edge

Dark Academia Piano and Cello

This is a very short list. You can find many more to choose from here. 

Spotify

If you prefer to listen only and don’t need the ambiance, here are two Spotify playlists I’ve been enjoying.

Dark Academia Writing Music This is a mostly instrumental collection of piano and strings.

Dark Academia Writing Music I love this one. It’s perfect for when I want to hear something with more intensity. 

For me, creating a playlist to write to is part of the fun of writing a novel. I know that we like to focus on what’s hard about writing, and it can be quite hard at times. But leaning into the fun things, like finding books about our topic, visiting places similar to our stories, listening to music that puts us in the time, place, and mood of our worlds, all of it can help make the writing process more interesting, and dare I say fun. Writing should be something that we look forward to getting back to. Music is one of my own personal doorways into creativity. 

Think about what music you might listen to along your journey. What songs or playlists will carry you into the world of your story?

Over the years, I’ve become more of a pantster (someone who flies by the seat of my pants) instead of a plotter (someone who writes out a detailed plot outline). I’m not entirely sure why the change happened. Maybe I simply learned to trust my own writing process. Maybe I realized that most of my carefully written plot outlines ended up going out with the virtual trash when the characters began doing things their own way, which they always do. 

When I started my current WIP, I began in my usual pantser manner. I started with a vague idea of the story I wanted to tell and wrote my first draft. This time, however, when my first draft was finished, I wasn’t any closer to understanding the story. The characters weren’t speaking to me. I was pushing them around on the chessboard of my story, but I wasn’t sure of my next move. When I’m in the flow of writing, my characters tell me where they want to go. Woo woo, I know, but it’s true. 

As a writer, I love the thrill of the unknown. I love the joy of watching my characters surprise me. I love letting the narrative unfold organically. Even though I’ve come to thrive on spontaneous magic and organic discoveries, I realized that I needed a chapter outline for my WIP after I finished the first draft. Instead of thinking of the outline as a cage, I thought of it as a roadmap to a better story.

As a pantser, I’m in my element when I’m writing a first draft. The words flow (or stumble–usually they stumble), and the characters come alive. Ideas flow, plot twists emerge, and I feel as if I’m uncovering a hidden world, my hidden world, with every sentence. 

Creative Detours

When I pants-only I tend to wander off the main plot. Almost always there are pacing issues. When I began this WIP, I knew the beginning and the end, but the middle was a soggy-bottomed mess. There were loose ends since I had a lot of ideas but I wasn’t sure how to see them through. For every story I write in a new world, at some point I hit a brick wall. I sit at my computer ready to write, and I have no idea what words to put on the page because I’m not sure what’s supposed to happen. 

Writing a Post-Draft Outline

I’ve learned the benefits of writing a post-draft chapter outline. I’ve already had my fun exploring the wild landscapes of my current world and written down the raw story. Next, it’s time to see what I built.

I found that the outline helped me make sense of all of the balls (plot, theme, character, mystery, etc.) I had in the air. Some of the balls I let drop because they didn’t add anything important to the story. The balls that made sense I worked through the narrative. Through the chapter outline, I was able to trace my characters’ journeys. Are they growing? Are they changing? Are their motivations clear? Are their actions consistent?

Preparing for Revision with Precision 

Instead of tackling a massive manuscript with vague ideas of what needed fixing, my post-draft outline provided a clear roadmap for my revisions. I could see at a glance exactly which chapters needed beefing up, which needed trimming, where character development was required, and where new scenes might be necessary and others could be deleted.

Read Your Manuscript Critically 

One of the most important skills a writer can develop is the ability to see what works and what doesn’t. When I teach my writing students about reading their work critically, I don’t mean that they need to trash everything because all of it sucks eggs. I mean they need to develop the ability to recognize what works and what doesn’t. Then you need to fix what doesn’t work. Take a step back and read your first draft as if you’re a reader who has never seen that story before. Be honest with yourself.

Go through your manuscript, chapter by chapter, and write a summary of the key events, character actions, and emotional beats of each chapter. Don’t judge at this point. Just document. Ideas beget ideas beget ideas, and you need a lot of ideas to tell a good story. 

Identify the Core Plot Points

Next, I mark the major turning points in the story. Does the story progress logically? Are there pacing issues? Based on that analysis, I make notes about what needs to change in specific chapters. This might include shifting events or developing character motivations. Often, this is the point where I begin to see the themes, and then I have to add tidbits of those themes into earlier chapters. The post-draft outline became my saving grace as I muddled through my second draft. Having the outline showed me what I needed to accomplish in each chapter in order to keep the story moving. I still did my fair share of pantsing and discovering the story organically, but the outline helped me discover what I was lacking. 

I can still embrace the unpredictable magic of discovery and allow the organic ideas to flow. But when pantsing left me struggling to see my story from beginning to end, it was time to bring in some strategic planning. If you were to ask me if I were a plotter or a pantster, I’d have to say I’m both. Probably most writers are. 

Categories: Creative Writing, Writing, Writing InspirationTags: creative writing, creative writing inspiration, how to write fiction, plotter v. pantster, writing, writing a chapter outline, writing inspiration, writing tips

Where is My Story Hiding?

Every writer knows the moment when the glitter of a new idea has dulled and your story feels like it might be an unsalvageable mess. You start to wonder if you should put it aside for now, or maybe forever. I’m writing from experience because that’s where I was with my current WIP just a few weeks ago. After working on the novel for a year (I began the first draft in September 2024) I felt like I was going nowhere fast.

I was completely fed up with the story. I had gone back and forth between first and third person narration so many times that I was confusing myself. Without a settled point of view, I had no idea of the story’s structure so I was writing scenes with no sense of how they might fit into the overall story. While I was wresting with the mystery that is the heart of the story, I was fiddling around with ideas for the next novel I want to write, which is set in a world I’ve already written, making that story much easier to write than my WIP, which is set in a new world. I already knew the title of the second novel, and I had decided on the general premise a long time ago. All of this meant that the second novel was coming together easier than my WIP. I decided on a whim that I would put the mystery aside and focus on this other idea. I even considered how I would write the blog post explaining that for the first time in my career I was putting a book aside because I couldn’t see how to go forward. 

By the way, there is nothing wrong with setting one story aside to work on another if the second one is calling you with more intensity. Many writers do this. We need to write the story that is tugging at our brains and begging to be released, and sometimes that’s not the story we originally sat down to write. 

For reasons known only to my Muse, once I decided that I wasn’t going to write the mystery anymore, the mystery became clear. Go figure. I worked my way through the rough spots by trying some test runs, writing several scenes in both first person and third person, and I decided that first person was the way to go because it gave me the depth of character that I’m looking for. I was also finally able to plot how the mystery would come together step by step. I finally knew what clues and red herrings would be planted throughout the story. It took long enough, but better late than never.

I have this problem whenever I write a story set in a new world. It’s as if I have to learn how to construct a story all over again. When I begin a new project, I always begin with a burst of excitement. When I’m heading toward the end, I’m filled with a surge of momentum that pushes me through. It’s always the middle moments of writing a project that weighs me down, you know, the swampy, uncertain middle when I have a sense of the story I want to tell but I’m not sure how to pull it off, where things feel so hard and I’m certain it’s time to give up. 

Think Smaller, Not Bigger

One of the things weighing me down in my WIP is that I have a lot of ideas for themes and story arcs and I was trying to do too much. I had to back away from the big picture and focus on telling a good story. Instead of thinking “I’m writing a mystery novel” I narrowed my daily goal to writing one scene. Anne Lamott calls this writing what you can see through a one-inch picture frame. Sometimes that picture frame might contain a single scene or even a single paragraph. Shrinking the scope makes the work less overwhelming and reminds you that progress happens one word at a time.

Remember Your Why

This was a big one for me when I was ready to give up on my WIP. Why did I begin this project to begin with? I had the idea for this mystery for more than a year before I started writing it. I finished And Shadows Will Fall and The Swirl and Swing of Words first, and I was so excited after I finished SSW because it meant I could finally begin work on this Dark Academia mystery I had so much on my mind. 

Reconnecting with that spark was important to me. I journaled a bit about why I wanted to write this book in the first place, so that helped me find my motivation again. If you’re not into journaling you can keep a sticky note with your why in plain sight, even stuck to your computer, for those days when the urge to quit yells in your ear.

Change Your Approach

Once I understood that this was going to be a first person narrative written by the character looking back on his experiences at this strange college in coastal Maine, everything else fell into place. I had tried writing in third person limited, then first person point of view where the character told his story in letters. One day, out of frustration, I grabbed a pencil and my notebook and started free writing about the college from the character’s point of view. Interestingly, that became the beginning of the story. Just letting myself write without any expectations freed my brain enough to allow me to find his voice, and the beginning of the story.

If you’re hitting a wall as I was, you may need to try a new way forward. Try changing your point of view. Try outlining the next few chapters, writing scenes out of order, or switching from typing to handwriting. A small change can shake loose creativity that’s stuck.

Give Yourself Permission to Write Badly

I’ve spoken about this one many times, and I’m sure I’ll talk about it many times more. Natalie Goldberg said that we should allow ourselves to write the worst junk in the world, and this is the most true writing advice I’ve heard. As writers, we need the freedom to put one word after the next without being overwhelmed by that annoying old scrunch-faced editor in our head. 

Perfectionism is such a creativity killer. We have to accept that our drafts are going to be imperfect. If we feel paralyzed by perfectionism, we’ll never write another word. You can’t fix what isn’t written, so give yourself the freedom to write something flawed and then polish it later. Jodi Picoult said, “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” 

I’ve seen so many posts and videos about “How To Write a Book in 30 Days!” If that works for you, well done, you. I take anywhere from one to two years to write a book, especially one set in a new world. I’ve been working on my WIP for a year, and I’m only now feeling like I have a handle on the story. The book takes as long as it takes.

There’s no expiration date on our writing projects. We can work slowly, take breaks, and struggle along the way. The only way we fail is if we stop making progress. By showing up, by writing, by journaling when the story isn’t coming together, I finally discovered what I needed to bring this story to life. There’a a lot I’m still figuring out, but at least I feel like I know the frame of the story, which I didn’t before. When we’re writing a book, every finished page is a victory. Writing a novel is hard. It’s fun, but it’s hard.

I wish I were the kind of writer who could see the right way to tell a story from the beginning but I’m not. I have to try on different hats, different scarves, and different voices before I find the ones that match each new project. And that takes time.

I hope you’ve been enjoying these process posts. They are fascinating for me to write as I examine my own writing process in depth while I’m working my way through a new project. 

Categories: Creative Writing, Writing, Writing InspirationTags: creative writing, creative writing inspiration, writing, writing inspiration, writing tips

I’ve made no secret of the fact that autumn is my favorite time of year. After a rough summer of 100+ degree heat, the cooler weather and pretty-colored trees in my neighborhood are a welcome relief. While we’re not quite in autumn yet in Southern Nevada, even 89 degrees Fahrenheit feels cooler after such hot days. The trees won’t turn until October, but when they do, they bring a little New England splendor to the Las Vegas valley.

There’s something magical about autumn that makes it the perfect season for reading. To be fair, I probably say that about every season. The crisper air and cozy blankets are wonderful excuses to curl up with a good book and a cup of tea. 

Whether you’re drawn to classic tales, eerie mysteries, or beautifully written literary fiction, autumn invites us to slow down and get lost in a story. Here’s my ultimate autumn reading list, a mix of comfort, mystery, nostalgia, and a touch of the uncanny. 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

There’s no way I would begin any autumn reading list without naming one of my all-time favorites. 

I wrote here and here about how much I love the Dark Academia genre. This Dark Academia classic is practically the patron saint of autumn reads, especially since it begins with a new school term in autumn. Set on a picturesque New England college campus, The Secret History is about a group of Classics students who murder and then have to deal with the repercussions in a way that plays out like the Greek tragedies they study. 

That’s not a spoiler, by the way. This book is an inverse murder because we begin by learning who was murdered and who murdered him. The suspense comes from seeing how it all played out. 

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Anne of Green Gables is one of my all-time favorites and I reread it every autumn. Of course, one of my all-time favorite autumn quotes– “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers”–is from this book. Few characters embrace the changing seasons with as much passion as Anne Shirley, and her love for autumn is downright contagious. Her story has darker moments, which is why her gratitude for the small things is such an important lesson. Anne’s appreciation for everything that is beautiful in life is a good reminder to savor the little things. 

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I read Rebecca for the first time last year and I was completely engrossed by this Gothic suspense story. Rebecca has one of the most famous first lines in English literature–“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” Enter Manderley if you dare. Manderley, an English country house, is thick with secrets and the second Mrs. de Winter can’t escape the ghost of the wife who came before her.

One aspect of Rebecca I particularly loved is how the second Mrs. deWinter creates a whole story in her head about the events around her, but the reality is very different. That’s how things happen in real life, isn’t it? We project our own feelings onto what we see and often interpret things incorrectly. Or maybe that’s just me. 

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Of course, I have to have my witchy reading in the autumn. For those craving witchy vibes and sisterhood, this novel is a modern classic. With generations of Owens women and a hint of spellcraft, it’s an enchanting companion for the season of long shadows and falling leaves. I reread this one every few years as Halloween approaches. The movie is good too. 

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Austen’s playful take on Gothic tropes is a delight. Northanger Abbey is witty, charming, and full of subtle satire with Austen’s commentary on the excesses of Gothic fiction. Catherine Morland is our main character, and her overactive imagination is fueled by sensational novels and the shadowy corridors of Northanger Abbey. A cozy coming-of-age story as well as a literary spoof, Northanger Abbey is an invitation to indulge in autumn’s darker mood while laughing at its more melodramatic extremes. But then I love anything by Jane Austen. 

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Often called the first English detective novel, The Moonstone offers everything I love about reading mysteries in autumn. The story includes a cursed jewel, a country estate, unreliable narrators, and secrets waiting to be uncovered. 

This is the first Wilkie Collins novel I’ve read. I knew that Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins were friends, but I was surprised at the similarity in their narrative styles. Collins, like Dickens, is laugh out loud funny. His portrayal of the various narrators is wonderful, and my favorite is the butler Betteredge. Some of the things Betteredge says are outrageous by today’s standards but he’s so funny I forgive him. I’ll forgive you almost anything if you can make me laugh. The characters attempt to discover what became of the Moonstone, an extremely valuable gem stolen by a British soldier while he was in India. I was impressed that, though it may not have been his intention, Collins makes a strong point about colonization and the stealing of treasures from other cultures. I haven’t yet read Collins’ The Woman in White, which is also a mystery, but I recently bought a copy from Barnes and Noble and I’ll be reading it soon. 

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Autumn, especially around Halloween, is the ideal time to explore themes of duality, morality, and the shadows that dwell within us all. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde dives into the darkness of the human psyche. Its foggy London setting and eerie transformation scenes make it a classic Gothic horror tale that feels particularly resonant this time of year. I’ve just read Jekyll and Hyde for the first time, and I’m sorry I waited so long to read it. It really is a fascinating tale. 

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

For me, there is no novel more synonymous with autumnal bleakness than Wuthering Heights. With its wild moorland setting, tempestuous love, and themes of revenge, Brontë’s novel practically howls with the wind. The characters are as untamed as the landscape, and the story feels deeply rooted in the decaying beauty of autumn. 

I’m going to be 100% honest and admit that I hated Wuthering Heights the first time I read it and I had to push myself to finish it. While I understood Healthcliff’s anger, his extraordinary need for revenge was too harsh for me, so whatever sympathy I might have had for him was gone. I had read that Wuthering Heights is the ultimate love story, and as I was reading I thought, well, if this is what people think love looks like then no wonder there are so many broken marriages. 

When I read it a second time, while I still had no love for Cathy or Heathcliff, I was able to appreciate Brontë’s descriptive prose and the wind-swept setting of the moors. I’ll never love this book, but I appreciate it, and it’s perfect for autumn. 

Middlemarch by George Eliot

Autumn can also be a time of turning inward and examining life’s larger questions. Middlemarch is a novel of sweeping ambition set in an 1830s English provincial town that looks deeply into the inner lives of its inhabitants. I was spellbound by Eliot’s story and I felt as if I were visiting the town of Middlemarch myself. I was particularly fond of Dorothea Brooke, who wants to be of some use to the world, something that wasn’t easy for women of her time. 

Reading Middlemarch is the literary equivalent of taking a long walk through fallen leaves and realizing how much everything is changing. It’s a slow paced novel, but that’s okay for long autumn evenings when curling up with a good book is the best thing to do. The BBC adaptation of Middlemarch is wonderful. It’s available in the US on Britbox. 

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I love this nod to stories and libraries. Zafon’s books have a distinctly Gothic vibe that make them perfect for autumn. Zafon is at his best when he describes the sense of gloom and mystery that pervades post-war Barcelona. Images of damp cobblestones, narrow alleys, and a persistent fog hanging over the city add to the Gothic charm. I also loved Zafon’s Marina. Some of his books are more young adult than others, but both of these are great choices for adults.

Hallowe’en Town by Agatha Christie

Really, anything by Christie is great for autumn. Who doesn’t love to curl up with a great detective novel as the cooler weather sets in? In this Poirot novel, the scene is set with cobblestone streets, crooked fences, and looming trees, all perfectly autumn. The Halloween party where our victim is murdered alone is worth the read.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Have I said how much I love this book? The Night Circus is a 10-star book for me.

Beginning with the circus itself, with its color scheme of black, white, and gray, there are a number of rich sensory details that feel quite autumn. The scent of caramel popcorn and bonfires, the crunch of gravel underfoot, and the feel of the cool night air all help to bring the story to life. Exploring the hidden tents and discovering their magical secrets makes this book a perfect way to get lost by a fire on a dark evening.

Edgar Allan Poe

Pretty much anything from Poe is wonderful this time of year. He is the master of suspense and Gothic settings, after all.  

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” is one of the creepiest stories I’ve read. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve only just started reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle so I can’t rate it yet. I can say that already on the first page the dark, Gothic atmosphere is set. I like what I’ve read enough that I’ve already bought Jackson’s Haunting at Hill House.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

If you only know Frankenstein by the green, square-faced monster from the 1930s film, then you’re in for a treat. No one does a better job at setting a dark, mysterious, haunting mood than Shelley. Dr. Frankenstein becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life, but he gets more than he bargained for when his creature does indeed begin living. The story makes us consider who is more human–the doctor or his creature? I’ve taught Frankenstein to 15-year-olds, and every year many of them tell me that it’s their favorite book that they’ve ever read. Need I say more?

Dracula by Bram Stoker

If you love vampire stories, then reading this most famous one is a must. If you like classic vampires, you might also check out Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, about a young woman caught in the snare of a vampire who appears to be herself a young woman. I read Carmilla earlier this year and I liked it. It’s short, the pace moves briskly, and it’s a good example of how vampires lure humans into their traps. I recently downloaded The Vampyre by John William Polidori. The story grew out of the same ghost story contest that prompted Shelley to write Frankenstein. I haven’t read The Vampyre yet; I’m saving it for October.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I waxed poetic about this book in my guide to Dark Academia. It’s a long, sink-your-teeth-into story about magicians in early 19th-century England, but it’s so much more than that. It’s an entire world unto itself. It’s long at about 900 pages, but it’s worth every one of those 280,000 words to tell this brilliant, dark, and still funny story. This is another 10-star book for me.

Reading in autumn can be a seasonal aesthetic where we choose books that help us to enjoy the season even more. Sometimes I’m drawn to eerie transformations. Sometimes I’m drawn to brooding romances or puzzling mysteries. Sometimes I just want a good story with characters I’ll follow anywhere. I love pulling on my warmest sweater, turning on my electric fireplace, lighting a candle, and losing myself in a story that suits my favorite season.

Categories: Book Recommendations, Book Reviews, Books, Reading, Reading InspirationTags: autumn reads, books about witches, cozy fall books, fall reading list, fall reading list ideas, Reading Inspiration, reading recommendations, what to read this autumn