Written by couns22cMay 29, 2023May 29, 2023

Writer’s Block, Laziness, and Perseverance in Writing: How to Gentle Parent Yourself into Writing Again

Lately I feel as though I have come to a catastrophic full stop in my fantasy writing. Like, I’m here doing this (the blog), but what of aCATemy, which I was “supposed to” write in April? What of Magic Princess Academy, which I can’t seem to figure out how to revise? What of that new shiny cozy fantasy I want to write but haven’t written more than a chapter of, with a monster hunter who gives up hunting to protect two cerberi puppies? I think…

Written by couns22cApril 18, 2023April 18, 2023

Seasonal PSAs and a Recipe

It’s only mid-April, but Northampton experienced an inconceivable heat wave last weekend. Highs of 90 Fahrenheit, which is absolutely unacceptable, imo. But it inspired me to remind myself (and others) to prepare for warmer weather…

Written by couns22cMarch 31, 2023March 31, 2023

The Market Always Has Room for New Artists

When I think of the start of my artistic journey, I think of greeting cards. I was probably five or six, literate, but writing only with tremendous difficulty. My mom would …

Written by couns22cMarch 5, 2023March 5, 2023

12 Cozy Fantasy Books to Get You Through the Long Dark Winter

In the last few years, I’ve been absolutely obsessed with finding fantasy books that make me feel warm, happy, and safe–like a hug from a good friend. I think I’ve always been the sort of person who wants fiction to tie up in a nice little bow, where all the threads are resolved, where everyone gets a HEA (happily ever after) or a HFN (happily for now), and where nothing particularly bad happens…

Written by couns22cFebruary 14, 2023April 13, 2023

The Invisible Costs of Social Media: How it Harms Writers

In my more recent blog posts, I mentioned feeling burned out and wanting to defragment my brain. This is probably relatable to most people at this point, what with an ongoing global pandemic and all. But because it’s “new year new me” season, I’ve been trying to think of ways to get back into writing while also cutting down on distractions…

Written by couns22cJanuary 11, 2023January 11, 2023

Year in Review – 2022

Hello everyone! Where we last left off following the adventures of Chelsea Counsell, American Wizard, we found her vomiting and feeling sorry for herself… So what happened in the rest of 2022?

Written by couns22cApril 18, 2022

A pause in the constant creation machine: How rest is necessary to create

Writing under capitalism is not a delectable treat. Heck, even existing under capitalism is the opposite of the bee’s knees. American society pushes hustle culture in a way that is non sustainable and actively harmful toward its citizens. I’ve literally seen job listings recommending that their applicants stay on call through what are supposed to […]

Written by couns22cFebruary 20, 2022February 20, 2022

How to Find an Agent: Utilizing Meta Tags and Twitter Advanced Search to Kick Querying’s Butt

In November of 2020, I queried twenty-two agents, and was so emotionally smashed by the process that I didn’t query again until November of 2021. For me, querying was disorienting, disheartening, and often felt like yelling into the void of a stranger’s inbox…

Written by couns22cFebruary 7, 2022February 15, 2022

How to figure out what you love so that you can write what you love

In a perfect world, writing what you love would be easy. You’d dig deep into your heartsong and out on the page would come, you know, your heartsong—the most passionate, authentic literary expression you could muster. But we don’t live in that perfect world, and when…

Written by couns22cJanuary 20, 2022January 20, 2022

Showing vs. telling: When is it appropriate to tell rather than show?

In writing, “show, don’t tell” is a frequently touted maxim, probably because the CIA pushed it into prestigious writing communities like the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and the Paris Review, and they, in turn, spread it as an unbreakable literary law. But unless you only want…