Librarians, how I love thee! I spent Friday afternoon at the Hilton Harrisburg for the annual PSLA Conference. No, I'm not a Pennsylvania School Librarian, but I do know a few of them, and so I went to participate as a local author on the vending floor. What a delightful day! And back to my [...]
Any artist will tell you the key to progressing in an artistic endeavor is consistency. This applies to painting, drawing, digital art, music composition, and yes, writing. Maybe especially writing. It should come as a surprise to exactly no one that, six months ago, I was deep in a writer's block. It wasn't that I [...]
Every year I do a quick summary of what I've accomplished in my writing career and sometimes what I've accomplished in life. It's a great way to look back and realize I actually *have* been pretty busy, no, I *wasn't* slacking as much as I thought, and hey, this year wasn't so bad. (Covid and [...]
How do you sum up a weekend adventure that had approximately 865,342 high points? I'm not sure I can, but I'll at least attempt to highlight a few moments that made my time at the #UCIJretreat2021 amazing and memorable and oh-so-worth-it. (That's Unforgettable Characters & Incredible Journeys, in case you were wondering.) A few months [...]
Sometimes the writing journey is nothing more than a measure of how much you believe in you. Friends, I believe in you. Keep going.
I head one of the local SCBWI critique groups in my county for Young Adult and Middle Grade authors and, friends, I must confess I feel a little guilty. Sometimes, this group seems like the L. Ryan Storms writing self-improvement hour. I get SO. MUCH. from my dear friends and our talks about what elements [...]
I shoot some stats just about every year, mostly to prove to myself that, yes, I *am* actually moving forward in this thing called a writing career. Given the craziness of 2020 all around, *I* wouldn't even blame me if I'd chosen to fall off the face of the earth, or hide under a blanket [...]
Every writer knows one of the very best feelings in the world is the moment a shiny, new idea takes shape in your head, and you can't shake it. And when that shiny, new idea involves collaborating with your 14-year-old kiddo, it's even better. A few months ago, my very artistic and talented daughter had [...]
Gonna talk about something I've noticed frequently among my friends. A serious lack of self-confidence. This doesn't apply to all of my friends, of course. (In fact, some of them could probably use at least a thimbleful or two of humility.) But when it comes to my girlfriends in particular, I see a pattern of [...]
This month, in my Twitter-Friend Book Review, I chose Katrina Ariel’s Wild Horse Heart. I first glimpsed this book when Katrina and I became friends on Twitter and I was lucky enough to read some of her other work as a critique partner long ago. Since I already knew I enjoyed her writing, I bought [...]
L. Ryan Storms 