Sharing a writer’s life with good reads, writing updates, and daily life.
Latest from the Blog
- Preptober
How many of you started hitting the keys or picked up your pen again on the 1st of October? I’m happy to report that my prep work has begun. I know my posts have been quiet, but it’s for a good reason. I’ve been busy writing.
A story that was once several different stories that stopped and started merged into one. Never quitting after a block meant that those terrible first drafts actually improved over time. Progress and growth are good things to see as the months pass.
I’m writing to tell you that stopping a story or switching to another project is okay. Setting work aside isn’t a crime because some stories need more time to ripen. All those pieces that felt broken or like a dead end turned into a new genre. I’ve started to dip my toes into fantasy with some romantasy.
Why have a story with ordinary kingdoms when you can add extra human abilities and fantastical creatures? Let’s just say I’ve watched too many Harry Potter-style and werewolf movies this fall.
How far will I get? I don’t know. This year, I’m not going to obsess over page count. I’m just going to see where the pages take me. During Preptober, I will be playing with the direction of the story and a few alternate chapters to see which ones turn out the strongest. But I do know that I want my new novel to stand on its own without relying only on romance. I want the characters to feel so real that I’m crying my eyes out over the keyboard or laughing at what they say on the pages. That’s how you know a reader will connect with their personalities and that I’ve developed them enough.
My characters should also be hard to kill. What do I mean? If one of them ends up dying, then it should be painful as a writer because I don’t want to let them go. The same is true once a villain is defeated by the hero. I should rejoice with the characters. So, if some of you are wondering about my writing process, you can guess that it might get emotional. Crying over the keyboard is nothing new for me, and neither is furious typing when I feel their anger.
My rule is that if I can’t connect with my characters, then why would I expect anyone else to feel the same? It’s like you have to go to another place as a writer, and it can be exhausting if you’re doing it right. Feeling the ups and downs of your characters can take a lot out of you, but it’s worth it in the end.
As for my goals, I’m hoping to have the bare bones of a novel by the end of the year. My Preptober might feel like a never-ending story, but I still feel the calling. I’m also thinking of going the traditional route of publishing with this novel, which will extend the timeline, but that’s okay. Past experience has made me more patient and less intimidated.
I hope everyone finds their story this fall and has a lifelong writing journey so that our bookstores stay full. I’ll be busy at my keys.
Until next time, write silly if you find that you can’t write anything at all!
Imagine Inspire Create: 52 Weeks of action and gratitude is available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S6XCLFY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_Q7MHM9CFBSASDG56YMJQ
Get closer to your writing goals with my Writer’s Journal filled with writing prompts and exercises. You can find a copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0931QRL7C/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_VTHN0QSHXRYK6RJ1XSWQ.
Yoon Ju
- Country Life
This weekend the husband and I drove out of the Twin Cities, and across the border to a small town in Wisconsin to visit my parents. A weekend away after a busy month of May sounded good. The suitcase was packed one more time.
Instead of seeing the flat lands heading to Des Moines, Iowa like last weekend, were headed toward one of my favorite drives into Wisconsin. I think it’s the hills, trees, and different farms that make it more interesting. Farms and houses are sprinkled between country roads with horses, cows, and goats. Dairy farms sit next to fields of corn or soy beans. It doesn’t feel like your a flat earther the car climbs up and over the hills. Flat earth would be boring.
My body relaxed as I wound around the familiar country roads. My eyes perked with curiosity as I spotted a few new houses. Fewer empty land lots as more of us try to escape city life. Could I see myself out in the country all year round? Well, I could do without the bumper to bumper traffic, summer construction, and busier everything with school out. But winters might feel too long and a trip to the local coffee shop might not exist.
Despite being a homebody, I still need some human interaction. I also don’t want to drive for an hour to get to my favorite restaurant or book store. Book stores with coffee are a plus. So, I still need city life with weekend getaways.
Don’t worry, there was some excitement in the country. We went to the local creamery in the next town over. They had cheese wedge stress balls, chocolate cow pies, cow pattern everything and of course, fresh cheese curds. You gotta have cheese curds in Wisconsin.
Our late night table was filled with treats and cards as we gathered around the table. The limit was about 3 rounds of cards. The joke was that the losers have to go sleep in the barn. I guess I felt sorry for my husband because he snored away next to me.
Did I mention the milk trucks? My husband is an early riser and he heard milk trucks go past at 7:00 in the morning. I was dead to the world and dreaming. The only drawback was that my parents live on a busier county road.
Traffic picked up as soon as school let out and more people exit the city for a road trip of their own. Sometimes, there are tractors moving past on the side of the road to go plow or harvest their fields. So, it’s not completely quiet.
Before the car noise picked up this morning, I stood on the front deck and closed my eyes in the sun for a quick pause. No one was there to witness or comment on the moment. I can’t even see their neighbors with all the trees and hills around them.
Walking around their yard, I think I found a perfect reading nook in a front yard tree. One long branch stretches out close to the ground and waits for a country cat to come sit in the shade. A lazy day in the shade surrounded by the sound of nature sounded good. Then, a car engines killed the moment. Someone sounded like they needed a trip to their local mechanic.
Before I baked away in the sun, I retreated back into the cool house. The sound buffer between me and the cars on the country road was back.
What did the afternoon look like? Well, I think the husband was napping across form me as I typed this post. Let the light to heavy snores begin. The best part is when the sounds gets so loud that he suddenly wakes himself up. I think it’s the look of confusion on his face at that moment that gets me.
Ever lay wide awake next to someone going hard on their snores and want to give them a shove? I tell myself that it’s not very nice to do but it’s tempting.
Well, I should get going before I get carried away with invasive thoughts. Until next time, keep writing!
Imagine Inspire Create: 52 Weeks of action and gratitude is available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S6XCLFY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_Q7MHM9CFBSASDG56YMJQ
Get closer to your writing goals with my Writer’s Journal filled with writing prompts and exercises. You can find a copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0931QRL7C/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_VTHN0QSHXRYK6RJ1XSWQ.
Yoon Ju
- Next…
The halfway point of the year is here and I feel like I’m standing at a new point. A starting point that lead to cleaning out my closet and filling donation bags. I feel the rush of a fresh beginning. There are multiple directions that I can take and that may lead to walking in a few circles but that’s okay.
I asks myself, “where do I see myself right now?” The answer? I see myself sitting in some hidden corner under the sun sketching and writing in my blank journal. When I don’t feel like drawing our words, then real ones will fill the pages. No more fighting between my muses. Both are prompts because pictures can capture what words cannot, and vice versa. There’s a reason I’m also a Pinterest queen. My hunger for words and edible scenery is insatiable.
During the winter, I flooded my muses with audio books and books filled with paper. I lost myself in the stories of other writers while my own keyboard slumbered. I didn’t panic because I know the words are there. It’s okay to let them rest without guilt. As long as my eyes and ears are kept busy, I’m content.
While I sculpt with my hands, my writing muses wait quietly in the shadows until it’s their turn. It’s a learned skill to be able to call up your muses instead of them impatiently calling you. Maybe it’s a change in perspective. I tell myself that I’m in charge of my emotions not the other way around.
Am I growing as I get older? Am I getting wiser? I don’t know. Sometimes, I still feel like a child trying to figure out if growing up is worth it. I mean, I didn’t sign up for this thing called bills and adult responsibility. Why can’t we go out and play all day?
Maybe that’s why I traveling away from my home environment is on my mind. I need a break from all things familiar. Room to stretch, like a cat after a long nap. I want something new. Different sights, sounds, and smells. If I end up in circles, it’s because of Google Maps not some internal sense of feeling lost.
So what if I get lost. Sometimes, I need to get lost in order to find out where I am. Yes, as an adult I intentionally tell myself to get lost when I feel stuck on a project. Anything to get me out of the mindset that got me into a roadblock.
Well, this is where I’m at right now. Waiting for direction. I’ll let you know where I got lost next. Until next time! Stay hungry out there!
Imagine Inspire Create: 52 Weeks of action and gratitude is available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S6XCLFY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_Q7MHM9CFBSASDG56YMJQ
Get closer to your writing goals with my Writer’s Journal filled with writing prompts and exercises. You can find a copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0931QRL7C/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_VTHN0QSHXRYK6RJ1XSWQ.
Yoon Ju
- Junk Journaling
The celebration bubbles have burst and a new year has begun. I’m not sure how I feel about the start of 2026 up here in Minnesota. Without hitting my own nerves, it feels strange to carry around my passport with me as a precaution or having to rehearse the phrase, “I am a US citizen in my mind before I head out the day.” But it’s happened.
Let’s just say it. I am someone blessed with color. The odd thing is I’m paler than most people up here. Does that even make sense? Well, scenarios have played out in my head because I have a writer’s mind. Would telling an officer if I get pulled over that I can’t come in for questioning because my crock pot is on at home be enough of a reminder as to why some things are ridiculous.
I grew up here and I do use my crock pot at least once or twice a week. When I certain words come out of my mouth, I do sound like I belong in the movie Fargo. I also look up hot dish recipes. Having grown up in the suburbs, my life looked like the blanket of snow outside my window. Of course, now I find that statement sad but it’s the truth.
And should someone really have to sound or look like a character from Fargo up here? How many people who look like most of the characters in that movie are carrying around their passport right now or rehearsing certain phrases just in case?
How am I handling everything up here? Well, I’m not letting it stop me. Before things grew to national coverage, I was already struggling. I feel stuck on a never ending story but I’m still typing something and taking tidbits from other writers that I follow. My magician’s bag of prompts have helped me with my writing and my artwork.
I’ve added a new trick to my magic bag this year and it’s been keeping me consistent. My new way of prompting is junk journaling. Yes, I am using stickers, paper scraps and whatever else I can tape into a blank journal to get my brain stimulated again. I don’t worry about full sentences, grammar or making things pretty. I focus on filling up the pages with whatever catches my fancy. I have to say, this method filled up blank pages than trying to come up with some brilliant phrase.
So, if your brain is off to a sluggish start this year, then junk journal. Get out stickers, scrap paper, cocktail napkins, or whatever you can tape down into a blank journal to get your brain working again. Sometimes, it’s not about deep meaning or the perfect sentence. It’s about movement and action.
Sometimes, we need a new kind of escape to get inspired. Let’s just hope my escape is only about art and filling pages up here. Until next time, junk journal away. Stay safe out there!
Imagine Inspire Create: 52 Weeks of action and gratitude is available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S6XCLFY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_Q7MHM9CFBSASDG56YMJQ
Get closer to your writing goals with my Writer’s Journal filled with writing prompts and exercises. You can find a copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0931QRL7C/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_VTHN0QSHXRYK6RJ1XSWQ.
Yoon Ju
- Cozy Reading
To all my readers and writers out there, I know it’s been a while since you’ve seem my words on the pages but I’ve busy. My fingers have been busy keeping up with art and craft shows and holding up the pages of some cozy reading.
One of my goals this year was to read or listen to more audio books to fall into the worlds of other writers. I wanted to find those morsels that bring a warm and fuzzy feeling to my belly. I went on some quest to fill my shelves with new inspirations, genres unexplored and breaking the rules with “banned” books.
I traveled to a fantasy world inspired by baking shows, A Fellowship of Baker’s & Magic, by J. Penner. Travelled back to a World War II era of rations and fashion with, The Dressmakers of London, by Julia Kelly. I followed a young woman to Chile with a dream to become a journalist and novelist in a man’s world. One of my favorite authors, Isabel Allende didn’t let me down with, My Name is Emilia del Valle. Finally, my literary hunger lead me to the “banned” book section in Barnes & Noble, and I picked up, The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. It’s still a read a in progress.
During this cozy reading era, I didn’t limit myself. I told myself to wander the book shelves like a lost soul. I picked out genres I normally wouldn’t read. All I cared about was a good story. I didn’t always know what kind of words I was hungry for. I just let myself experience.
Why? Words are like food. When I lacked the words to carry on a conversation or felt life is too routine, I turned to other writers. I let them fill the silence. Sometimes, they’ve saved me. Just when I thought the last brain cell left my body, a sudden surge of inspiration went through my body because of their words. The right kinds of words can change someone’s life. Try to remember that during the holiday season.
If you’re feeling down, then lose yourself in a book and escape the world you feel trapped in. Put on that audio book as you drive around doing your errands. Not affirmations, or guru audio. Just a story with good writing.
I hope you continue to find the books that help you feel lifted up this season. I’m going back to my heated blanket for more book therapy.
Imagine Inspire Create: 52 Weeks of action and gratitude is available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S6XCLFY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_Q7MHM9CFBSASDG56YMJQ
Get closer to your writing goals with my Writer’s Journal filled with writing prompts and exercises. You can find a copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0931QRL7C/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_VTHN0QSHXRYK6RJ1XSWQ.
Yoon Ju
Check out her New Book Releases – Providing Resources and Journals for Writers – Writer’s Journal 30 Day Prompts, Notes, and More on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0931QRL7C/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_VTHN0QSHXRYK6RJ1XSWQ.
Follow me on my Amazon Author Page at https://www.amazon.com/Yoon-Ju-Lee/e/B01K6NI23C/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1.
Currently Readng:
Yeonnam-Dong’s Smiley Laundromat by Kim Jiyun
When do I post?
I post weekly to share prompts and my journey.
Imagine Inspire Create: 52 Weeks of action and gratitude is available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S6XCLFY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_Q7MHM9CFBSASDG56YMJQ
Get closer to your writing goals with my Writer’s Journal filled with writing prompts and exercises. You can find a copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0931QRL7C/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_VTHN0QSHXRYK6RJ1XSWQ.
