Tag: Authors

Wish I knew what you were looking for.

Sara Mazariegos


My goal this week has been to take it easy. I’ve created a novel outline; I’ve thought of things to include in this new draft. I’m not letting myself start writing it until Monday.

Meanwhile, I’ve been reading The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn. It’s so good. I need to read everything she’s ever written. Her writing style matches mine and my preferences in novels I like to read. I’m still obsessed with Georgie, All Along.

This go-around, I’m not going to worry so much about the publishing side of things. I want to focus on my writing and enjoy it. I figure the more “business” side can come later, once I’m sure I’ve got a manuscript worthy of the effort.

Short post this time. I said everything I wanted to say in the video above. Plus, I said it through burned lips.

That’s not a figure of speech.

Vladimir collects ceramic unicorns.

Sara Mazariegos


I both won and lost my personal book game for my birthday. I got so many new books. Ah, loopholes. If I was really serious about not getting any books for a while, I wouldn’t ask for them for my birthday. 😇

You can see my excitement about one of them in the video above. I will take it to Disney World and Guatemala, not that I foresee having much extra time to read it while on vacation. Perhaps during the flights, while I’m awake. One of my flights will land at 4 something in the morning!

I’m already feeling grateful for taking a recovery day after our trip. I’m mostly going to use it for sleeping.

As I’ve mentioned, I’m going to jump right into reading the draft of my other novel as soon as I’m back and conscious. I have so many ideas, but I’m pacing myself and being organized about them this go-around. Because “Write all the things!” leads to a mess and/or burnout.

See? I’m learning!

This trip may just fill me with further inspiration. Isn’t that always the way, for authors? Inspiration can be found everywhere.

Until next time,

You got it down when you appear to be in pain.

Sara Mazariegos


This week has been so topsy-turvy.

First, it has been so snowy that I’ve worked from home two days and I’ll possibly have to do so tomorrow as well. Have I mentioned that I hate this time of year? I’ve never liked the cold, and snow makes everything so much harder. I say this as someone from Montana. I moved away from there when I was three, and I’m glad! 😛

Another big change this week is that the company I work for decided to move my desk from a little office in a corner everyone ignored to the main reception desk on our floor. I’m not a receptionist and social interaction is not my friend, so let’s just say my Bluetooth headphones are really going to come in handy.

They don’t expect me to be a receptionist. They just wanted to move someone into my office and this desk was empty. Fuuuuuun.

Anyway, my blog’s not meant for work woes.

I’ve been rewriting my novel and it’s going okay so far. I’m feeling the usual “Is this good? Do I write like a 4th grader?” feelings, but I’m noticing it’s a trend among writers to feel that way. Kate Clayborn posted on Threads that she felt similar about writing her latest novel. I love Kate Clayborn’s writing! So that made me feel much better.

One bit of exciting revision/developmental news: I finally figured out my romance novel’s hook! It took me far too long, but it was staring me in the face the whole time. I’m skewing the story in a different, but somehow also the same, direction and I’m excited! It’s going to be so cute (if I do say so myself.)

My husband has been THE BIGGEST help. Full credit to him for not only helping me when he doesn’t need to but also listening to me endlessly blather on about writing, my plot, and my ideas. He gives me suggestions to make things better rather than just saying “Yes, dear” and going back to playing Zelda, which he would be fully within his rights to do. He’s my quiet co-writer for a lot of it. ❤️

Hope you’re staying warm out there!

Put the book back on the shelf.

Sara Mazariegos


I received so many books for Christmas AND a new bookshelf to place them on. I’m serious about only reading books I own this year. I’m probably going to also try to enact a policy of giving away books I’ve finished reading and don’t necessarily want to keep anymore.

The first book I put in the Little Free Library this year was Dune. I only read the first half; it’s not for me.

The three books I’m currently reading — Don Quixote, In Cold Blood, and The Haunting of Hill House — are decidedly not in the genre I write, so it’s been a nice change of pace for my brain while I’m taking a short break from writing/revising. Many of the new books I got for Christmas are romance, so I won’t be taking a break from it for too long. 😉

I leaned hard into the comp books last year, so I have a stack of 2023 romance novels to get through this year. ‘2023’ means the year, not the amount! Thankfully, I’m not that bad… Then again, I’ve never counted up all my books.

It’s probably closer to 1,000 books.

I’m excited/nervous to read through my novel and take notes for the next revision. I have all kinds of ideas, but who knows if they’ll actually be useful?

John Green has said he deletes a lot of what he writes. I wonder how many versions of The Fault in Our Stars existed before he was satisfied. I’m willing to guess more than five, so I shouldn’t be too hard on myself.

May 2024 be a successful year!

I’m Going Slightly Mad.

Sara Mazariegos

Now that our trip is over and I’m back to being able to think about writing, I’m finding it’s all I can think about.

I’m planning to complete my recommended writing pause and start writing something brand new on November 1st, for NaNoWriMo. I must take a week off to go to a family wedding, but no sweat because I’m planning to write through December to get to at least 80,000 words anyway. NaNoWri2Mo?

I wish I hadn’t written out a detailed outline already, because now I’m just sitting around like, “What do I doooo??” I’ve become inspired by Christine Riccio’s writing journey. I started paying attention to it because I started reading the book she was working on — Again, But Better. It’s pretty fun to watch her progress on the story I’ve come to know well.

There were some moments yesterday when I felt pretty low and self-doubty. I want to publish the novel I worked so hard on for 3+ years, but I have to be realistic and move on to the next project… at least for now.

Who knows? Maybe writing my next novel will help me improve the last one in the next edit/rewrite stage!

I’m trying to channel Christine’s positive energy. We’ll see if it works when I’m allowed to write again.

Pizzamas.

Sara Mazariegos

I’m a Nerdfighter, and therefore I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that it’s the middle of Pizzamas! It’s a yearly tradition wherein John Green (and this year, his brother Hank) grows a ridiculous mustache and they make videos every day for two weeks (not including weekends.) They also have a shop, which I linked above but also again in this sentence, where you can purchase cool shirts (with Pizza John on them), blankets, sweaters, Chia Pets?!, etc. All of the money goes to charity, and once the two weeks are over, you can’t purchase the items again.

This year, the proceeds go to charities that stop tuberculosis.

I bought a shirt the first day. 🙂

DFTBA*.

*Don’t Forget To Be Awesome

Going for the “no.”

Sara Mazariegos

Jessica Faust from BookEnds recommends going for the “no” when submitting query letters, because it helps narrow down the list of potential agents and helps gauge if something needs to change — either the query itself or the novel’s concept.

I admit, I sent out my first thirteen queries without considering this. The nos depressed me, especially the first one. But, eventually, I realized getting a no is better than not getting any kind of response and it takes a lot of nos before eventually getting a “yes.”

I’ve since stopped sending query letters so I can rewrite my novel according to beta feedback and my notes. I’m reshaping things to better fit what actually fits into the market, while still holding true to my novel and what I have to say.

Hopefully, I’ll be much closer to a “yes” when I send my next batch of queries with my fresh manuscript draft.

Detritus.

Sara Mazariegos

I’ve been thinking it was already September for the past week.

It’s that awkward time of year when it’s a high in the low 80s but a low in the high 50s, so should I wear a hoodie and be hot some of the time or go without and be cold some of the time?

My parents reference a lot of things from the 1940s and 1950s because of their parents, so I make the same references. It makes me feel simultaneously old and cultured. I grew up recognizing the impressions (at least the majority of them) on Looney Tunes. That’s the true litmus test for culturedness.

There are exactly three weeks between the two trips my husband and I are taking soon. That’s just under the amount of time I’ll have to check out a book on Libby and later return it. When I check out a book for the first trip, it’ll be due the day we leave for our second trip. I’m going to need two books. This upsets me more than it should.

I’m currently in the middle portion of my novel. The part I’ve seen writing advice YouTubers describe as “sagging.” It feels like a metaphor for life. It’s where all of the important stuff happens! But it’s also slow to write and hard to stay motivated.

Every time I hit the next big palindrome word goal, I feel like I could fly.

Self-sabotage.

Sara Mazariegos

Reading this blog post made me realize that many writers feel like I do. Reading other books in my genre* is inspiring and the best way for me to learn how to write better, but it’s a double-edged sword at times because I become envious of other authors’ storytelling techniques.

For instance, as I read Georgie, All Along, I’m so jealous of Kate Clayborn’s ability to create such a sweet, warm story full of interesting, realistic characters. It seems effortless, but I also know it takes a lot of effort to seem effortless!

It’s important to remember that my story is mine, so of course it won’t sound like another writer’s story. Finding my voice has been a fun journey. Being inspired by others who write similar books is a good thing, but I shouldn’t let it intimidate me or make me think I need to overhaul my plot.

So give yourselves permission to love what you write, because if you fall in love with it, we can feel that. And odds are much better we’ll fall in love with it too.

  Kristen Lamb

At least no one in my life has told me that I shouldn’t be a writer. Who needs that kind of negativity?


*I’m not struggling with which genre I’m writing. At least not really. It’s definitely romance. I’ve waffled a bit between calling it “new adult” or “coming-of-age” though. I’m probably just going to call it both. But at least I’m not confused about the romance aspect!

Word Salad.

Sara Mazariegos

I attended the Gaithersburg Book Festival this past Saturday. It was inspiring to see so many book lovers and listen to authors detail their work routines (and their addictions to reading Goodreads reviews!) I left with three new books and several publishing companies’ bookmarks. A+ would do it again.

I’ve reached the point in revising my novel where I’ve tasked myself with making a significant change. I think it will really help the plot, but it’s still weighty to make a big change when the story has been one way for so long. All good authors make changes though! That’s what I keep telling myself.

Next month, I’m planning to attend an Ali Hazelwood event for her newest book (Love, Theoretically) — day job permitting. I find that what ignites me the most is reading/watching other authors discussing their writing. Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm, at least for me.

What gets you excited about writing?