The Scene That Broke Me This Week

Hey Everyone! How’s the week treating you so far? Personally, I’m just hanging in there as always doing the best I can with what I got. I am currently about two and a half weeks off of embarking on Signful Signings in Roanoke, VA. While this should be an exciting time of prep to support my friends and fellow authors, things have been a little crazy. 

For those that don’t know. P.A. Power will be one of the signing authors at this event. I’ve been tagged in as his PA for the weekend, which is amazing all in its own. I have been signing up for Sinful for the last three or so years. I always get wait-listed and let's just say it's hard to get into this event. So getting to go in any capacity will give the team and I a better perspective of whether or not it's worth still trying to get in. 

See, I have said this since my first appearance into the Booktok crowd, I am not everyone’s cup of tea. I don’t hold my tongue and I stand up for what needs to be stood up for. I am as abrasive steel wool. Not everyone is going to like me or what I write. These are just simple truths. And you know what that’s… not a bad thing. 

Here’s the real bead and butter outlook here. There are billions of people in the world. While most will have similar tastes no two are the exact same. I like certain things most of my friends don’t. I have one bestie, Izzy, that is as eclectic as it comes in her reading and music tastes. She has Spread sheets…. Lots of them… that will pin point you to a book that might or might not tickle your fancy. And it spans both traditional and Indie books. 

You also have our prompters for the Hold My Pen Promptcast. There are around 15 to 20 of us that take the exact same prompt every week and turn into 15 to 20 different stories. Some are brand new created for the Promptcast, some are continuations of the same story from the previous weeks or months. Hell, that is how Crossroads was written. Different prompts over the course of five months. 

Which leads me into the scene that broke me this week. Surprisingly enough it was not one that was written for the show. Even though there is a toss up when a certain young man writes for our show. Between him and a few others, I can either be scared out of my mind by simple things or hit straight in the feels. But no… this is one that came out of my own damn head. 

See I started yet another project… But I should be commended a little bit, it is in an active series. I didn’t just go off the deep end and create a whole new series for yet another WIP (work in progress for those not of the writing world). Which for me is huge progress, but I “DiGreg” (IYKYK). 

Anywho… The scene in question is when my FMC actually falls for the love interest. See she has no idea he’s loved her from the word go. And even though it is a contract marriage based story, she is a professional matchmaker/ wedding planner by trade. She facilitates everyone else's happily ever after, but can’t seem to grasp her own. When constraints on time hit on finding the perfect match, FMC does step in as the professional bride. For her its business, for them its image, and somewhere in between FMC becomes closed off in ways no person should ever have to. Until she meets said love interest and shit starts to go off the rails fairly quickly.  

I know what you're thinking… Jules, this sounds like something you typically write, so what’s the big deal? Well, for a lot of writers it's hard to write love when you're in pain. And while the tropes and genre are nothing new or even outside my wheelhouse, I have had a challenge laid at my feet when it comes to said project. Most if not all my FMCs have a tragic backstory or this big horrific event that challenges them to rise up and hit the situation with everything they got. Very much the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” kind of characters. The “yes this horrible thing happened but I can stand on my own two feet because of it” kind of characters. 

Now, I have been challenged to write one without so much trauma. Without throwing everything including the kitchen skin at my character to see how she reacts or what she will do. Which is going to make some scenes that I write a little uncomfortable. Mainly because I am unfamiliar with the concept. I am very much a cause and effect kind of writer and woman. Almost 40 years of proof on that one. 

But looking at everything I have read of my outline and certain scenes that I know have to be a part of the book. Some scenes just aren’t meant to be comfortable or cozy. I will do my best to stretch the muscles of my abilities but I can’t shy away from the truth that relationships in any form are hard. Not all that glitters is gold, and sometimes the FMC is going to have to stand toe to toe with the MMC over something. Which is what made this week's scene, a sharp, unavoidable, and full of truth I wasn’t ready to face. 

We all have that moment in writing that cracked something open, makes us pause, and chest tighten. Not because it was dramatic for anyone else, but because it was true in the best ways possible. 

Scenes like this remind me why I write: to confront, to release, to witness. They hurt because they touch real fear, loss, or longing. They linger because they carry pieces of ourselves we hide in daylight. Or like Dom in Crossroads:

Dom left the room holding the secret he had known all along. This wasn’t the first time he had almost caught them in bed together, and if they wanted to play the same old game of nothing happened, who was he to say anything. 

Or Piper:

They had sworn to each other this was the last time. To the ache in both their hearts, they would never speak of the promises they had made to each other under the star littered sky. While that wasn’t the first night they had found solace in each other's arms it was certainly the most memorable one.

See, breaking a heart or hurting feelings doesn’t mean failing. It means noticing. Feeling. Reflecting. It’s a checkpoint, not a stop sign. The work that follows –rewriting, shaping, understanding– is where growth lives and a hell of a lot of character development for both you and them.

The scene that broke me didn’t defeat me. It made me look closer, dig deeper, and acknowledge what I might have ignored otherwise. That’s the kind of story worth telling. The kind of story worth writing. Sometimes, the hardest scenes are the most necessary. And the people challenging you to look at it through another lens, are trying to strengthen what you already have. Or they know you can do.

So… what was the hardest scene you ever had to write? Or what was the scene that hit you in the feels to the point you had to reevaluate some life choices? How are you processing it, carrying it forward, or letting it teach you? Share in the comments, or just sit with it quietly—the reflection matters.

See y’all tomorrow.

Be Brave, Be Bold, But Always Stay Humble

Why Romance Isn’t Weak Writing

    Morning everyone. It’s another beautiful day in the neighborhood. Well in all actuality, I’m personally relishing in the quiet that is now my house. For at least a little while until, the Gremlin gets home from school. 

But I was sitting here, Red Bull in hand, staring out my window and realized something very important. Romance Isn’t Weak Writing. Loyalty, Love, Commitment, and hell Friendship all goes into the same category. 

Now there are various degrees of said acts, and some can take it from the cutie Rom-com to Dark, wrap your hands around the throat, in two seconds flat. Some fade to black or closed door, while others let it all hang out. Some writers are more formulaic or “cookie cutter”, while others come up with their own brand of how they deal with their stories. 

But calling romance “weak writing”, “thoughtless writing”, or even “lazy writing” has always said more about the critic than the genre. Especially in a billion-dollar business model that seems to have an evenish number of readers on both sides of the fence. 

While yes, the Romance community is mostly built on female readers, but men, especially those in the Booktok world, are more than likely just as interested if not more. We have the bad boy bikers, Mafia Don’s, Sports, Mechanics, and let's not forget the billionaires. I mean we have every person that has the badassest job there is or will be a story for it. 

Romance is one of the few places in fiction where emotional stakes are allowed to be the point. Where vulnerability isn’t a side effect—it’s the engine. And that makes people uncomfortable. Especially in a world that rewards detachment, cynicism, and emotional distance.

Romance demands intimacy. It asks writers to explore fear, desire, trust, power, longing, loss—all without armor. It requires precision in emotional pacing, not just plot mechanics. You can’t fake chemistry. You can’t shortcut consent. You can’t phone in emotional growth and expect readers to stay.

If anything, romance is harder to write well. It forces characters (and the author) to confront themselves. To be seen. To risk rejection. To change. And change—real change—is one of the hardest things to write convincingly.

Romance also carries a cultural bias. Stories centered on connection, care, and emotional labor—especially when written by women—are often dismissed as frivolous or indulgent. But there is nothing frivolous about examining how people love, survive, and choose each other in a complicated world.

Romance isn’t weak because it deals with feelings. It’s strong because it refuses to treat them as disposable. A well-written romance can dismantle power structures, challenge trauma responses, and show resilience in ways action-driven narratives often avoid. Love becomes the battlefield. Trust becomes the risk. Healing becomes the victory. That’s not soft. That’s brave.

Romance doesn’t exist to lower the bar of storytelling. It raises it—by asking writers to go deeper, not louder. And hell look into there own lives and experiences going how would I have done that differently. How would that of played out if XYZ happened instead?

Lets face facts here peps…. Romance has only been a widely excepted genre in the last 50ish years. Before that, people hid what they read, wrote, or talked about when it was book related. Romance has gotten a bad rep from being blamed for making women delicate, irrational, and in danger of being ruined by the unrealistic, dramatic, or immoral scenarios depicted in fiction to, as some had put it, letting your “freak flag fly” openly. 

Most women, and a few men from what I’ve heard, didn’t start delving into their likes or dislikes until they read it. Once they had that eternal spark light something they didn’t even know was possible. Which is good on the Author for making their readers feel something they didn’t know was there. 

So, I say all of that to say this. If you are writer of Romance, don’t listen to the critics. Opinions are like assholes, everyone’s got one and they all stink. You keep pushing forward and carve out a name for yourself. Readers, now its y’all turn…. LEAVE THE DAMN REVIEW. And be constructive about it. What didn’t you like vs. what you did? Because a simple “I didn’t like it” doesn’t tell us anything. 

Okay…. Now that I have half ass said my peace, I am off to get more of the laundry done and some more writing. Because lets face it 500k isn’t going to write itself and the books are trapped in my head. But leave a comment below with What’s a romance story that changed how you see love—or yourself? What are you carrying forward from the stories that stayed with you?

See you tomorrow.

Be Brave, Be Bold, But Always Stay Humble

The Plot Holes I’m Choosing Not to Fix Yet

Happy 2026, everyone. Hoping everyone had a great New Years Eve, and stayed out of trouble. I spent mine much like others. I hung out with my friends, had a drink to toast in the new year, and as the ball dropped in the various time zones we wished the other a Happy and Bright New Year. Now mind I never left my house to do any of this. I hung out in my discord group with the people I see practically everyday. I poured a Crown Apple and Fuji Apple & Ginger Red Bull. We all had our music playing and projects rolling. 

Since we are all over the world, it made it a little interesting. Bitzer, our resident Aussie, Was already well into 2026 before I jumped in last night. Leon, resident Frenchman, had just seen 2026 two hours prior. While those of us in the US or Canada had about a 3 to 5 hour wait. This at one point in the evening had me sitting in awe. One because the concept “if you build it they will come”.... The Hold My Pen Promptcast was a half baked idea, I was told would never work. That happened to be two years ago, and it worked out a hell of a lot better than any of us dared to imagine. (Anniversary Show ON Saturday) And I pray it gets bigger and better every year.

The Second reason, we are all from different walks of life, different skill sets, hell different parts of the world. Yet we treat each other with kindness, respect, and dare I say like a giant family. All coming together at first for a common goal… Writing. Staying because we are a community that has the others back no matter how far apart we all may be. It's a glorious feeling.

Which allows me the ability to say this without judgment from anyone other than myself at this point: There are plot holes in my work right now. 

I know where they are. I know why they exist. I could probably fix a few of them if I sat still long enough and stopped pretending they don’t exist. But I’m not going to fix them yet, and that’s intentional.

Some plot holes aren’t problems. They’re placeholders. They’re the story telling that hasn’t finished revealing itself yet. Every time I’ve forced on an answer too early, I’ve paid for it later with rewrites, retcons, and characters who suddenly felt hollow or situations that fell short.

So I’m letting a few things stay unresolved. At least for a little while. 

There are motivations that don’t fully line up yet, and let's face facts forcing ideas doesn’t work out the way we all plan. Timelines that almost make sense, but later cause a headache especially if this one story becomes part of a bigger plot. Characters who know something I don’t, at least not consciously. That doesn’t mean the story is broken. It means it’s still breathing life onto the page.

See writers don’t talk enough about this part: the middle phase where everything looks wrong, feels fragile, and tempts you to either overcorrect or abandon the ship entirely. That’s usually when panic editing happens. That’s when people sand down edges that were never meant to be smooth, and things start to go haywire faster than you can put the brakes on.

I’m learning to pause. To really listen to my characters and the advice of those that have been in the game longer than me. It's not an easy task by any means but it's something I have to learn how to adapt to. I have to keep moving forward without demanding perfection from unfinished work. I have to trust that clarity comes from momentum, and not interrogation. Most of my “plot holes” eventually turn out to be doors or windows, I just hadn’t reached yet.

This isn’t avoidance. It’s patience. Something I am terrible at. If I have an idea in my head I’m all in on lets get this done down now. While 60ish percent of the time it works out for me, that 40 kicks me straight in the ass. Most things require planning, understanding, and a means to get/keep it together. Not running in guns blazing, and being pissed when shit falls apart.

Fixing things too early is just another way of trying to control uncertainty. And stories, like people and situations, don’t respond well to being cornered or trying to shove them into a little box.

So for now, I’m letting the gaps exist. I’m writing past them, around them, and sometimes straight through them. When the story is ready, I’ll know what needs fixing and what was never broken in the first place. The most important part is just getting it out on paper. You can’t fix or edit what doesn't exist. Once it’s done then breathe and start from the top…. If it still doesn’t make any sense do what others do… get a second opinion.

What are you leaving unfinished on purpose right now in your writing, your work, or your life? What are you trusting time to reveal instead of forcing an answer? What are you hoping to get done over the next year? Tell me in the comments.

Be Brave, Be Bold, But ALWAYS Stay Humble

Plot Holes So Big You Could Drive a Truck Through Them (and how you patch them).

Happy Tuesday everyone, and welcome to another installment of Plot Holes & Panic Buttons. Today, we are diving headfirst into the one thing we as writers never want to deal with. The dreaded plot hole… *que dramatic music* Honestly, it isn’t that we don’t want to deal with it, it's just not something we like to acknowledge.  

Writers don’t always like to admit it, but sometimes the story we’re pouring our soul into springs a leak the size of the Grand Canyon. We might not notice it right away but when a character magically knows something they shouldn’t, when time lines don't add up, when an impossible detail slips before it’s time, or when a reader raises their hand and says: “Wait a second… how did they get from point A to point B?” or “According to the established magic system they should have known this was their mate already.”

Plot holes are the bane of a storyteller’s existence, but it is also what teaches us to slow down and look closer. Because let’s face facts, some of us write so fast we don’t see the cracks right away. Sometimes someone has to point it out to us. And by the time we see it; it’s big enough to drive an 18-wheeler through it with room on either side.

They creep in while we’re distracted with getting the draft done as fast as humanly possible, pantsing with wild ambition, and yes, even meticulously outlining. They aren’t always mistakes born of laziness. Sometimes they’re just the natural side effect of creating complex worlds and flawed human characters. But the truth is, once a reader falls into a hole, it’s hard to climb back out. And it's the only damn thing they concentrate on, which pulls them out of the rich world and complex characters we have created. 

I know this all too well, as I am guilty of it. Details I don’t think are that important happen to be the only ones people get hung up on. Having to go back and explain each time, becomes a headache and a half which runs you in circles.

So, how do we fix them, you might be asking? Without ripping the entire manuscript apart, causing a mental breakdown, or letting imposter syndrome take center stage. Let’s talk about patches. 

1. Spotting the Sinkholes Early

The first step is being honest about where your story feels like it’s soft or as I like to say squishy. If someone stepped on it would they fall through or would it hold their weight. For my crime show people: If you had to defend that scene in court, could you? Would your characters’ decisions hold up under cross-examination, is your evidence strong enough or would the jury laugh you out of the room?

Most of the time, I overly fixate on these problems once I see them. If you ask any of my friends, they will tell you I can’t move on from this problem, because for me, I now have to remember what was supposed to go there. Or why it’s not being understood when I said it in plain Penguin.  

Izzy, especially, has to break it down with a series of questions to get me to see the bigger picture and remind me not everyone is a gearhead. Not everyone grew up around classic cars and bikes. Which apparently is one of my trademarks, strong ass females and some sort of classic. Izzy also loves to call me out every gap my subconscious forgot to fill in on the page.

Okay, You have found the issues but now how do you fix them, without pulling your hair out. On to Step 2.

2. The Patchwork Quilt Method

Not every hole needs a total rewrite. Sometimes it just needs a subtle tweak. All it takes is a line or two of dialogue, adjusting the narration a smidgy bit to sew the edges together. Think of this process more like saving your favorite pair of jeans. 

Continuity errors? Drop in a sentence that clarifies timing or geography. 

Knowledge gaps? Let a character overhear, research, or be told what they “shouldn’t” know. 

Unlikely behavior? Add a moment of hesitation, frustration, or justification that shows why the character still went that route. Sometimes just alluding to danger can fix it right up.

Think of it like spackling a wall; you don’t have to rebuild the whole house to cover a crack. You're just throwing a patch and some mud and calling it a damn day. Because sometimes it’s just that damn serious, unless you let it get that way.

3. Lean Into It

Here’s a sneaky trick: sometimes the best fix is to make the hole intentional. If something feels implausible, what if your characters notice too? A “why would you do that?” moment lampshades the issue and gives you time to reveal the reasoning later. (Make sure there is going to be a reason later though. No need to do this if you're not going to do it right.)

Readers forgive a lot if they trust that you know what’s going on, even if they don’t. Suspense thrives on withheld answers. But in the same flip of the coin, you can lose all kinds of readers if they don’t get their answers.

4. The Hard Truth: Rewrite When You Must

Of course, not every hole is patchable with duct tape and a prayer. Sometimes you discover that an entire subplot, timeline, or motivation is built on sand. That’s when you have to be brave enough to bulldoze and rebuild. I like to call it salvage what you can and burn the rest. 

Yes, it hurts. Yes, it will make you cry. But remember: no reader ever said, “I wish the author had left that gaping contradiction in there.”

5. Futureproofing Your Story

To avoid holes before they start, keep a “story bible” or continuity doc. Track timelines, ages, relationships, and rules of your world. You don’t have to be obsessive, but jotting down those details saves you from having your hero’s eye color change three times or accidentally breaking the laws of your own magic system. Or in my case, renaming three characters four times. And never remember who is who.

Thankfully with 4 Queens for 4 Kings Series, Izzy has the all holy bible. I am not trusted in the amount of Chaos I write in.

At the End of the Day… Plot holes don’t make you a bad writer. They make you a human writer. Every single book you love once had early drafts with cracks big enough to swallow semis. The only difference is, those authors patched them before you ever saw the pages.

So when you find yourself staring at one of those yawning chasms in your own work, don’t panic. Grab your toolbox/ sewing kit. Spackle, Lampshade, or full demolition crew and get to work. This is going to make you a better writer if you let it. You are differently going to learn a lot about how your brain works. And maybe next time you won't have to pay the demo crew overtime. 

Your readers will never know how many trucks you had to haul out of there. They’ll just remember the smooth road you left behind. 

Be Brave, Be Bold, But Always Stay Humble.

Why My Characters Keep Doing Things I Didn’t Plan

I love a good outline, said no panster ever. What we love is a good idea and half baked plan. Nothing concrete because we know about half way through writing things will be derailed. Now, I can spend hours planning scenes, charting arcs, and convincing myself I have it all figured out. But when I sit down to actually write, my characters laugh in my face, and proceed to ask, “who is going to tell her?”

They don’t follow orders. Hell, I don’t follow orders. They wander off, while I’m looking for that one scene I wrote that would be perfect for them. They fall for the wrong people, they pick fights when I wanted/ needed them to stay quiet, they charge headfirst into danger when I begged them to keep their asses safe. 

It’s frustrating, sure. But I’ve realized something: my characters are alive in a way my outlines never will be. When they surprise me, I know they’re finally breathing on the page, spilling their own feelings and emotions out. It’s like when you have a newborn child. Except, you're actively trying to keep them from unaliving others instead of themselves.

Think about it. If I’m shocked at the choices they make, then my readers will be too. The twists will feel natural, not forced, because they’re born out of character, not plot mechanics. And isn’t that what we want as writers? Characters so fully formed that they push back, demand their own space, and refuse to play nice?

Honestly, it’s not all that different from real life. I can plan my days down to the hour, but something always goes sideways. A sick kid, a late bill, a curveball out of nowhere. People don’t always do what we expect, and neither do characters. Even when it looks like they are going to behave for ten damn minutes, boom there are Dequilla shots, tattoos, and promises that are only made between lovers in the dark. 

So maybe the lesson is this: control is overrated. I can outline all I want, but at some point, I have to loosen my grip and let the story breathe. My characters may frustrate me, but at least they keep me honest. And it’s still funny as hell when the comic relief steps in to “play” like he doesn’t know what is going on but he has eyes.

What is your “why the hell did they do that” story? Share below.

Be Brave, Be Bold, But Always Stay Humble.

Plot Holes and Other Existential Crises

For those of us that never saw our stories as anything other than stand alone, and now we are writing not only sequels but complete series. This, to anyone outside the creative community, sounds like someone complaining over too many ideas. When in reality, we became plotters instead of pantsers and quilters instead of plantsers.

What are the pros and cons of this, you might be asking yourself. Well first off, it can throw monkey wrenches the size of Texas into a story. Why? Because last book Character A did something that was a one off that now has to be explained. Or if it's anything like 4 Queen for 4 King, where the main cast from book 1 reappear in books 1-4. But it’s not in a prominent way. They are literally in the background until about halfway through. 

Pros of being able to write/plot a series… More time to explain and explore the world as a whole. You honestly get to show every detail, problem solve, and in a lot of ways show everyone’s true colors by the end of the series, even the writers. Another pro is you don’t have to just let the story fade, not just yet. If there is an avenue you haven’t strutted down, you have the opportunity in the next installment.

Cons, which is currently the bane of my brain's existence. Every plot line, existential crises, character’s attitude has the ability to take over, especially if you're working with a big cast. Even when it's not their turn to be the center of attention. Also if you're a free flowing pantser, you now have to pull back and ask yourself the hard questions. Like does or doesn’t this fuck with your magic system. Did this new character do something that is completely unheard of for this world? And what events do you want to see happen, without playing out the exact same story line from the first book. 

This also goes into the questions who will be in the next book. What part of the plot line needs to be carried over and what can be unique to the next story. Will there be an overall theme for the series or will you just throw things at the wall until it sticks. And the biggest one of all… do you give the villain, who remarkably stayed alive in book 1, a redemption arc or find another way to end them. Do you let the characters have choices or do you make concrete decisions that could very well derail the creativity and process if not handled in a timely manner? 

There is no wrong way to write a story, book, or series. There are some uncomfortable truths we do our best to ignore like its the plague. And while most view us as complaining, they don’t see the three or four main characters almost ripping each other apart over something trivial. The side characters that became just interesting enough that people really noticed when they disappeared. Now they have their own novella in the subseries. And the Badass Female, she’s sitting over on the work bench with a strong ass coffee debating her own life choice, let alone the ones you gave her to deal with.

Even though we created the world, we are not the rulers of it. We are the vessels that hold their stories until it's time to tell them. So, which character turned you on your head today? Which series has you groaning, because you never had any intention of writing it? And the Biggest question of all… How much do you still love what you do? Leave me some comments below. 

Be Brave, Be Bold, But Always Stay Humble.

This Book Betrayed Me… In the Best Way

Hey Hey… It’s Tuesday Peps. How’s it going so far to start off your week?  I’m hanging in there as always trying to hit the grind between house and work. But I have had a question floating around in my noggin for a few days now that I would like to present to the class. It’s something I was asked by one of our new followers over on Hold My Pen Promptcast. 

How much thought do we put into the words we write? And what makes a scene difficult to write?

Most of us can relate to the painstaking, gurgling hours we put into each and every story or submission for the show. While most of the time the words just fall out and we have to make sense of them before presenting them to the public, some scenes hit us like a freight train, making it hard to deal with. 

I, personally, have been accused, on more than one occasion, of either using my stories as therapy or putting my characters through unnecessary pain. I see it as making, especially my female characters, relatable. We have all been through some shit and were still standing when the dust settled. Like Rose from Destined for More or Piper from Crossroads, things happen so quickly and choices have to be made. 

Most of those situations revolve around “do I lay down and take it” or “do I stand and fight”. My chicks don’t just stand and fight. No… No… Hell NO. They take the situation like a bull by the horns. Timid at first but once they find their footing on unstable ground, they hit and hit hard. Normally with some sort of need for self-preservation, but it's a 50/50 split.

So, really quick before we move on. How would you answer those questions? 

Now, on to the story that wrecked me in the most perfect way. And before anyone asks, it's nothing I’m currently writing. Not yet at least. It's actually something one of my friends wrote. CR McCormack. She writes the Dolan Syndicate series. Now, mafia books are one of my guilty pleasures that I swore I would never write. Because of her I did so without realizing until I was so far in I couldn’t stop myself. 

Her, I think My Neighbor is a Mobster, is the perfect mix of Hallmark meets GoodFellas. But it was Mobster and the PTA, which is the only one in the series that isn’t a romance. That sucker punched me in the gut. Big intimidating Mobster playing parent to a 6-year-old. And while he grumbles through damn near the whole thing. You can tell he loves her and cares about her. Which is one thing we have somehow lost sight of in literature. 

Not everything has to be sex, lust, drugs and rock-n-roll. There can actually be a plot, respect for the other, and still have the begging if it's written right. You can also still show these heartwarming moments that are still very much “touch her and die”, with a “this is my family, and no one hurts my family”. 

While you're deciding on your next book choice, consider checking out CR’s stuff. Link Listed below.

https://books2read.com/ap/RWrO9N/CR-McCormack

Be Brave, Be Bold, But Always Stay Humble

This Scene Was Brought to You by Panic and Exhaustion

This statement couldn’t be more absolutely true in this moment. One because, for most of us, we all have that one scene we wrote under that influx of adrenaline that broke the story line wide open. We had no idea where the hell it was going, until that one character either opened their mouth or did something so off the damn wall, that we are like “shit can’t go back now”. The second reason this is more than likely true might be because it’s 1:35am with a Gremlin running loose that should have been passed out hours ago, while I’m running on my last damn nerve.

One night… Just one damn night, I would like to go to bed at a decent hour and get the proper amount of sleep to function. One day to wake up and feel like I can take on the day like the bad ass I have been for so damn long. At this point, I think it would put my body into shock if I did though. Though I do wonder if we ever really come out of the toddler mindset phase as Moms. Let me explain.

We eat what’s left or take the “Mom Tax”. We sneak snacks but never actually eat a full meal, if we eat at all. We survive on caffeine, nicotine, and the ability to justify a gas station potato log over the Micky D’s drive thru. We are lucky as hell to keep the goblins alive, happy, (and for people that have more than one) from hurting each other. 

And the truly messed-up thing as writers…. Our characters are no different. You either write what you know or what you wish you have/had. Pain, passion, attitude, and even a bit of snark is poured into each character as a foundation we pray won't crack. Well unless it furthers the damn plot or gives them some deeply rooted character development. 

Personally, as the vessel these stories pour out of, I’m a little sick and tired of all this damn character development. Like, I’m good for the next 20 damn years on that one. After all, my life is stranger than fiction and most don’t believe half the damn shit I’ve either seen, survived, or accomplished. But here I am as living damn proof, you can rage against the machine, doesn’t mean you're not going to feel the pain from it later in life. Believe me on that one. 

But anywho… Back on topic… Panic can sometimes be a great motivator when it comes to personal or literary scenes. Depending on what type of person or character you’re writing, they could be thinking clearer, making decisions based on logic, or they could be running around like their hairs on fire and their asses are catching. See everyone thinks of panic, goes into the fear side of it, and runs off the rails. 

That’s not always the way I play out panic. I have one story that I’m currently writing (Female Bronc Rider meets Mafia) which has her saddle being tampered with right before the biggest ride of her life. She knows someone is fucking with her, but doesn’t know who, and unfortunately, can’t prove anything other than the straps have been cut. Panic sets in but she uses that as fuel to keep her fired up. 

It's the same way with how a lot of people handle stressful situations. Some can’t. The fear and anxiety shut them down hard. Other’s, well lets just say, we are pros at the pivot. The “well fuck” situations that has us scrambling to pull rabbits out of our asses, has become our norm when it should have never been that way. But here we are. 

So, the next time you have a character go rogue, or completely off the damn deep end, remember shit happens. We can barely control the ones we made that are walking around over the ones that live rent free in our heads. Sometimes you have to see how far each one is willing to go. It does make for entertaining shit to have to cut out later if it makes no sense in a day or three. 

For those of you that have hung on this long, thank you. I know this probably doesn’t make much sense but if you know you know. Kids like characters are unpredictable. Like the one that is still running around the living room like it's a damn mash pit. I don’t care how tired he is, come 6:50am his butt will be on that bus. He made a choice to stay up and he’ll have to deal with the aftermath of that choice. Not quite as dramatic as the Last Ride on War Cry, but you understand. 

Panic, for me right now, is the fact I’m running out of gas, and until my husband walks through that door in hopefully 20 minutes, I have to keep the Gremlin from pulling a vanishing act. Yes, he has done that a time or dozen. Never when it's dark… So, I guess I have an advantage there right now. Pray for my salinity, send supplies, and good humor memes. 

Be Brave, Be Bold, But Always Stay Humble.