Revising Your Sucky First Draft

When I finally finished my first draft of my novel, it felt like a huge accomplishment. 100,000 words written in seven months with at least four hours per day devoted to the task. I had proved to myself that I could do it – I had beaten back the critical voice in my thoughts (fear of failure), the ridiculous doubt of whether this is what I wanted to devote my life to (fear of success),…

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When You Hit a Wall

Last week I mentioned feeling bummed about winning an award that was not as high as I had hoped it would be. Visualizing success is important because it primes your brain to take steps towards enacting that success. But it also makes you vulnerable. It opens you up to possible disappointment, and from such disappointment exists a narrow bridge that swings precariously over the murky waters of apathy. I have fallen in a few times,…

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How To Adult: Budgeting

Remember as a kid when you were excited to get mail? Today’s mail: $200 electric bill, health benefits guide, credit card offer, & car title — Anastasia Taber (@anastasiataber) September 22, 2015   To kick off this new blog category “How To Adult,” I will start with budgeting. My expertise in this subject comes mainly from growing up with my dad who has been a financial adviser for many many years, runs his own investment advisory…

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It’s Not Fate, It’s Timing

When I was young, fed by my mother on a steady diet of Jane Austen and rom-coms, I used to lie in bed and stare up at the ceiling at my glow in the dark stars and wonder who my soulmate would be. I was worried. What if my soulmate lived on the other side of the planet? What if my husband-to-be lived in India in a random village where I would never meet him…

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Are You Published Yet?

This is an ode to all of my fellow novelists out there who get to answer this question almost daily, as well as to the people who ask this question. “Writing a novel is difficult” is the understatement of the year. Each genre has a different word count range. Young Adult (YA) runs from 55,000 – 70,000 words. For adult novels, between 80,000 and 90,000 is a good range. For science fiction/fantasy, over 100,000 words…

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Writers write

When I tell people I wrote a novel, the most common responses I receive fall into two categories: 1) I could never do that and 2) I’ve wanted to do that (but haven’t). When I hear that someone has always wanted to write, but hasn’t, my first thought is “Well, what is stopping you?” Some people like the idea of writing but not the practice of it. These people are focused on the ends rather…

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Writing a Novel

My website is taking a new direction as both my blog and I transition from college and study abroad adventures to my professional writing career. On the technical side, I switched servers to my brother’s, so let me know if you experience any issues while visiting my website. I respond to all comments on posts and messages through the Contact Me form. Now that disclaimer is out of the way, I’d like to pick up…

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This semester has changed my life

This semester has changed my life. From a young age I have read books as a way to gather knowledge about the world. Both of my parents share an ardent love of books; my dad a passionate devotee to non-fiction, my mother with her perennial stack of bedside fiction that never seems to shrink despite constant reading. Growing up, my mother filled the house with movies and TV shows, and some of my fondest memories…

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