Writing – Ami Maxine

Music to My Ears

Several years ago, I admitted in front of a friend that I didn’t care for the music of a rather popular musician. I didn’t say I hated their stuff. I didn’t say it was bad. I said nothing other than it didn’t resonate with me. This friend turned to me and said, “I feel sorryContinue reading “Music to My Ears”

Writing Field Trip

Often, writers get to dive down fun rabbit holes of research where they get to explore the world via their keyboards or bookshelves. In some cases, though, the internet fails, and we can’t find what we’re looking for, no matter how many rabbit holes we check. When that happens, we get to take field tripsContinue reading “Writing Field Trip”

Alice vs Lucy

I can still vividly remember the day I sat down and started, officially, writing my first novel – I was on winter break, and I spilled out 8K words onto that digital page in one day. It was unlike any other writing experience I had ever had. I don’t know why, but this one feltContinue reading “Alice vs Lucy”

First Drafts

I think this is a tweet all writers need to see:

Cover Design

Probably the thing that worries me most about self-publishing my second book is the cover. Not in the “will people love it” sense – but in the “what if I can’t get it to look how I want” sense, in the “what if I royally mess up the dimensions” sense. I know – I knowContinue reading “Cover Design”

Moments of Character

For the last few months, I’ve been rewatching some of my favorite detective procedurals as “research” for the mystery I am working on. (I use the air quotes around research because it’s also just because I enjoy them.) At the moment, I’m working my way through Bones, and I love the bits of character developmentContinue reading “Moments of Character”

A New Word

There are many odd things that a writer can learn when working on a story. In most cases, the learning is probably intentional – research for something specific that occurs in or relates to their plot or characters or setting. In some instances, that odd thing is a word they’d never heard of before. Today,Continue reading “A New Word”

First Interview

This morning, my first official interview as an author dropped! I was nervous heading into this, but Kathleen Foxx, the host of Badass Writers Podcast, put me at ease quickly. We had a lovely chat where I talk about writing, my debut novel, and the how the Voices of JAMS collection came to be (which,Continue reading “First Interview”

What do you wish someone had told you when you first began to write?

Recently, I was asked “What do you wish someone had told you when you first began to write?” And honestly, it stumped me in the same way “What is your favorite book?” or “Who is your favorite author?” stumps me – in that I have far too many answers that I can’t possibly narrow itContinue reading “What do you wish someone had told you when you first began to write?”

What’s in a Name? (Author Edition)

I still remember the first time I saw my name in print. The experience was exhilarating. In a “right place, right time” scenario, I had learned that the county paper was looking for someone to write the weekly column of my town’s news (the previous person having just retired). I was a freshman in highContinue reading “What’s in a Name? (Author Edition)”