K-DRAMA ROMANCE NOVELIST

Cinematic slow-burn romance inspired by K-dramas ✨

[thatamberauthor]

June! My birthday month and a milestone: officially 6 months into my novel project. Half a year of working out a work an outline, the road map to my debut novel. After six months how do I feel? What have I learned? Well...

What did I get up to?

Plotted scenes for the second half of Act 2 B.

Began work on my author website...spoiler: I'm adjusting my branding!

I attended Spark To Story summit + looted Abbie Emmons Story Vault.

What worked well?

Working my way through Alex Sokoloff's "Stealing Hollywood" act by act . Staying on the Alex Sokoloff train, her craft writing advice continued to be a HUGE help. In my effort to progress in my outlining, I began a self-guided break down of each act I had outlined so far, analyzing the scenes and beats and comparing them to Alex's recommendations for each act. This time spent studying each act in detail, asking myself more probing questions, double-checking that I'm not missing any critical beat or if I want to add any new ones, really helped me refine my outline, strengthening it into something almost like an outline 2.0.

What was fun?

Opening a Square Space. It's official, I'm working on my author website. Arriving at this moment took a lot of thought and consideration, but after hearing how important a mailing list is for reaching your readers, I realized that I wanted a central spot anyone could go to connect with me. I had a ball studying other author websites and in classic fashion worked out what they all had in common and set to work on implementing that...plus my own personal touch. I noticed many of them are run in a third-party perspective, and that left me feeling kind of detached from them. Also very few had sections celebrating fandom of any kind...as a fangirl at heart, that will be a must for my website. I am also a proud fanfiction writer and reader and will proudly be promoting that agenda in my content :) All this research taught me one final thing: you want to be recognizable to your readers and your name should be what comes to mind when someone thinks about your work. In my current branding my name is featured, but it still reads a bit like a screen name. After much deliberation I decided I will be updating my branding. Stay tuned for that special post!

What do I want to become great at?

Weaving character arc with plot. Character arc! Something I feel like is constantly being talked around in craft writing circles, but remains elusive to me no matter how much advice I consume. I have a sneaking suspicion that I weave character arc and plot intuitively...thus making it intentional has been a challenge for me. I did recently watch a workshop by Golden May on character arc development that hit on some key pieces that got me thinking about character arc and theme in a new way. K.M. Weiland also has a few YouTube videos that touch on character arc that have been helpful. Ultimately, character arc seems to show up in my work organically...this maybe one piece of my outlining that I won't be able to plan in advance.

What am I grateful for?

Filling the sequence 6 box on my outline. My outline resides on a white board on my wall and the sections I have yet to fill taunt me everyday, lol! It has been such a joy over the last month to make huge leaps in progress, filling in my blank sequence 6 box with twelve amazing scenes that I cannot wait to write. The entirety of act 2 is more or less outlined, yay!

My birthday gifts. My family is so sweet and supportive of my author life. June 18th was my birthday and I was generously given a copy of Lisa Crohn's iconic craft book, Story Genius, and a comp title book by Jen Frederick called Heart and Seoul, aw! <3

If you've read this far, please know how much your support means to me :) Send me a message or leave me a comment if there is anything I touched on here that you would like to know more about!

[thatamberauthor]

May got me moving...finally! The month ended up being full of surprises for me, good ones! I was able to shake off the funk that had followed me since March and started to make process again. What a hopeful feeling :)

What a difference a month can make! May kindly rewarded me for the hard days...my consistency slowly began to payoff as my inspiration returned, and with it, new breakthroughs in my outline! Having been stuck at the mid-point for over two months, I was finally able to forge ahead into uncharted territory: Act 2...B.

What did I get up to?

I reworked my mid-point. This ended up being KEY. My plotting progress prior to May was up to and including the midpoint. I knew it needed some polishing and developing, but for the most part I felt I had cleared that plot point: I had the concept down, and I had even wrote out detailed summaries of the events that occurred. I was done and ready to move on right...? But...I wasn't able to move on. Cue a two month long episode of me trying everything to see past the midpoint, to push through...but you just can't force an outline, and I became officially stuck. It wasn't until, following Alex Sokoloff's advice on really maximizing your setting by treating it like a high budget "set piece" in a movie, that I really stopped and took a second look at my midpoint. Comparing my Break into Two "set piece" with my midpoint "set piece"...I saw at once it was lacking. I immediately began to brain storm how to make it more impactful...if the events of the midpoint could take place anywhere, without limits, where should it be set? I had originally chosen a Seoul, but after a rambling discussion with my mom, I had an epiphany: Jeju Island! This change of setting caused a chain reaction of new scenes to be created to accommodate the new setting, it was just one door opening after another. Suddenly, I was unstuck. (yesssss!)

Began plotting Act 2 B. Because of my midpoint setting revelation, for the first time, I finally was able to brainstorm scenes for this section of my novel. The midpoint setting change set off a domino effect, giving rise to exciting new scene options. After months of plugging along, chipping away at my outline, I sat down and planned out nearly the whole first half of Act 2 B in the space of a weekend.

I attended virtual writer summits & workshops. INVALUABLE. I had the chance to attend two summits in May, the Fantasy & Sci-Fi Author's Summit, and the Spark to Story Summit. What I learned from them was so tremendously helpful. I can't recommend writing summits enough as a chance to gain insight, piece of mind, and strengthen your skills. I have so much love and respect for the amazing and talented people who spoke at the summits I attended!

What worked well?

Realizing the inspirational potential of setting. Alex Sokoloff's perspective on setting really changed the game for me. Treating setting, even in a contemporary work like my current project, as a "set piece", something so striking it's what makes your reader remember your book, really pushed setting to the forefront of my outlining process...and with amazing results. Interestingly enough, one of the workshops I attended in May featured an author who had won an award for her immersive world-building and she shared the same idea: make your settings memorable, if a scene doesn't have to take place in the living room...don't have it in the living room. Take your readers somewhere.

What was fun?

Brainstorming new scenes :) Being stuck as long as I was, new ideas for scenes were hard to conjure up...then I reworked my midpoint, and suddenly I was back to daydreaming. Daydreaming scenes is my jam. My brain runs through them like I'm filming a movie and I get to be the director. Amazing way to spend an hour, highly recommend 10/10.

Visiting H-Mart and picking up a pop-up postcard of Bukchon Hanok Village, which is where Hayoon lives with his family <3 So inspiring to see it on my shelf every day :)

What do I want to become great at?

Developing theme. After seeing how many workshops focused on theme during the summits I attended, I began to ask myself: how well do I know the themes for Follow Me? Novel ideas come to me premise first 99% of the time. My mind is so visual, I can often "see" my plot...theme is much more abstract, so it's something I'm finding I have to work at to identify. Theme is asking what's the point of your novel, the message you want to share with the world...and I'm over here: "so get this, Soojin, who has been single since birth, becomes engaged overnight to some rich guy living halfway across the world omg" loool the novel will be deeper than that I promise, but premise is so distracting...

What am I grateful for?

Access to great free resources. Being able to attend the writing summits that I did in May for FREE is such a gift.

My progress. I can't tell you how great it feels to get through the blocks I was facing going into Act 2 B after two months of going in circles. What a relief!

If you've read this far, please know how much your support means to me :) Send me a message or leave me a comment if there is anything I touched on here that you would like to know more about!

[thatamberauthor]

Thank you for following @neylanmalk <3 I am currently working on my first novel, which is set in Seoul (love your photos of Seoul btw! :D). Welcome and thanks for your company on my journey!

[thatamberauthor]

April let the sunshine in! I was able to get outside to write/outline often and it was so healing to do so, especially after dreary and difficult March. The true MVP of April has definitely been my white board. I have been using it make great progress, so much so, that I even bought myself a new mini one...my favorite tool now for sure!

This month was all about recovery and recalibration. I felt very "off" after being so sick and losing so much momentum on my project in March. I had to take a deep breath and a step back to see where to jump back into things. If March taught me anything, it's how much Follow Me means to me. I'm committed. That being said, looking at things with "fresh" eyes...I could see that I seemed to be stuck. Uh-oh.

What did I get up to?

Tried to get unstuck?? Oh boy. I had to be honest with myself coming back to outlining. Since this is my first time seriously outlining a novel, I have been testing out a variety of outlining methods. Unfortunately, no matter which one I tried...I found I could only plot up to the midpoint. I had half a story. Welp...

I zoomed in. I saw I was stuck and so I told myself, okay...I just need to generate new ideas. I will go back to what I do know and expand and hone that and hopefully that will spark something? So I did just that. I began writing scene cards on Reedsy Studio for all the scenes I had planned for ACT 2 A. "Living" in those scenes did help...but also raised more questions that I needed to research and answer. This brought me to a point where I saw I couldn't answer the questions being raised in ACT 2 without first revisiting ACT 1, so...

I went to an expert. I have been guided thus far by some of the best writers and editors on the internet, bless them for sharing their knowledge! This time I looked to Alex Sokoloff, screen-writer-turned-novelist. I had bought Alex's book, Stealing Hollywood, and was fascinated by her approach. Used Alex's book to walk me through ACT 1 a second time, asking myself questions as I went against the key points Alex marked as essential in ACT 1. What was missing? What was I doing well? I wanted to answer the questions I had raised for myself in ACT 2, so after finishing my second pass of the first ACT, I continued on, using the same process on ACT 2. Some questions were answered (yay!), and others still remain. It's possible they can't be answered until I learn more about ACT 2 B...which is where I am stuck.

What worked well?

Reading Alex Sokoloff's Stealing Hollywood. As I just mentioned above, Alex's book has been a huge help to me. I really seem to connect with her approach, which treats novel writing visually, as if you were creating a movie. That's exactly how my ideas show themselves to me, extremely visually...so I just super resonate with what I learning through Alex.

What was fun?

Using my white board :) I'm serious. I feel like a salesman, but: everyone should have one! lol! There's just something so freeing for my creativity being about to write messy and quickly across the board...erasing when I want, and moving on. I take pictures of what I come up with, and then start over. Works great!

What do I want to become great at?

Having a comprehensive strategy. I start, I stop. I go at something from one angle...then drop it in favor of another. My thoughts are random and scattered. I have ideas, but they are all out of order. Character development one day, plot the next. I am all over the place friends. It's hard to make visible progress this way...and my brain really wants the reward of visible progress. Instead of living in this 25% of everything mode, I really want to come up with a concise plan, or strategy if you will, for tackling the second half of my novel.

What am I grateful for?

The sunshine. I can't tell you how much of a difference the sunny days are making for me. It's been a long gray winter, to see real signs of spring gives me that light hopeful feeling in my heart...hey you actually can write a whole novel!

Mr. Loaf being my #1 fan. Every time I sit down to outline, every time, Mr. Loaf magically appears. As he sits and lays beside me, I imagine him cheering me on. His purrs of support were just what I needed this month, aw!

If you've read this far, please know how much your support means to me :) Send me a message or leave me a comment if there is anything I touched on here that you would like to know more about!

[distantorchestravirtue]

[thatamberauthor]

March was a hard one. My family got the flu (I was sick for weeks) and suddenly all my project momentum came to a screeching halt. Being gentle with myself and working to get back on track has been my main goal <3

My first major road block, and it didn't even involve my writing per se. Getting sick as I did left me with no brain power or energy to get out of bed. Up until this point, I had been working diligently every single day on Follow Me in some way. Stepping away from something I felt I was building so much momentum in was really difficult for me to accept. Even with a fever, I sat up in bed, with my craft books and papers, grasping at some thread of thought...lol! Ultimately, very little progress was made, but I did end up learning a lot about myself and how much this project means to me <3

What did I get up to?

I turned my attention to the second half of Follow Me. Up to this point I have been full speed ahead working my through plotting Act 1 and the first half of Act 2 (Act 2 A). Even the midpoint came to me quite easily! It was time to look closer at how I will reach a satisfying ending...no pressure! lol!

Driven by my quest to figure out the inner workings of my ending, I found myself reaching for Jessica Brody's Save the Cat Writes a Novel. I buried myself in those pages, absorbing like a sponge the beats of Act 2 B and Act 3.

Obsessed with plotting the second half of my novel, I cast an even wider net for advice. I complied and created common beat sheets with help from K.M Weiland, Sarra Cannon, Ellen Brock, and Alex Sokoloff.

What worked well?

Using a white board. I have learned a lot about myself in plotting my first novel...and one of them is that having big open space to create on helps me focus and organize my thoughts. I've been writing on blank pieces of printer paper because lined paper is just not it for me. And then it occurred to me to use the white board we have in our dining nook! Light bulb! The most amazing thing ever for how my brain works. I can write and erase quickly, form thoughts as I think them...such a life saver! If you've never tried a white board in brain storming, I highly recommend it!

What was fun?

Using all my "down time" to daydream scenes. Can't under estimate the power of imagination, more often than not that is where the solution is to any plotting problem I'm having :)

What do I want to become great at?

Getting past the second half wall. They told me it would happen. That at the midpoint or just after, there is a metaphorical wall all writers hit heading into the second half of plotting their novel. But! things were going so well! I had powered through plotting the first half of my novel without any major obstacles...what was to stop me from powering through the second half? Well, "flu" brain didn't help of course, but in sync with getting sick, all progress on my plotting stopped as I took my first steps past the midpoint. As if some kind of terrible curse had settled on me, I was suddenly void of ideas on how I wanted to move forward? Where did THIS come from?? Of course, I know I want a happy ending. I have key scenes in mind for the second half...but stitching them together...figuring out if I am missing anything...delivering the perfect wrap up to all the plotlines...yikes! Intimidating! Alex Sokoloff describes hitting the second half wall like the writer's own "all is lost" beat, that often the writer must go through this low point of not knowing how everything is going to turn out right beside their main character...and I tell you that's exactly how it feels. So here I am, holding Soojin's hand...hoping one of us comes up with something soon! lol

What am I grateful for?

My health. This month was the sickest I've been in years. I am so grateful to be recovering well. To feel like a real person again. What a gift to be able to return to doing what I love: writing.

This novel project. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and being sidelined from Follow Me for three weeks really made me realize how important this project is to me. It brings me so much joy to work on it. I am so proud of how far I've come, and I am so excited to share more of it with you soon!

Love & support. I needed a lot of it this month. I felt awful not only physically, but mentally I wasn't doing well either. It was upsetting for me to "lose" the momentum I felt I had built up. My family and Mr. Loaf were by my side through it all. They really helped me be gentle with myself, be patient, and see, of course...I didn't really "lose" anything.

If you've read this far, please know how much your support means to me :) Send me a message or leave me a comment if there is anything I touched on here that you would like to know more about!

[skullchicken]

If you have achieved something, please remember to observe a mandatory period of basking in the warm glow of your achievement like a lizard on a stone, lest you teach your brain that effort is futile, actually, because it didn't get to enjoy its happy chemicals, so, naturally, nothing good ever comes of trying. (And no, avoiding punishment is not a reward!)

I recommend, like, 5% of basking time in relation to whatever time you invested into achieving the thing minimum. And if you can't make your own bask, friend-brought is fine (= tell your friends!).

[prophetic-writer]

“What if I write it and it’s bad-”

WHAT IF YOU WRITE IT AND ITS GOOD? WHAT IF YOU WRITE IT AND ITS EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANTED? WHAT THEN????

[thatamberauthor]

Happy 22nd Birthday Hayoon!

Introducing Kang Hayoon— our leading man, he is our main character's love interest and soul mate. On this day in the novel's timeline it's not only Hayoon's birthday (4/18/2003...Aires <3), but THE midpoint. Expect fireworks!

Hayoon, the black sheep of the family, is recruited by his plotting grandmother to help match make his older brother, Joonwoo, with a suitable wife that aligns with his new role as President of the family company.

Grandma has such a bride already picked out, Hayoon just has to help things along at first...by impersonating his brother. What could go wrong..? (spoilers: A LOT)

[ljmoorewrites]

How can I become a writer?

Write.

But I don't know where to start.

Write.

But I'm worried.

WRITE.

What if nobody likes it?

W R I T E

What if it's not very good?

Write. Write. WRITE. WRITE.

W

R

I

T

E

Write

Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write.

Write.

Write

Write

Write

Write

Write

Write

Write

Write

W R I T E

Write write write

Write

Write

[thatamberauthor]

February has come and gone, and with it, another whirlwind month of outlining! I am making process with my story structure... officially heading into the third quarter or Act 2B. Maybe drafting in April is in the cards?

My writing journey has been both so humbling and so fun...thank goodness! February saw me revisiting story structure...again...and again. At this very moment I am still deliberating over the structure that will best suit my story. It's a such huge commitment idk I feel like I'm getting married to the structure I choose loool! Lesson of the month is: knowledge is power. No matter how many story structures are out there to choose between, as I learn more about them and the function they serve, the right choice is becoming clear. I am about ready to say: I do.

What did I get up to?

So much story structure analysis...my god. Again, thank you to the kind editors and writers on YouTube for their dedication in breaking down structure. Bless.

More character work, like character identities (Soojin is a daughter, Korean American, ect.) and how these identities are prioritized in their lives, so helpful!

Tentatively planned all scenes for Act 1/Quarter 1 and entered them into Reedsy Studio...fairly confident I have all scenes lined up the way I want them even up until the midpoint!! So excited about this!

Learned the extreme importance of the midpoint. Guys, it's important. Luckily I have killer midpoint planned. Oh yeeeah ;)

"Casted" characters from my novel in Reedsy studio...oh man it is so fun to open my character page and see my whole ensemble staring back at me :) I will share asap!

Theme work, still refining my theme down to just a couple key ideas.

What worked well?

Using Reedsy Studio. I feel I am still very attached to my paper and pens, but for the couple of areas I feel I have made enough progress in outlining, the benefit of digitizing is wonderful. I suppose you could call Reedsy Studio is the poor man's Scrivener, but I have personally found it has all the tools I need so far. I've entered all of Act 1 on scene cards and I have had a ball entering character information with actor pictures attached. It's interface is easy to use and highly customizable. All for $0.00. Sold!

Open to inspiration. This one seems obvious, but as I am in a heavy duty outlining phase, it's been so helpful for me to remember to still keep my eyes and ears open to inspiration in whatever form that may come my way. For example, I recently was babysitting my cousin's son, and he sweetly asked me to build him an indoor tent. I haven't built a tent made of sheets in yeeears. It was so much fun and we giggled and had a great time :) After, when I was doing character work on Soojin, I was stuck working out what habits she has when she's troubled: and then bam, I got it! She builds a tent to escape and think in. It's one of my favorite character details about Soojin and I have some brilliant scenes planned. Big thanks to Wyatt who asked me to build him a tent :)

What was fun?

"Casting" Korean drama actors as the characters in my novel. Seeing these characters come to life was so much fun!

Using YouTube to transport me to the streets of Seoul. I feel like a location filming scout picking out areas I want to include in my novel :)

What do I want to become great at?

Using an outlining process that works for me. Don't get me wrong, I am making so much progress here...but still, I want to be great! There's a lot that still overwhelms me about formal story structure. All I hear is that no outlining process is the same for any two authors, that you have to find what works for you and you alone. So I've been on this quest of learning how many different authors outline, looking to build my own perfect process. Then I've had authors tell me that their process can change even novel to novel. Yikes!

Building an amazing ending. After experiencing such an engaging story, nobody wants to be let down with a mediocre ending. For myself, I've watched countless kdramas where the whole journey was fantastic...right until the last episode. Then suddenly things go off the rails and everything is rushed, and unfinished, even out of character...and so unsatisfying...boo! I am determined to deliver an ending that I would love. It's harder said than done I am learning, but one thing is for sure: I only write happy endings :)

What am I grateful for?

Occasional sunny days. It's been such a long winter, the hopeful glimpses of spring have me living! I can't wait to be able to sit outside and write <3

Family, my loyal readers, Mr. Loaf...and Wyatt. It goes without saying, but I am going to say it anyways. I am soooo grateful for my amazing support system. Writing is ultimately a lonely process, but having you all to keep me company is such a blessing! Special thank you to Waytt for his tent inspiration :)

My ability to get unstuck. I've had a couple worrying moments where I've gone: well, now what...? But then, like magic, the next day the solution comes to me! Genuinely thankful for this. Whew!

If you've read this far, please know how much your support means to me :) Send me a message or leave me a comment if there is anything I touched on here that you would like to know more about! Also, I'd love to hear how your February went, let me know!

[thatamberauthor]

Happy birthday Joonwoo!

In honor of it being Joonwoo's birthday today (2/22/2000...Pisces <3), I wanted to tease his character to you. Joonwoo is the fiancé— the man our main character Soojin is engaged to...without knowing it.

Honestly, there probably isn't a nicer guy to be randomly engaged to...except for the fact that he is very much in love with someone else.

The cards are stacked against Soojin as she will have to win Joonwoo over to save everything she holds dear...fortunately his younger brother is willing to help! Unfortunately, his younger brother seems to be Soojin's total and complete soul mate.

[thatamberauthor]

Had the funniest experience and had to share :) One of the very first things I did when outlining Follow Me was create a timeline: 1999- 2025. This was essential for me because in this novel there's so much juicy back history before the main story even gets started that I needed a visual on that stat. On this timeline I planned out each year my main characters were born, among other important plot events, and I have been using it constantly, it's my most referenced resource and my new BFF, but I digress...getting to the funny part, I was playing with my character personalities the other day, toying around with fun things like star signs and blood types, ect— when I landed on the Chinese zodiac. Now, the Chinese zodiac is determined by your birth year, so if I was intentionally planning out my characters personalities around the attributes of each animal in the Chinese zodiac, I would have looked at the animal with attributes most like the character I was planning and would have had them born during that specific year....as you know, however, I wrote out my timeline first. So, looking at the Chinese zodiac was just mostly curiosity for me...like hm? based off the birth years I gave my characters (which was based off the ages I needed them to be), what animal represents them?? So I checked just for fun, thinking this probably won't match up AT ALL, and I had to laugh because somehow every animal that represented my main characters fit perfectly??? Even the romantic compatibility looool! I want to post proper character profiles for you guys soon of my main characters and I will definitely include their Chinese zodiac on them ;)

ps: what is your Chinese zodiac sign? I am a Horse (1990) :D

[afniel]

This is the magic lucky word count. Reblog for creativity juice. It might even work, who knows.

[thatamberauthor]

January round up:

January 2025 has come and gone already...how?? This month FLEW for me. As I look over these pictures I just want to give a special shout-out to my writer emotional support cat: Mr. Loaf. Always there for me <3

As you know, January was my first month on my path to my first completed novel. Over the last 31 days I feel have learned so much...almost too much! As someone who has been writing the better part of her life, I did initially have the thought: eh, I'll just get up to speed on a couple things and be on my way to drafting...oh boy was I wrong. Lesson of the month: crawl before you walk :)

What did I get up to?

character wooooork (building, naming, assigning a desire/misbelief, designing their character arc)

learning story structure in a formal format

picking a story structure for Follow Me (oh lord help me)

practicing outlining with said chosen story structure (just first act/quarter)

getting to know the snowflake method/save the cat

trying out summaries

What worked well?

Watching YouTube book authors/editors. Advice should always be taken as it resonates with you, but the channels I settled on have been so helpful to me and I have them put them in my free resources post :) Each morning before work, as I got ready, I made a point watch (listen to) whichever video was relevant to the pieces of the process I was working on that day/week...ps: shower thoughts are priceless!

Using the notes app on my phone. This may not be news to you, but this 90's baby has never embraced the notes feature...until now. I find it super helpful to get down and capture those sudden/fleeting thoughts I get for a scene, characters, a line of dialogue, the fix to a particular problem...been a lifesaver!

Writing by hand. I am married to my keyboard, so this affair I am having with my pen is puzzling me...but it's been working! Something about my hand moving across the page has really helped jog my creativity as I have been outlining. If you don't usually write by hand, I encourage you to try it :)

Being consistent & going slow. The time dedicated to my novel project is precious to me, and I have been guarding that time...but making a real point not to pressure myself at the same time. As long as I am doing something related to my novel and writing during that time, I feel accomplished. Also, pacing myself. I felt at first as if the outlining stage should be certain amount of time...which isn't really true! There is no definite timeline, so I'm going to go with the flow.

Deciding on a story structure. I have learned this month just how critical story structure is to a novel. I found, while I have been instinctively writing story structure/beats into all my works, educating myself on story structure/beats and their functions, has helped me be super intentional about my plot and my character arcs in a way that I didn't know was possible! You can actually plot out a whole novel before you've written it folks! Wow.

What was fun?

Playing with character details like their enneagram, astrological sign, Chinese zodiac, blood type, ect...(careful this can lead you down irresistible rabbit holes loool)

The act of making progress, seeing my notes pile up, having names to call my characters by, getting to work with new scenes and ideas, learning new writing methods...love it!

Daydreaming up romantic scenes between my main characters that may or may not ever reach the page <3

Creating a Spotify playlist for Follow Me! It's so the vibe! I'll be sure to share it soon :)

What do I want to be great at?

Creating characters from scratch. I have been writing fanfiction since I was ten years old. I study other creators characters. I never noticed how easy it made things for me to have a character already made and ready to take on adventures, an insta-personality I could just jump into with back history and beliefs and opinions and feelings...what a gift XD Of course I have experience creating OCs for my fanfiction, but there's suddenly so much pressure when creating a character of your own that you know will be leading your readers through 80,000 words. It's scary! Will my readers like this character, will they be able to relate to them?? I am happy to report, however, that after a solid month of character work, I am feeling good about the characters I have been building. I am excited for you to meet them :)

Understanding story structure and which one to use. This is an ongoing challenge, the more I learn about the many story structures out there, the more overwhelmed I get. Heeeelp! Through blood, sweat, and tears I have selected the 4 Act Story Structure/4 Quarter Story Structure. Finally, this one seems to be the closest match to the rhythm of the novel that is shaping up in my head. I could go on forever about how painful it was before I discovered this particular story structure. At one point I was desperately mixing and matching story structures...god what a nightmare. I will post a more detailed look at the structure so you can see what the skeleton of my novel will be like.

What am I grateful for?

My support system. You, who have chosen to keep me company on this writing journey, and my family. We have a joke going in my house that my mom and sisters are apart of my writing team and we pretend we are at the writer's table of a Korean drama (my novel) as I bounce ideas off them. We have a good time <3

My writer emotional support cat. Mr. Loaf gets his own special note because my good boy is by my side for every outlining session laying by me just in case I need an emergency petting session awww!

YouTube book authors and editors. I am so grateful for those kind souls on YouTube who have bothered to try and take some of the mystery out of novel writing. Their help has been invaluable and the reason I have successfully made it through this month. If you ever need channel recommendations, I got 'em for you!

If you've read this far, please know how much your support means to me :) Send me a message or leave me a comment if there is anything I touched on here that you would like to know more about! Also, I'd love to hear how your January went, let me know!

[nondelphic]

i sit down to write and suddenly i am the most distracted human alive. the chair is uncomfortable. my coffee is too hot. my playlist isn't quite the vibe. i need to research what victorian houses smelled like in 1872 for exactly 45 minutes even though my story takes place in space. and yet the moment i'm trying to fall asleep? every single sentence i've ever needed just lines up perfectly in my brain like some kind of creative parade i'll never get back.

[thatamberauthor]

Hello, lovelies!

I'm a little late on this week's Mindful Monday, but that was because I was finishing my "homework"...this cellphone wallpaper vision board!

Creating this wallpaper was so easy on Canva and now seeing it on my phone gives me that giddy surge of motivation I need from time to time, yay!

Sometimes it's the simple things that can really help beat nagging self-doubt :)

If you're curious about my choices for this vision board: I am in LOVE with this shade of purple (in case you can't tell loool), it just makes me smile, so there it goes on my board! The bottom most polaroid is my current working book cover for my novel project: Follow Me...you'll notice the addition of the Watty's award winner badge :D Eight is an important number to me and it often symbolizes abundance, which is one of the feelings I want to experience everyday, so I included a polaroid for followers and a reminder of eight's significance. The next two polaroids are of locations I would love to manifest visiting: Tokyo, Japan & Seoul, South Korea. Finally, the last polaroid is a snap shot of The New York Times Bestseller List title...because what author doesn't aspire to make the list? :) The text on my vision board are affirmations that mean a lot to me: the three emotions I want to "normalize" for myself, what kind of journey I'm on (love & trust), and things my mindset coach always says <3

What would you put on your own digital vision board? What does 2025 hold for you in your heart?

If this vision board project inspires you into making one too, please let me know in the comments!

Later, lovelies! xoxo