STARTING A NOVEL: How to Stop Chasing the Rabbit

 Hey guys! Welcome back to Homestead. I got many comments from writers in my article last week that the problem they were facing wasn't that they didn't think enough, it was that they thought too much. I wanted to help the writers who are, like me, overthinkers. So, settle in as we discover how to overcome the planning phase. 

For the past six years, since I started writing I've definitely fallen deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole. Everyone has a rabbit. A rabbit is anything that you’re chasing. That can be a car, a promotion, or a relationship. In writing, it can be searching for a character trope that will hook your reader, or a dynamic you're so obsessed with you can't stop thinking about, or a plot point you find yourself giggling and kicking your feet over. These are rabbits. Say hi to your rabbit. Give them some lettuce, some scritches, some love. These are all things we love doing and are good to do, but only in moderation. If we chase after these things long enough, we can lose ourselves. My Dad called it quality of life. It’s all about balance. 

 If you focus too much on what readers will enjoy, you'll forget what it's like to enjoy writing for you.  

If you think too much about a dynamic, you may become so fixed on it that your creative flow is impeded. 

If you're busy enjoying the thought of something, you'll become addicted to thinking about it and never actually write it.  

Not to fear! With every downside, there are three upsides. 1:3 is a nice ratio, and the best part is that chasing a rabbit into its bunker fulfills something you as a writer are craving. But like Alice, if you chase it too deeply, you'll end up losing yourself. 

This happened to me about two years ago. I was so consumed with just dreaming and imagining scenes that I forgot two important things.  

1) What reality is like 
2) In order to be a writer, you have to actually write 

How I overcame this was writing out of order, which I know isn't recommended for writers, but this helped me get out of my funk. I wrote down everything I was excited to write and used that as a launching pad to fill in the gaps. The first draft isn't supposed to be perfect and coherent. It’s just supposed to exist. That's what editing is for. Also, you know that big scene that you must write that the entire plot hinges on? Yeah, that scene in particular. Write it. Stop running from your responsibilities!  

Another way to stop chasing rabbits is to hone in and focus. Lock in. Keeping a journal helps, I have a notebook for every story. Using Pinterest to visualize characters and settings and drawing your character can also help bring your ideas out of your mind and into the real world!
 
That's all for today folks, thanks for joining me and as always, stay tuned! 

STARTING A NOVEL: How to Overcome Writers Block

 

You know the feeling. You've carved out a chunk of your time, scheduled it for days, even weeks "This is the day I'm going to write" and you sit down at the desk, open your computer, type in a heading and rest your fingertips on the keyboard. All the ideas you've been pondering just fly out of the window and any attempt at the first sentence sounds like trash. Nothing hits right and by the third hour of staring, you give up. 

 

This, my friends, is writers block. As always, welcome to my blog! If you're a follower, welcome back. If you're new, welcome to the Homestead. Take some cheese, get a drink, take off your shoes and stay awhile while we dive into my advice for how to overcome writers' block and finally start your novel. 

 

Your novel, when it's first starting, is like a color. For you painters in the audience, the page is your canvas, and your words is the paint brush. The paint itself is your creativity. When you squeeze the paint out of the tube and look at it on the palate, it doesn't mean anything, it's just a color, just a concept. The wonder comes as you add more paint, more colors, more ideas onto that canvas, but it's hard sometimes to get that initial idea on the page. So, what do you do? How do you get so motivated that writing isn't just a hobby, it's a lifeline, it's an addiction? 

 

You think. 

 

Imagine you're a middle schooler again and there's this cute boy or girl you like. They occupy all your thoughts, but of course you don't like them :3 (hehehhehee) and you tell yourself to stop thinking about them. Well, you can't. The more you think and dwell on their best qualities, the more obsessed you get. The same is true for WRITING. The more you think and dwell on your book, the more you fall in love with it and that's the secret that most writers miss. They don't spend the time to fall in love with their project. Some projects are harder to fall in love with than others, but it's essential to keep turning over ideas in your head, imagine scenes, create character designs, do everything you can to immerse yourself in the world you want to create. It also helps with ideas. When you're looking for inspiration and thinking "I wonder how [insert character] would [insert activity]" then you're becoming the character. Example, for the book I'm writing, He Needs A Father, I was sitting by the pool and I was thinking "I wonder if William knows how to swim, or just sinks." then I laughed for the next few minutes because the mental image of William just sinking straight down to the bottom made me happy. When you do this, the story becomes so real that it is real. And if it's real to you, it'll feel real to your readers. 

 

So instead of scheduling time in your busy schedule to write, instead take time to think. Just sit in a quiet place and think. Take time to fall in love with your novel and then writing won't feel like a chore. The emotions and words will leap off the page and writing will feel effortless.  

 

That's all for today, folks. Don't forget your coats, your purses! Thanks for stopping by and until the next time, Stay Tuned!!

THE KING'S ACTORS Development pt 4 Jason

"Jason frowned. She should choose her friends better. Keeping the company of murderers is never wise."

 As always, Welcome to the Homestead. Grab a seat by the warm hearth and get cozy while we dive together into the last main character of The King's Actors, Ava 

Background: Jason Allons! One of my favorite characters, mostly because HE IS A BEAN. The development was hard to pick up and for the first 4 years, there was none. In the beginning Jason was more of a concept than a character. I knew that sometime halfway through the story, which was at this time the beginning of book 2, I wanted to introduce a character that would help assist the main three on their journey. His original name was Will McCloud, my brother's Lego figure, and I thought that was cool. I wanted to base him off my brother originally, so I made him a pilot and gave him shades, because, for a sixth grader, that was the epitome of coolness. Eventually, as siblings do, he told me he didn't want me to use his name for the character, so Jason fell into the abyss while I focused on writing and perfecting the first part of the story (which I rewrote at least 4 times). Four years later, I was happy with the first book, and I continued on with the story until I hit a roadblock...what was I going to do about Will McCloud? Now, my family and I had gone to a resort near Universal Studios as a birthday present so one night I was just drawing, hoping that if I could get a character design scrawled down, maybe I could put a name to a face and figure out the character from there. I had just found this song on Spotify that I was listening to on loop, Detective Detective by Static-P and I stared at my paper until it clicked.  
 
Jason should be a detective. 
 
Inspiration struck and I was quick to seize it. That night I designed the character, gave him a name, and decided what his role in the story would be.  
 
Personality: Jason's character is one of my favorite in the book, next to Rex, because even though he doesn't always make the right decisions, he has a heart of gold. Jason's a huge introvert. He would rather sit at home in dim lighting and watch anime, or read, or sketch rather than deal with people. He's highly intuitive and has a moral compass of steel. In Jason's mind, what's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong. No grey area. He dreams of one day following in his father's footsteps and becoming a detective. Jason doesn't do well with ambiguity and always tries to solve things. He's, as I describe in the book, a gentle giant. His size makes him look like the boy who would beat you up on the playground and steal your lunch money, but he usually just keeps his hood over his head and shyly continues his business. He's effortlessly sweet and tries to protect and care for those he cares about the best he can. 
 
Voice: Unlike the main three, Jason's voice is kind of a blend of characters. He's similar to Chestnut in that he's in his own thoughts most of the time. He's the opposite of Rex's point of view, which is very grey area, abstract, feeling focused. Jason is black and white, logical, and fact focused. I really wanted to distance the two from each other as much as I could to not have them be too similar. I made a Venn diagram of the two characters and every time there was a similar trait, I decided who would get it and the opposite.  
 
Honestly, Jason was probably the easiest character to figure out. I haven't messed with his scenes too much and most of what I wrote in the first draft stayed in the final draft. After the hiatus I took with his character, the inspiration was there, and everything just clicked into place. I can't wait for you all to meet him in the book! 18 days left until it is released!! 

Discord Server

 Hey guys! Just want to post a link to my discord server here for y'all https://discord.gg/PNz9PVcv
Here you'll find exclusive art as well oppurtunities to keep up with news for each of my projects and a chance to ask me questions about writing or my books, or just whatever!

THE KING'S ACTORS Development pt 3 Ava

    

The fiery burning sun of ambition and obsession! Ava Charlie Evans remains one of my favourite arcs in the entire book! Every interaction with the other characters just adds so much drama and drive to the story, her scenes are definitely my favourite!

As always, Welcome to the Homestead. Grab a seat by the warm hearth and get cozy while we dive together into the last main character of The King's Actors, Ava

Background: Ava has the most realistic backstory out of the three (Which considering she's taylor swift famous is saying something) If you factor in Jason, she's the second most realistic, but Jason will have a post to himself later. Ava comes from a presitigious family, The Evans. Her mom is a conducter at the Lavivrus Opera house and her dad is a very successful lawyer. Between the two, there was no escaping the public eye for Ava. She didn't want to though! Her parents put her in different sports growing up, trying to findd heer niche and she really took to Theatre. With her parent's connections, she quickly rose up as a popular child actress. She wrote songs, recorded albums, starred in movies, musicals, from age 6 to age 16, which is where we see her at the start of the book. 

Personality: Aries. That's...that's the simplest definition of her. She's got a streak of Hamilton in her, a streak of Macbeth, being Ambition is her folly. Ava thrives off recognition and appreciation. She's an overacheiver and naturally skilled in problem solving that she's grown lazy from not needing to try hard in school. She has a tendency though to be very worldly, trying this dress from this hit company, or this lipstick that this famous actress wore, she's always searching for something to complete her, which drives her entire arc in the story. As I said in Chestnut's post [https://the-homestead-blog.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-kings-actors-developement-pt-2.html] Ava and Chestnut switched about two years into developement. I wrote Ava originally more leaning towards Lucy from the Lego movie. Cool, calm, reserved, refined. She wore feather boas and the highest heels and I would spend hours imagining her strut. As I was writing her though, It bothered me how much of a know it all she was. She didn't quite gel with the other characters, so I decided to scrap that personality and give her more of a fun-loving, life of the party energy. She's kind, caring, smart and very in tune to giving people compliments. Her love language is words of affirmation and it shows...most of the time. At quick as her wit it, like Rex, she tends to speak first and think later. Her and Rex are both equally impulsive, however this manifests in Rex through action and manifests in Ava through words. Rex will run head first into a burning building while Ava would blurt something about how "the building was bound to burn eventually o.o" She does her best, but it's a nice contrast to Chestnut because although Ava talks non-stop, she's not really good at comforting people. 

Voice: Ava's voice is similar to Rex's except it's heavier on the dialogue. Ava puts heavy emphasis on peoples words (or lack of in Chestnut's case) and most of her chapters are filled with alot of "He said", "She said" on purpose. In contrast, Rex is more intuned to action and his surroundings, like I said in his post, he doesn't attach much emotion to his actions, it's more "Okay" Rex set the book down. Ava also puts heavy emphasis on action, but it's less of what she's is doing and more what eveyone is doing. She has a keen eye out for little things to copy or to mention as small talk. 

And with that, I conclude Ava's post! Personally, her personality is closest of the three to my own, even though all of the characters have bits and peices of my journey and personality in them, Ava is the closest to my heart. She's the loud friend you can't help but love! Thanks for reading and as usual, Stay tuned!

PRE-ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW

 AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW AT https://brand.site/golden-age-publishers This riveting Multi-POV Supernatural Fantasy will have you at the edge of your seat. Official release date JUNE 29TH 2025. Get yours now for $5 off!

TO BE BRAVE

Gripped by an acidic poison, Princess Chestnut Oak accompanied by Rex and Ava, races against time to get to the city of Lavivrus, but unforeseen setbacks might be the difference between seeing her family again and dying alone.

TO BE FREE

Rex Thunder, a smalltown pickpocket, finds his fate intertwined with Chestnut's when a powerline falls and takes his life. Each child of the afterlife, Limbo, signs a contract which purchases a second chance at life for an eternity of slavery serving the King. With his contract due, Rex's ghost runs away from the man who's been assigned to bring him to home. Under the guise of caring for Chestnut's wellbeing, he joins her in her travels. If he could only destroy the portal back home to Limbo, he could finally be free.

TO BE LOVED

Ava Charlie Evans, the sweetheart of the stage and film industry, is cut off from the spotlight. Her mom requests she come to live with her in Lavivrus and finally live a normal concealed life. When her boat is docked by a hurricane, she meets Rex and Chestnut. Desperate for love and attention, her jealousy grows when she drifts into Rex's shadow.

The Nessecary Evil of Writing: Cutting

"Just get your first draft out there"

"You can't edit a blank page"

"The first draft is inherently word vomit, just get it on the page"

    We've all heard these before. These phrases commonly circulate writing communities and for good reason! This is one of the best peices of advice you can give to a new reader, but once you complete that first draft, new readers are left staring at their creation wondering "What now?" 

    Now, my dear travellers, welcome to the Homestead. Grab a seat by the warm hearth and get cozy while I explain the cruelest neccesary evil of Writing; Cutting.

    No matter what length your book is, 20k, 80k, 120k, it's always hard to cut things. Authors who are disassisfied with their book length especially have a hard time cutting. I recently finished the first draft of JUNE 9TH and it's come to a grand total of 43k. Yaaaaay... For comparison, my first book was about 200,000 words. I tend to overwrite and ramble on, which is great for when you get to the second stage, editing, however when you have a short book, it becomes harder to axe peices that you are deeply attached to. 

That's my advice to you:

DON'T GET ATTACHED

    When you finish your first draft, especially if it's your first book, there's a sense of excasty, I mean you just finished a book! That's a major accomplisment and you should be super proud of yourself. However the worst thing you can do is look at your first draft and say "Wow, this is the best thing I ever could have created" There's always room for improvement and months or years down the road you may look back on those "genius ideas" and have a better one, and that's okay! Cutting, reworking, and rewriting is, in my opinion, the most fun part of writing. Some characters will clutter the plot, some arcs will seem out of place, some descriptions just won't make sense. It's important to look at your work with a mindset of "How can I make this better?" instead of peaking in your first draft. Pssst, this also helps when you have Beta readers. If you're mind is more angled towards constructive critisism, their comments will feel less like a direct attack 

    All in all, cutting can be hard and emotionally wretching. Recently I had to cut a major character, Eric from The King's Actors, because he wasn't big enough to effect the plot in an important way and adding more scenes to fill out his arc would clutter the plot. In the beginning it was a small thought that destroyed me. I couldn't imagine the book without him, but as I was editing, I realized just how neccesary it was to cut him. After days of crying and debating, I took to my manuscript, enterred "Eric" into the find and replace bar and removed every mention of him....the hardest thing for me to accept was just how easily it was to cut him. The more you get attached to your characters, the best descisions become the hardest. 

Thanks for reading and stopping by, as always keep writing and stay tuned!