Probably no one is really interested in this except me, but I’ve made a resolution for 2022 to think more positively, progress instead of obstacles. So…
Halfway through the month of January, my writing for 2022 is off to a good start:
- 4k of about 8k for my Patreon story. A couple sneak peeks have been posted.
- 17k on an historical that will probably be around 50k and finish in April or May. I shared some character prep work in a behind the scenes post.
- beta readers are reading through We Fit – and so far the feedback is positive.
I figure one more week of writing on my Patreon story then it will be time to edit, format, and record it for delivery to patrons.
I’ll probably add another 4-5k on the historical before February arrives, too.
Lara Zielinsky 
I just found your website! I’m an amateur writer myself and I’m trying to strengthen the romance side of my writing, and reading your little excerpts here and there is a huge motivation and help for me. You probably don’t remember me, but you were my teacher when I was 13 (I’m 18 now) and if I hadn’t met you I would never have attempted to pursue writing, Thanks Ms. Z :))
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Welcome to the “real world,” Josh. Yes, I believe I do remember you. If I am guessing correctly, you graduated from Freedom High in 2020? If so, congratulations. This has been a tough couple of years to try and finish schooling. Have you settled your post-high school plans yet?
By the way, I believe your 8th grade class at Freedom Middle was the first where I gave the “write your own adventure” project during 4th quarter. I’m so glad you decided to keep working at writing.
I am no longer teaching in Orange County schools. Instead I run writers workshops out of my home online and work full-time as a fiction editor.
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WOW! Oh my gosh you replied! and wow you remember me! Gosh, yes- that writing assignment solidified my passion for writing. Granted I was quite bad at writing, (I’m probably *still* bad at writing but that’s beside the point haha) but I like to think I’ve developed my own tone and might have decent ideas for my books.
I graduated from FHS with the class of ’21! It has indeed been a rough school experience, with my entire senior year being online, I wanted to gouge my eyes and bleach my brain to scourge it’s memory.
No, I’m just whining- I will admit there were some good things to come out of 2020.
Sorry I’m going off topic, I think it’s awesome you run a writers workshop! I have little to no knowledge of the writing business and I have no idea how things work- I just try to write and I get some of my very unqualified friends to be my beta-readers hahahah
What do you do in your writers workshop?
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it’s good to be part of a writers group, or at least surround yourself with readers who can give you feedback.
In my workshops, I teach scene structure, plot structures (like foreshadowing, dream sequences, flashbacks, etc) characterization (showing traits, development, and relationships), conflict building (tension, suspense, goal setting and obstacles), point of view vs perspective, show don’t tell, dialogue tags vs action tags, and more.
It started out of a romance writers group chat where I had become a moderator, then host. It’s still mostly attended by romance writers across the spectrum, and a lot of my examples are from that genre.
If you’re on Facebook, check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/146697270717034
If not, you can learn more at http://lzedits.com/workshop
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