Author: Justin Lauderdale

  • Accepting Change: Editing a Novel

    Accepting Change: Editing a Novel

    I’m currently in the middle of editing my most recent book project. Editing and revising a novel always comes with a fun little jolt of nerves at the beginning. You spend months writing a book, then take a break. Once you finally decide to return to it, there’s always that small moment where panic sets…

  • Subtle Self Sabotage

    Subtle Self Sabotage

    So I’ve been away from the website for a minute… sorry about that. To be honest, I’ve recently been struggling with writing. Not in a “writer’s block” sense. Quite the opposite, actually. I’ve had a lot of ideas circulating in my head. No, the problem is that my heart knows exactly what it wants to…

  • Inevitable Imposter Syndrome

    Inevitable Imposter Syndrome

    I would say my favorite moment so far in my writing journey was completing my first novel. There was a satisfying moment where I sat back, took a deep breath, and sighed. I had done it. I had written a complete novel. That feeling was immediately followed by an overwhelming wave of doubt. Had I…

  • I Finished a Book… Now What?

    I Finished a Book… Now What?

    So this week, I completed writing one of my novel projects! 116,235 word written over quite a few months finally led to the book being written in a way that satisfied my vision for it.  But… now what do I do? I asked myself this question both after finishing this and my other novel project,…

  • Distractions

    Distractions

    Let’s face it, life has a knack for getting in the way of what we want to do sometimes… Okay, most of the time. For me, that is my family and my job primarily, but there’s also just those small little things that tend to get in the way of my writing time (like notifications,…

  • Pivoting: The Future of JTLWrites

    Pivoting: The Future of JTLWrites

    If there was one word I could use to describe the current state of the site, it would be scattered. There’s a lot here. Different creative works, blog posts across a wide range of topics… and while that’s been fun, it’s also made it harder to write for. It feels like there’s no real through-line holding…

  • Den

    Den

    The den of introspection Where my voice can lie bare Here is where my thoughts Are judged and shared   Feelings of joy Of tragedy Of hope Of dread   Of light Of dark Of wants And of regrets   The den of introspection Is a paradox of chilling comfort Where the debate plays Between me and…

  • 4/13 update

    Hello everyone! As you may have noticed, there were no new creative works posted Just taking a quick break from updates the ninth or today. Just taking a small break for my birthday. I’ll be back to my regular schedule Thursday the 16th. See you soon! -JT

  • The World in Your Arms

    Have you ever held the world in your arms? I have, and it is a powerful feeling   The world arrived small, fragile and scared I could feel the warmth of it It stuck to my arms And left its mark on my heart   The world seemed light, but the weight began to set It…

  • Stones

    Stones

    I pick up stones Through my life every day Some stick on my back While others fall away   The stones that stay Add weight to my back Over time I notice them more And feel my bones start to crack   More and more The stone pile grows The pressure on my back Begins to show…