Late Summer Energy for Creative Work Hey, y’all welcome back to the dream season today. I want to talk to you about the energy of summer. Now as I’m recording this, we have got just a few weeks of summer left before we have the autumn Equinox in September. And. I want to be able to harness these last bits of summer energy. So summer is the grow season, meaning we’ve planted our seeds and created the magic. And that started in the spring. And then we have summer where everything starts growing and we don’t really need to put much work into it. , the seeds we’ve planted in the spring are doing ..read more

In this episode, I’m chatting with sobriety coach Sarah Williamson, and y’all… I almost wish I was joking when I tell you how much of a difference deciding I no longer wanted to be “a drinker” has had on my creativity, energy, and mental health. If you’re looking for the missing piece to what’s holding back your creativity, that extra glass of wine just may be it. Sarah has spent the last 12 years coaching and mentoring people who’ve struggled with their addictions and mental health, she feels that choosing to change your relationship with alcohol before you hit rock bottom is a powerful ..read more

 Okay, this is really exciting for me, but, you know what, this is my first real episode, and You got the nerves, you know, it’s kind of, um, exciting, but also potentially traumatizing. I guess we’ll find out. It’s like, um, if you’re one of those people who gets really hyped on public speaking, but you still get the tummy, , clenching feelings. It’s probably like that a little bit. So, all right, let’s dive in. So for this first real episode of the Dream Season, I wanted to talk to you guys about, The energies of each season and what, , themes, energy, elements, experiences, uh, vibes, colo ..read more

 Welcome to the dream season, a podcast for entrepreneurs, writers, and creatives of all kinds looking to finally find some balance in your life. So you can get back to enjoying the things you love and even the things you don’t love, but have to do anyway. I’m your host, Holly Ostara, and together we’re going to bring delight, inspiration, and sustainability to your creative flow. Okay, so I want you to know that even though this show has beautifully triumphant and maybe kind of relaxing openers, that this is not going to be one of those la di da podcasts where I’ve got it all figured out and ..read more

The Central Dramatic Question of a story is the driving force behind that story. Without it, there is no force, and there are no turning pages. The Central Dramatic Question provides a clear goal for the protagonist and sets up the stakes for the story, but what is it, really? What is a Central Dramatic Question? The Central Dramatic Question (CDQ) is a term used in literature, especially in novels, to refer to the fundamental question or conflict that drives the plot and engages a reader’s interest—the question the reader desperately wants to know the answer to. It’s a pivotal question or pro ..read more

Writing a book is both exciting and, yes, often daunting. You might even go so far as to call it scary, overwhelming, impossible, or traumatizing (all words I’ve heard from clients!). You’ve got so many ideas to juggle, characters to develop, and storylines to weave together, and keeping track of it is a full-time job. Trying to keep track of everything in your head never works, and so maybe you end up with dozens of writing notebooks, a slew of mismatched and half-finished Google Docs, an assortment of notes on your phone, and the odd email to yourself from 2 a.m. when you woke up with a thou ..read more

I’ve used ProWritingAid for a little over a year now. I loved it so much when I tried it that I got the lifetime license and haven’t regretted it. ProWritingAid helped me edit two stories for flash fiction contests, including my Midwinter!verse prequel, Witch Soup. I thought I’d never find a “con” for PWA, but I just did. Here’s my honest review of ProWritingAid. Witch Soup is a romantic comedy short story featuring Delta and Naomi, the soon-to-be-in-love modern witches from my upcoming contemporary fantasy series, Avalon!verse. Check it out! I’m currently editing the third book in the LGBT ..read more

One of the most intimidating steps of the novel writing process is hiring an editor. The mere idea of sending those many, treasured pages of hard work to face the judgement of a red pen-wielding grammar-nazi has certainly given me some gray hairs.  It’s a big commitment, but partnering up with a professional editor is never as scary as it seems. In fact, one of the biggest, scariest mistakes a writer can make is diving straight into the beginning stages of revision without any outside feedback.  As writers, we have this idea in our heads that absolutely no one should lay eyes on a fi ..read more

Need more lovely WLW romance in your life? Let me introduce you to Delta and Naomi, the two protagonists in my upcoming contemporary fantasy romance series, Midwinter-verse. Delta and Naomi are modern-day witches (though Naomi doesn’t know it yet!) living on the West Coast of the US. Delta, having grown up knowing she’s the last descendent of the lost priestesses of Avalon, Delta’s got a heavy weight on her shoulders. Naomi, however, just knows she’s in love with her best friend. Meet them here in this short story, and then sign up at the bottom to be first to know when I release new stories ..read more

Have you ever actually been asked what your biggest weakness was in a job interview? It’s the urban legend of interview questions that, unfortunately, is actually real. How did you answer it? I care too much? Or maybe Sometimes I’m too detail-focused? And then you quickly made up a story of how you once weakened that weakness and you walked out of that interview thinking ‘Nailed it!’ When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you. — African proverb Humble-bragging may’ve fooled an interview committee, but it won’t fool you and it won’t help you finish writing your bo ..read more