It’s been a great summer, but I'm super excited to be entering spooky season!

First, a few summer updates. We went on a two-week beach vacation in August, which was so restful and fun. We didn't fly to a resort or anything (not my thing), but instead did a road trip to all the cute beach towns on the "west coast” of Ontario, and you know what? It’s really fun not having a plan, lying on the beach all day (reading and making rock art), and just otherwise taking it easy. We stayed in a lovely little town called Kincardine because it was PERFECT in every way: beach, cute downtown, nice walking trails. We happened to be there on a Saturday evening, when the whole town marches behind a full pipe band through downtown. Really miss those leisurely days on the beach.

When we got back, I did a line/copyedit of a dystopian short story collection, and now I’m starting a copyedit of a dystopian novelette (that’s something longer than a short story but technically shorter than a novella, if you want to get technical, haha). Stoked for that; dystopias are my absolute fave. 😎🤖

On the Blog

Here are a few posts from the archives as I get my blogging engines up and running again...

• ​6 books to help you start a writing practice
  Stephen King's On Writing is of course on there, but there are some other good ones you may not know about!
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• ​4 tips for dealing with overwhelm in the writing process
  ​Hint: Overwhelm is not something to get over and then you'll start writing. It's part of the process...

Resource Roundup for Authors

• "Are you building an author house you want to live in?" Listen to the QuitCast for Writers podcast with Becca Symes, which dives into writer burnout, CliftonStrengths for writers, and so much good stuff.
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• Deep dive into genre tropes of all kinds. This site is comprehensive, and a super interesting rabbit hole. I re-stumbled upon it when I was looking up dystopian tropes.
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• If you’re submitting to literary magazines, here are some good tips to keep in mind and not get down on yourself for high rejection rates.
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• ​"Do quests, not goals." This framework spoke to me! If the quest is an adventure, you naturally expect there to be puzzles, surprises, and perils. Setbacks are reframed as fun and interesting things that naturally happen on quests.
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• Not a writing resource per se, but if you like sketching or figure drawing, I found this really great interactive 3D model for reference.

What I'm Watching & Reading

• The last few months I’ve enjoyed some really good sci-fi mini series: The Three-Body Problem (based on the Hugo-award-winning novel—great first-contact story) and Dark Matter (if you’re into the multiverse).
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• I finished up the books Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls (first two Alex Cross books by James Patterson ... of a 32-book series 🙃), and they launched me into a thriller kick.
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• I also got all 'elder-Millennial nostalgic' and finished rewatching Dawson’s Creek. I'm so sad it's over! I'm thinking of moving on to Fringe, which I remember enjoying back in the day, also starring Joshua Jackson.

What I'm Making

Every fall like clockwork I get back into all my cozy hobbies, and making art is one of them. Collages and blackout poetry are back in a big way.

As for editing availability, I have a spot in November and then I'm booking for February and beyond, both fiction and nonfiction! Apply here to work together.
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- Erika

Erika Steeves ​
Fiction & Nonfiction Editor
​www.erikasteeves.com​

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