How Play Actually Improves Your “Serious” Writing
Incorporating play into writing enhances focus and creativity while reducing perfectionism. It allows writers to develop their unique voice through experimentation and generates raw material for serious work. Play also fosters problem-solving and rekindles joy, essential for sustained creativity. Embracing play as part of the writing process is crucial for growth.https://dreamspacestudio.net/how-play-actually-improves-your-serious-writing/
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When you're not a solitary #writer - advice for #extroverts and those just looking to get out of the house
#Friendship is My #WritingProcess
https://electricliterature.com/friendship-is-my-writing-process/
#amwriting #writingtips #brainstorming #editing #ideageneration
Before the Spark: Planning My Creative Phase
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How I Learned to Stop Labeling My Process and Start Trusting My Story
#CRAFT #Process #adviceforwriters #creativeprocess #writingprocess
Why I Gave Up On Word Count Goals
But maybe you shouldn't Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »
https://writingcooperative.com/why-i-gave-up-on-word-count-goals-9a5d7f7c5a0
#dailywritinghabit #writingprocess #writinggoals #theshortofit #writinghabit
Week 68: Pure simplicity
'Any darn fool can make something complex; it takes a genius to make something simple.' (Albert Einstein). In most cases, dealing with complexity means a long, iterative path of stepwise refinements and simplifications, often via generalization and abstraction, which lead to a similarly complex yet more comprehensible solution.
For more details, check out:
https://shop.elsevier.com/books/data-science-for-teams/georgiou/978-0-443-36406-8
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Data-Science-Teams-Lessons-Fieldwork-ebook/dp/B0DQPKFKDQ
Ever wondered how Dreamspace stays original? Pull back the curtain on my creative process, secret protocols, & why ethics and heart matter more than ever. What’s your creative ritual? #WritingProcess #Blogging #EthicalAI
If You’ve Ever Felt Bad For Being A Slow Writer, Read This
Speed isn't everything Continue reading on The Writing Cooperative »
https://writingcooperative.com/if-youve-ever-felt-bad-for-being-a-slow-writer-read-this-4c635474094
#writersonwriting #writingproductivity #writingprocess #writingadvice #theshortofit
Week 66: The NASA way
In short, the NASA way for successful projects focuses on a few simple yet specific priorities: (a) Building the team, (b) Leading the way, (c) Making tough decisions, (d) Improving the process, (e) Embracing great ideas, (f) Prioritize people over things.
For more details, check out:
https://shop.elsevier.com/books/data-science-for-teams/georgiou/978-0-443-36406-8
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Data-Science-Teams-Lessons-Fieldwork-ebook/dp/B0DQPKFKDQ
#DSbook #writingprocess #datascience #dataanalytics #machinelearning #artificialintelligence #ai #projectmanagement
Story Genius Revisited: What I Learned the Second Time Around
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Already a subscriber?#75DayChallenge #characterBackstory #LasCerradorasSeries #LatinaAuthor #LisaCron #magicalRealism #PsychologicalHorror #StoryGeniusReview #TheForgottenBruja #TheOrdinaryBruja #writerGrowth #writingCraftBooks #writingProcess
Are My Books About Me? Writing From the Seed of Truth
One of the most common questions I get, especially from people who know me outside of the writing world is: “Are your books secretly about you?”
The short answer? Yes and no. My books are fiction. The characters, the plots, the twists—all products of my imagination. But every single story I write is anchored in something I’ve lived, felt, or survived.
That’s because I practice two related writing techniques: emotional truth writing and writing from the seed of truth.
What Is Emotional Truth Writing?
In creative writing, emotional truth writing means the story events themselves can be fictional, but the feelings behind them are very real. Fear, love, dread, anger, regret—those emotions are pulled straight from my lived experiences. Readers recognize them instantly because authentic emotions can’t be faked.
This practice is also the reason why my stories take a long time to develop because I am reaching through my memory bank to pull those emotions when giving it to a character and sometimes those memories take me to an unhealed place. The Devil that Haunts Me is one of those stories that I had to pause because I realized, I had not grappled with those memories I tapped into. Still, I see myself publishing that trilogy.
Once I am done with Las Cerradoras, I will revisit The Devil that Haunts Me and see if I have healed enough to write it.
When someone tells me, “That scene broke me because it felt so real,” it’s because it was real. Not in the literal sense of the plot, but in the emotional sense. I’ve felt that grief. I’ve lived that doubt. Writing becomes a way of handing those emotions to readers so they can feel them too.
Writing From the Seed of Truth
The second phrase I love—writing from the seed of truth—describes how one small, true detail becomes the foundation for an entire fictional world. It might be a memory, a single moment, or an old wound. That seed takes root in my imagination, and I spin a story around it.
For example, in Mrs. Franchy’s Evil Ring, there’s a scene where the narrator cries in a way that made readers comment: “This feels like something the author lived through.” They were right. That seed of truth came from my childhood, when I left the Dominican Republic to live with a father and stepmother I barely knew. The emotions in that moment—dread, anxiety, mistrust—were mine. The plot surrounding it was fiction, but the seed was real.
How This Shows Up in My Books
These aren’t memoirs. They’re not autobiographies. But they all carry my fingerprints.
Why I Write This Way
Writing, for me, is both therapy and calling. It helps me process what I’ve lived, but it’s also something I feel I’m meant to share. Because these “seeds of truth” aren’t just mine—they’re universal. Who hasn’t felt the need to belong, the fear of rejection, the grief of losing someone, or the sting of bias?
That’s why my books connect with readers. Not because they’re true in a literal sense, but because they’re true in an emotional one.
So, Are My Books About Me?
The events? No.
The characters? Not exactly.
The emotions? Absolutely.
Every page I write is layered with lived experience—sometimes just a whisper, sometimes a scar pressed right into the heart of the story. And that’s what makes fiction powerful. It’s not about inventing lies—it’s about revealing truths in disguise.
Your Turn: Have you ever read a novel that hit you so hard, you knew the author must have lived it in some way? Drop it in the comments—I’d love to know which stories gave you that spark of truth.
👉 Preorder my upcoming novel The Ordinary Bruja here
👉 Explore my other books here.
#autofiction #blendingTruthAndFiction #DominicanAmericanAuthor #emotionalTruthWriting #indieAuthorJourney #JEOrtega #JohannyOrtega #LatineAuthors #magicalRealismWriting #MrsFranchySEvilRing #psychologicalHorrorFiction #seedOfTruth #TheOrdinaryBruja #writingInspiredByRealLife #writingProcess
Week 65: Toxic leadership | #DSbook #writingprocess #datascience
For more details, check out:
https://shop.elsevier.com/books/data-science-for-teams/georgiou/978-0-443-36406-8
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Data-Science-Teams-Lessons-Fieldwork-ebook/dp/B0DQPKFKDQ
#DSbook #writingprocess #datascience #dataanalytics #machinelearning #artificialintelligence #ai #projectmanagement #short #shorts #shortvideo #shortsvideo
When spooky shit happens to a horror writer
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Week 64: Smart machines
Automation vs human control. The difference between automation and human-based control is quite distinct.
For more details, check out:
https://apneacoding.blogspot.com/2024/07/announcement-writing-new-book-in-data.html
#DSbook #writingprocess #datascience #dataanalytics #machinelearning #artificialintelligence #ai #projectmanagement #short #shorts #shortvideo #shortsvideo
You’re Right Until You’re Not: On Being Able to Change Your Writing Process Mid-Project https://www.writersdigest.com/youre-right-until-youre-not-on-being-able-to-change-your-writing-process-mid-project #WritingHabitsandPractices #FinishingFirstDraft #TheWriter'sLife #RevisionProcess #writingprocess #Superstition #BeInspired #publishing #writerlife
From the First Read-Aloud to the Waiting Game
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Week 63: Keep things simple
In systems engineering, simplicity is a crucial factor in successful and auditable designs. Simplicity should be explored in association to the human expert's viewpoint.
For more details, check out:
https://apneacoding.blogspot.com/2024/07/announcement-writing-new-book-in-data.html
#DSbook #writingprocess #datascience #dataanalytics #machinelearning #artificialintelligence #ai #projectmanagement #short #shorts #shortvideo #shortsvideo
Week 62: The COVID example | #DSbook #writingprocess #datascience
During the COVID pandemic the entire sequence of events, the mitigation policies and the study of their results has been a subject for countless of research works and books. One of the most active research topics in this global effort was, and still is, the Data Analytics aspect of epidemic data from all over the world.
For more details, check out:
https://apneacoding.blogspot.com/2024/07/announcement-writing-new-book-in-data.html
