by Keri Rozansky | Oct 7, 2026 | Blog
Having plans and direction is good – and even safe – when it comes to many things. A building constructed without plans as to where walls, doors, windows, plumbing, and electrical go isn’t going to stand for very long. Knowing where you’re going and how to get there prevents wrong turns and lost time, especially when your destination also comes with a deadline, like an interview, a gathering, or other appointment.
These types of plans and structure help move things forward. But remember back in school when the teacher wanted an outline, a rough draft, and the final paper? Yes, it was meant to guide you through a structured writing process to ensure you wrote a full, detailed paper.Personally, I dislike outlines. I find them limiting, or I think of something else that flows better or makes better sense and suddenly the outline is broken. Event A is supposed to happen in Chapter 12? The flow of actually writing had it happening in Chapter 8. Meaning things that happen in the chapters leading up to 12 need to be reassigned, or cut altogether because now it doesn’t make sense.
As I draft, notes clutter the side margin – reminders of who is who, whether times and even character ages line up, what I named the brewery the main character frequents, and other research notes. A new document is started titled Story Title – UNUSED, just in case something becomes useful again.
I’ve strayed so far from the original premise that I’m on “Final Master Outline v3” and potentially looking at a “Final Master Outline v4.” Because once things start to flow, there’s really no stopping them or reining them in. Forcing them to stay in line? Ha! Have you tried to write a fictional character? Word of advice if you haven’t: don’t.
You may have read writing advice about The Three Act Structure, inciting incident, rising and falling action, climax, and resolution. “The inciting incident should happen X% of the way into the book. Your Act 2 should be X% of the book, so if you’re writing a 300-page…” Excuse me? How do I know final page count before I’ve even written the first word? Do your characters care about percentages? Honestly, most of them say IDGAF and wander off to do their own thing. That piece of key evidence that wasn’t supposed to appear until Chapter 10? The MC found it in Chapter 5.
I’m not saying that outlines and structure don’t work, they do. Outlining and drafting help you tell the story to yourself so you can tell the story to your readers. What doesn’t work is the limits it puts on your creativity. The words might flow, but in the back of your mind there’s this little voice whispering “that wasn’t supposed to happen until Chapter 10.”
Writing isn’t about forcing an idea into a single mode and making it work that way at all costs. Listen to your creativity and let it take you where you’re supposed to go.
What was your biggest frustration about outlining and drafting? Let’s talk on Facebook!
by Keri Rozansky | Sep 30, 2026 | Blog
I’m not a people person. I’m social with my family and the friends I do have, but like a stereotypical author, I sometimes like to spend time with the fictional friends I’ve created. They’re not a substitute for regular human interaction. But writing is a way for me to say out loud the things I can’t say to people in person.
Fictional characters have real life, real world problems and emotions. That’s why stories and characters stick with us. That’s how people can point to a book and say ‘this book changed my life’ – because it covered a topic, feeling, or situation that was real in that person’s life at the time. We see how characters deal with a problem we can identify with.
Sadly, one of those problems is not being ready to interact and speak with potentially hundreds of strangers about me and my book at an event. I feel like it could be similar to practicing for a job interview – which, by the way I haven’t been on a real one since sometime in the 20-teens.
So even though I’m excited to hopefully participate in my first book festival this winter (check back for details), I’m not quite sure what I’ll say.
When I was part of a networking group for my business writing, I didn’t even want to get up and give the short presentation members often gave. It always seemed like an interrogation afterward.
“What’s your book about?” Do I memorize the back cover blurb or is there a more off-the-cuff answer to that?
“Is it a series?” That’s a yes. But the follow-up of “when does the next one come out?” is not as easily answered. It’s in drafting, and doesn’t even having its final title yet let alone a release date.
How do I answer these without panicking? I know my book – what it’s about, who the characters are, and every possible thing you could ask. But. Since I’m not particularly regularly social, I don’t know that I’ll ever be 100% ready for the questions or the following discussion.
I hope this first one breaks the ice, and each one I attend after that just gets better. But it’s a real fear of I currently have. I’ve filled the prep time with distractions, in a way. Designing a personalized book stand (3D printed), designing a cool treasure chest-style cash box (also 3D printed), filling a ‘cart’ on Walmart.com with other event must-haves. Re-designing my logo and creating banners for a booth.
Have you ever taken part in a big festival or convention? How did you feel? Did you keep yourself busy with ‘other’ things to avoid the big task needed to prepare? Let’s talk on Facebook!
by Keri Rozansky | Sep 23, 2026 | Blog
For those of you who have read Midnight Splash, you’ve met Detective Ignatius Ellison. I’ve tried to make him a person with relationships and depth before focusing on his job, but somehow, he focuses on his job more than his personal life.
Book 2 is only in the drafting phases, so there’s not much to tell. But one of my goals is to make sure it’s clear he has friends who aren’t other cops, lawyers, or anyone else he’d encounter daily during his job.
But from what I’ve learned, some off-duty officers still carry a weapon, or have one very close at hand. That off-duty officer enjoying dinner or a night out with friends – they may have a weapon. But you won’t see it until danger strikes and they need to react.
How do they carry these weapons? Some just stick them in their waistband unholstered. There are the typical external holsters worn on a belt. There are holsters that are worn under a shirt. And the one I found most interesting: the one that fits inside a waistband.
This wasn’t particularly a research rabbit hole – I went straight to a source: my dad. He gave me details about how it worked, whether or not it is comfortable or noticeable to the wearer, and whether or not it is noticeable by an onlooker. I described the very particular instance. He even went on to describe the kind of gun my detective might be carrying in that holster
It was a ten minute phone call resulting in a very clear and detailed answer, for a small mention in a single sentence in a currently 50,000+ word story.
by Keri Rozansky | Sep 16, 2026 | Blog
Hi. I’m Brice. I’m the lead lab technician at the lab used by Glass Police Department. You’d think you wouldn’t hear from me, huh? But apparently someone thinks I have something worth saying. What that is, I’m also not sure.
I’m kinda boring. I’m just a science nerd trapped in a lab all day running tests on things like backpacks, safes, and all sorts of stuff the detectives at GPD seem to think might be important to a case. No, I’m not a medical examiner so I don’t look at dead bodies all day, so my job shouldn’t seem very interesting at all.
Detective Ellison and I have gotten to be pretty good friends though. I’m the one he calls on when he needs something especially odd that I won’t make fun of him for thinking is important, or when he needs something turned around ASAP. I mean, all detectives think their thing needs evaluation ASAP, and sometimes that needs to come first. But, most of the time I make time for Ell.
But you wanted to know about me, right? I guess I could give you stats or something. Like my age or where I went to school and whatever. I’m Ell’s age, and we went to college together for a little while. I transferred when I got into a pretty good forensic program, so we parted ways for a while.
Somehow, though, this town tugs at you. Like Ell, I grew up here in Glass. I went to the private school and he went to the public schools, so we never really crossed paths until college. But when we did, it was like finding a long-lost brother. If either of us actually took any time off, we’d probably hang out from time to time and have dinner or guys’ night or something.
Ell gets his teeth in a case like this one of the guy and the kid found dead by the creek and you might as well say ‘see you at Christmas’ and hope it’s true. This stuff consumes him, and not always in a good way. I can at least walk away from the microscope for a little while. But then one of my coworkers calls and says Ell has a weird request they aren’t sure can even be done. So I wander my way the lab. Not to make him wait or anything – mostly to make the point that it’s 2 a.m. and the rest of the world is asleep.
Ummm...what else? Not much. I’m just around when Ell or anyone else at GPD needs me.
by Keri Rozansky | Sep 9, 2026 | Blog
Drafting. Editing. Sending the manuscript for professional editing. Biting my nails and hoping she likes it and doesn’t rip it apart. Sighing with relief when she does. Making those changes. Sending it back. Repeating the cycle.
Setting up business details like an LLC, a bank account, and other accounts that will turn the wheels of production. Running a presale campaign.
Uploading to the printer. Approving the proof. Ordering my own copy for physical evaluation. Approving that. Ordering the first boxes. Marketing. Receiving the first boxes. Marketing. Sitting at home with a stack of books, a list of names, messages, and addresses and signing and thanking those who’ve made this possible. Marketing.
And probably more. I don’t remember at this point. All fueled by chocolate, pop, determination, and encouragement from friends and family. Oh, and sleep and real meals every now and then, too.
Hearing my friends and family rave – some of them messaging me after finishing every chapter!
There’s time to write still, right? Yes, somehow. That somehow is by setting time aside explicitly for writing. If you bother me between 12:30 and 2:30 pm (Arizona time) any day of the week, you will most likely get ignored or told I’m busy. I might send a reaction emoji. Not because I’m annoyed, but because I’ve dedicated that time to writing and editing so I don’t become the next George R.R. Martin and never announce the debut of another book.
It has helped Detective Ellison’s next story evolve from the messy draft started in 2012, to the messy draft it became while I waited for edits for Midnight Splash, to the a little more organized draft it is now.
Sometimes I start before 12:30, some days I look at the clock and it’s somehow 4:10 and I’m still writing.
But setting aside that time means I continue to write my next project while marketing Midnight Splash, looking into festival and bookstore appearance, and outlining projects that will come far into the future after this second book. It’s a big project that needs time devoted specifically to the task.
What is a big task or a even a fun hobby that you set aside time for to make sure it gets the attention it deserves? Let’s talk on Facebook!
