Janie's Picks
Top Reads
I wish I could sit around and READ all day, every day! The reality is that I make it a priority (both because I love it and one must read a lot to write well) and carve out a little bit of time every day for my beloved books. There’s always a Young Adult novel or two—it’s essential to be informed within my genre—as well as a book on parenting and multiple books about the craft of writing or creativity in the pile.
The following are the books that I’m currently reading or rereading. They are not recommendations of my favorites, as I simply have too many…I’m simply sharing with you what my nose is stuck in these days. Feel free to check out my blogs—I often highlight my top picks within those!
Currently Reading
YA
• A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass
• Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Writing Craft
• On Writing by Stephen King
• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Parenting
• The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt
Top Tunes
This is my current (and always growing) writing playlist. I truly couldn’t storytell without the inspiration of music. Many of these I heard during my workouts at Barre3, and at times, entire scenes would play out! Artists like Big Wild, Worakls, Klangkarussell, Ofenbach, Bob Moses, Sofi Tukker, ODESZA, Mazde, and my favorite (not while writing but still inspire me), Imagine Dragons — to all of you, thank you for your genius, and please keep creating your art so that I can create mine!
Top Tools
Power Thesaurus
I’ve tried many, this my favorite. It’s worth getting their Pro version—who doesn’t want any ads and more synonym options?!
Clipboard with Storage
Great for on the go! Holds about a dozen of my sharpened Tigonderogas.
Document Paper Holder
A lifesaver when I’m getting all the hand-written revisions entered back on the computer.