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Continue reading →: Why My Characters Needed Conflict—And So Did I
When I first started writing, I wanted to know everything about my characters. Who were they? What drove them? What had hurt them in the past, and what did they need now? By the time I finished mapping them out, my heart was already sore. I couldn’t bring myself to…
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Continue reading →: Wrung Out and Wired: The First Draft High
Finishing a first draft feels like being wrung out—an old washrag, used and exhausted—but also strangely exhilarated. I scroll back through the chapters knowing what I’ve just written is a rough stone, full of sharp edges and mismatched pieces. Some scenes hit hard, some soar with emotion. Others? They’ll need…
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Continue reading →: Writing in my Sleep (Literally)
Back from vacation–and that page is blank. Every book has that moment—the reset. I went back to page one this week, rereading what I’d written, reacquainting myself with the cast in my head. Who are we again? Where were we going? What’s the conflict? As usual, the reread turned into…
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Continue reading →: Iceland, Inspiration, and Ink
Humpbacks and Hero: A Writer’s Journey I didn’t mean to start the next manuscript yet. Truly. The plan was to take two weeks off—because, let’s be honest, writing while juggling planes, ships, buses, trains, and walking tours is no easy feat. But when the characters start talking, I can’t exactly…
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Continue reading →: Butter Cows, Playlists, and the Space Between Stories
Finishing a book is a little like skipping stones. There’s that pause between the splash and the next throw—brief, but necessary. I’ve just sent Oracle off to the proofreaders, and now I have to clear my head of its characters, reluctantly sweep through my notes, and decide what belongs to…
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Continue reading →: The Cat, the Box, and the Writer I Almost Wasn’t
Before the Characters Were Unlocked Before I retired from my job and claimed control over my daily writing routine.Before I believed I could write my own books and send them into the world.Before there was Lily P. Archer. There were blocks. Big ones. These days, in the firehose of creativity…
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Continue reading →: Secrets, Characters, and Why I Never Get Writer’s Block
As a child, you assume everyone is like you. Then you grow up and realize—no, they’re not. You start keeping secrets. You hide the parts that make you different. Later, you realize everyone else is hiding too. They’ve got their own secrets. And eventually, you figure out the truth: people…
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Continue reading →: When Hitmen Do Housework.
Why Mafia Romance? (Yes, Sisters, This One’s for You) I have two sisters, and when they started reading my books, they were shocked. Truly scandalized. Not so much at the spice level of some of my scenes (though yes—The Beaumonts, I see you). What really made their eyebrows shoot up?…
Hello,
I’m Lily
Welcome to Lily’s World. I’m an independent writer and visual artist.
Let’s connect
lily.archer.writer@gmail.com
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