writing

Tools That Help Me Write (and Might Help You Too)

| C.E. Flores

You know I’ve been working on my own WIP and Book Marketing Challenges this year, and since we’re all in this together, I thought I’d share a few tools you might find useful in your own writing endeavors. These resources can help you move from idea to done with more clarity and a lot less overwhelm.

🧰 1. The Writer’s Toolkit 2025

Get The Writer’s Toolkit 2025 now

Feeling just a little overwhelmed by all the things that come with being a writer today: drafting, editing, publishing, promoting, and social media? 

That’s where The Writer’s Toolkit 2025 from Ultimate Bundles comes in. It’s a curated collection of 22 premium tools, templates, trainings, and courses (worth over $2,300!), created by authors, bloggers, and creatives who get it.

You’ll find resources to help you:

  • Build your author platform
  • Write more confidently and consistently
  • Market your work without burning out
  • Stay organized and focused on what truly matters

Inside you’ll get:
📘 1 eBook
🎥 16 eCourses & Videos
🧾 6 Templates & Printables

It’s only available for one week, so don’t wait!

The Writer’s Toolkit 2025

✨ 2. Oracle Cards for Writers: Unlock Your Story Magic

Oracle Cards for Writers

Being an author means conjuring ideas from the unseen, shaping stories from flickers of imagination. Writing is already a mysterious process, so why not embrace that mystery by tapping into your subconscious?

That’s exactly what Oracle Cards for Writers: Unlock Your Story Magic and Overcome Blocks to Success helps you do.

This self-paced online course from my friend Stacy Juba, fiction author and founder of Shortcuts for Writers, invites you to explore 9 richly illustrated lessons filled with journaling prompts, oracle and tarot card spreads for writers, and creative exercises to help you rediscover your flow.

It’s perfect for writers who want to:

  • Create characters that feel real and memorable
  • Add emotional depth and symbolism to their stories
  • Overcome writer’s block and self-doubt
  • Infuse their stories with intuitive insight and meaning

You’ll also receive three exclusive bonuses, including an 18-page eBook on tarot, a symbolism cheat sheet, and a journaling workshop replay ($17 value).

Begin your enchanting writing journey today!

Oracle Cards for Writers

🕒 3. 40 Days to a Finished Book by Leonie Dawson

40 days to your finished book

You know you’ve got a book to write. 

The problem? Writing a book can feel like an impossible task. Too big to start, too hard to keep up with, and too easy to abandon halfway through.

That’s why I love 40 Days to a Finished Book, an online course by creative powerhouse Leonie Dawson. It’s all about guidance, accountability, and fun, with a daily email that includes a writing tip and a request for your word count.

It’s like having an encouraging (and slightly cheeky) writing buddy cheering you on every single day.

If you need structure, support, and momentum to finally finish your book, this might be exactly what you’ve been looking for:

40 days to your finished book

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re building your confidence, finding your voice, or simply trying to make writing a consistent habit, these tools offer structure, support, and a little bit of magic along the way.

Here’s to writing it, finishing it, and sharing it with the world.

The Truth About Book Reviews: An Insider’s Guide to Getting and Using Reviews to Grow Your Readership by Joe Walters

| C.E. Flores

The Truth About Book Reviews: An Insider’s Guide to Getting and Using Reviews to Grow Your Readership by Joe Walters is a practical, detailed guide for authors who are serious about reaching readers through the power of reviews. For many introverted writers, the idea of asking for reviews can feel intimidating or even impossible. Walters breaks this process down into manageable, actionable steps, showing that obtaining meaningful feedback isn’t as mysterious or unattainable as it seems.

The book clarifies the many different types of reviews, including editorial, media and trade, and customer reviews. It explains their relative importance and how each serves a unique role in an author’s marketing strategy. Walters also discusses how to find and approach reviewers, how to craft effective pitches, and how to make the most of every review once you have it. His insider experience as editor-in-chief of Independent Book Review provides a behind-the-scenes look at what makes a pitch stand out.

While I can’t say I agreed with every point, I found the information genuinely useful. The research required to find the right reviewers can be daunting, and at times, the book reads like a subtle promotion for Walters’ own services. Still, there’s undeniable value in the insight he provides. The inclusion of real email samples, organizational tools, and an excellent to-do list at the end makes the guide not just informative but actionable.

Ironically but effectively, Walters demonstrates his own strategy by reaching out to reviewers like ME to ask for reviews. The fact that I’m now reviewing his book proves his method works. Overall, The Truth About Book Reviews is an honest, accessible, and practical resource that demystifies one of the hardest parts of being an author: getting your work noticed.

Pick up your copy today

January 2025 WIP Challenge Update

| C.E. Flores

January always feels like a fresh start—a time to set goals, make plans, and dive into creative projects. I can’t say I finished anything last month, but I did manage to carve out time for writing and even some editing, which feels like a victory in itself.

One of my main focuses has been La Yacata Insurrection. It’s a project that continues to evolve, and while I haven’t completed it, I’ve made meaningful progress. The obligations that I have to the community have become all-encompassing, and although that makes for a good story, it leaves precious little time to get anything written. I mean here it is mid-February and I’m just getting to the January update!

In addition to that, I did a first edit on Lupita’s Tamalada in English. I’m very excited about this book and want it to be just right before sending it to the translator for revision and the illustrator for pictures. 

While January wasn’t about finishing, it was about moving forward. And that, in itself, is something to celebrate. Here’s to more words, more edits, and steady progress in the months ahead!

How did your writing go?

2024 Reading Challenge Roundup

| C.E. Flores

So, how did I do? Well, let’s take a look, shall we?

So carrying over to 2025, I have a book on my shelf and a hardcover book. Not too shabby, I think. How did your reading go this year?

Want to take a look at my previous reading challenge roundups?

2020

2021

2022

WIP 2024 – October Results

| C.E. Flores

EEEK! Where did October go? I have nothing new written! Well, I did add some chapters to the draft of book 2 in La Yacata Revolution (and help our community get electricity), but I don’t expect to publish that book anytime soon. There are still so many projects to complete.

And I actually don’t expect to be overly productive in November or December (NaNoWriMo or not). But having said that, maybe I’ll surprise myself and finish the year out with a bang! (probably not).

On the writing front, I’ve been playing with the idea of making a compilation of the Woman’s Survival Guide series but haven’t started that either. I feel like I need just one more book in the series (a book geared towards preparations BEFORE the move to Mexico) before I can make a nice series. We’ll see what I can accomplish this month. 

How is your writing going?

WIP 2024 – January Results

| C.E. Flores

Deplorable; that’s what the January results were. I have a temporary gig that’s been eating away at my time, in addition to the mammoth task of trying to get La Yacata documents organized before the next community meeting in February, so I didn’t get nearly as much writing done as I had planned even with making space on my calendar for writing three times a week. 

I managed two chapters for herb book #5 and two in La Yacata Insurrection book, which is not at all as many as I’d have liked. 

Unfortunately, this month, it will also be tough to meet my goals as this temporary gig goes through March 2, and the next community meeting is on February 11. However, I figure progress is progress, right? 

How’s your writing going?

July 2023 Writing Challenge Update

| C.E. Flores

Well, I’m not as impressed with my progress this month as I’d like to be, but progress is progress, right? 

I had the intention of getting the shopping book launched and was well on the way to doing just that when I got what may have been sun poisoning during the mid-month heat wave. I spent entirely too much time sleeping and recuperating, which I suppose did me good because I’m up and about again anyway. 

So I managed to get the draft of the shopping book edited but still need to do the formatting (which is my least favorite aspect of publishing and one I tend to procrastinate the most at). 

My goal remains to get this shopping book done. I’m not going to set myself another task this month. If I finish early, then I can reward myself with some herb research.