Welcome to Nightjar Writes!

I had a very strange backyard growing up, if you could even call it a backyard. Three distinct yards surrounded the entire exterior of the house that we named accordingly: the side "front" yard (that ran along the front door), the pool area, and the "side" yard (that ran along a small secluded patio on the opposite side of the house). Each with their own distinct parameters, their own porch, and their own gates, which gifted a enough room for my wild imagination to blossom—

Well, wait.

There were four.

Four yards.

On the backside of our tear-drop swimming pool was a triangle shaped yard that shielded our propane tank from view, while also being the hiding spot for rodents that fled from the creek behind our neighborhood. Coyotes and house cats would chase them out the enormous field that ran beside the creek, until their movements beckoned snakes to follow after them. Then those snakes would slither their way into our pool or greet us by the back door as they sunbathed on the warm pebbled patio. We were afraid to open the gate, afraid to see what really lived back there. From the view of the pool, it stood ominous and secretive. None of us liked going back there to switch on/off the tank, and if our dad was working nights, we'd always debate who'd be the unfortunate soul to run back until no one would win and we'd end sitting in cold water, in the dark.

But after a couple of years of fretting over that yard, my parents decided to expand their garden and cease the dilemma. They removed the gate in exchange for a trumpet vine archway with a path framed by rosemary and thyme. Even our bunny lops had a secured place for their hutches during the later parts of the spring and early summer, and my dad fulfilled his attempt to grow red grapevines that ended up being devoured by crows. My mom got more of a chance to test her green thumb by planting herself a challenging butterfly bush and her favorite desert plants. For myself, it became one of my safe havens--a place that transformed my creativity and gave me the space to fully transform into a storyteller.

I knew, and also, didn't know that I wanted to be a writer in those formative years. I attempted poetry, writing very nonsensical lines on a swing set and soon realizing that I was way over my head after my first completed poem. Then when I was younger, I took one of my make-believe scenarios--featuring a pack of wolves--that I exercised in my multiple yards and tried to write a novel. I wrote "five" pages by hand with stick-figure illustrations to further describe the drama between these wolf pups and shared it with my first reader, my mom. Of course, she gave the generic impressed response that made me feel like I struck gold. I instantly thought that I had become a best selling author at the age of seven and called my life complete.

But as I got older, I truly believed I was more destined to be a biologist of some kind than pursuing a career as a writer. All those years spent outside, going against everyone's rules to sneak into the creek, and growing a fascination with any type of reptile made me think I was leaning toward the sciences, and that any form of writing that I created was just energizing my desire to fight for the environment. But once I reached my junior year in high school, I had to drop AP biology when I realized I wasn't going to pass. Something wasn't clicking right, and it went beyond just struggling with memorizing complex words and concepts. When I didn't understand the material, I resorted to daydreaming to bizarre worlds and started writing out scenes that had nothing to do with the mitochondria.

During that time, I reunited with reading. I was an active reader when I was younger until I started high school, and by then, I was too busy with school, band, and socializing that I didn't make time for it anymore. That is, until I grew desperate for an escape. By junior year in high school, my parents' marriage was falling apart, and the fights grew more noticeable and violent as the years passed. Books like Twilight and Eragon became prominent in my life, which soon enticed me to start writing stories that swiftly consumed my life.

Each day that I'd get home from school, I'd flee to the comfort of my backyard and brainstorm in the far corner of the triangle area. Then soon I would find myself on my old swing set to further the narrative, listening to the multiple playlists I created for each character. I started writing short stories (more like fan fiction) that was centered around General Hospital when James Franco played a character named Franco as a murderous artist. Then after finishing the Twilight Series, I wanted to write my own series that modeled that same paranormal aesthetic. Eventually that same series evolved away from the paranormal and into dark fantasy that I'm still currently working on to this day. All those adventures in my backyard(s), all those dreams to travel to new worlds, and the pull to fight for the environment, I realized, were all signs that I was a writer of fiction. As my confidence with my writing strengthened, my battles to protect the planet and its inhabitants were better served through my personal essays. So, even though becoming a biologist wasn't the dream career anymore, I could still incorporate that side of myself into writing novels and essays (and not have to stress about memorizing the parts of a cell).

So, when I went to college, I majored in English (after experimenting with Theatre for a couple of years), concentrating in creative writing. Then my love for writing and wanting to assist other writers with their craft inspired me to pursue a master's, where I got the opportunity to teach rhetoric and work as an assistant editor for a literary journal. Now, I work as academic advisor to undeclared students as I work toward growing an editorial business for self-publishing authors and those pursuing traditional.

With the Nightjar Editorial, I provide developmental editing, copyediting, proofreading, and partial critiques for those who are ready to query agents or look to self-publishing. Eventually, I'm hoping to expand this business to incorporate coaching and workshops for writers who have the story idea but need guidance on how to get started. And through this blog, I hope to provide my insight into writing and how to go about improving an author's craft. It's for anyone who is on any point of their journey, whether that be starting on the first page or on the road to completing their final revision.

Twice a month, I will post about popular topics and questions that writers tend to have with their own writing, such as how to fully develop characters, how to search and query agents, how to dig deep with their world building, and much more. I will also post book reviews and use certain books to discuss certain writing techniques and themes, and I encourage everybody to join in! I am welcome to any feedback, questions, and open conversation about writing, books, publishing, and more.

I hope we can form a community here—a safe space that we can create, learn, and grow with one another, just as I had in my triangle shaped garden. If you have any questions or concerns at any point, please feel free to email me at thenigtjareditorial@outlook.com. I look forward to getting to know you all!