top of page


The Biggest Influences to my Writing
Whether I’m living up to them is another question  A writing journey is a fluid thing. I seem to be this amalgamation of everything I...
Sep 124 min read


The 3-Day Novel Contest Tried to Kill Me
I paid $50 to torture myself over a long weekend and I'd do it again  Last Monday, while you were sleeping in or having a BBQ or...
Sep 54 min read


A Not-Totally Comprehensive Guide on Fiction Book Genres
Yes I have beef with this too; I’m a certified hater of the things I love  I’m not afraid to say it, I think we have too many genres—of...
Aug 293 min read


Planning a Novel the Gates Annai Way
Actually, technically it's the film school way but whatever I learned how to write and plan a novel through film school, which seems like...
Aug 2214 min read


I Registered for the 3-Day Novel Contest Because Life was Going Just a Bit Too Well for Me
It’s possible I am some sort of masochist  If you had asked me a year ago if it was possible to write a novel in three days, I would...
Aug 13 min read


The Seven-Year Long Mistake I Made Writing ALU
Somewhere between writing skill and a marketable idea is where a book get published If you’ve been following along with this blog from...
Jul 255 min read


My Rocky Relationship with Social Media
I’d say I was born in the wrong generation but I really like having gay rights @gatesannai on Instagram I am not a very good Gen Z. My...
Jun 203 min read


Querying Actually Isn’t That Bad Because I’m Already Used to No One Liking Me
I’ll give you a moment to decide if I’m joking or not Me after sending out like 8 queries Quick explanation so we can all be on the same...
Jun 133 min read


Falling in Love Again
Writing is non-monogamous and that's okay My first manuscript took about seven years to finish. Within that time, I tried to give up on...
Jun 62 min read


My First Manuscript Took Almost a Decade to Write—And I Nearly Didn’t Finish It
It took a novel to teach me how to write a novel  When I started my manuscript (let’s call it… ALU, for no reason at all), I was around...
May 234 min read


My History with Writing
(AKA how I gave up on my dream and then un-gave up on my dream) My magnum opus Writing, for me, began with my older brother. He was (and...
Apr 185 min read


Being an Aspiring Author is a Full-Time Job and I’m Not Even Getting Paid
To be clear... I love it. I tell this story often. What got me into writing as a little kid was that it was the one thing I was better at...
Apr 122 min read
bottom of page



