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McKenzie Lynn Tozan
"Creative minds are rarely tidy." – John William Gardner

Category: Writing Challenges

Blog, My Poems, Writing Challenges

“Sleepwalker” & The Inspiration Behind It

  Happy Thursday, everyone! I’m arriving a tad late to the party again today, but I hope you each had a wonderful day, and I…

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Blog, My Poems, Writing Challenges

“I Remember Her Hair” & The Prompt That Led Me Here

  Happy Wednesday, everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying your week. I’m doing things a little differently this week, writing poems every day, but in…

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Blog, My Poems, Writing Challenges

“Where It’s Gone” & The Prompt Behind It

  Hi everyone! Happy Tuesday! I’m doing things a little differently starting this week, sharing a poem and the writing prompt behind it (I’m back…

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Blog, Literary Scene, My Poems, Writing Challenges

My Dumb Heart

                  —To my fellow Benders, I threw on my grief.   MY DUMB HEART   is open wide and overflows with water. How I manage…

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Blog, My Writing Challenges, Writing Challenges

My 24-hour Crash-and-Burn and My 30/30 Project

Hi friends! April is only a few short days away, and I want to share a little about what I’m committing to in my own…

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Blog, Literary Scene, My Writing Challenges, Writing Challenges

National Poetry Month Goals!!

  Hi everyone! I hope everyone was able to get out and enjoy the first day of spring a little bit yesterday. It was about…

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Blog, Literary Scene, Writing Challenges

Poetic Donations! #poeticdonations

  Hi, all! The holidays are upon us, and for many of us, so is the winter chill (with or without the snow yet), and…

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Blog, Craft, My Poems, Writing Challenges

My Attempt at a Definition Poem while Reading Allan Peterson

  This is why I love reading: it opens so many doors. While reading Allan Peterson’s Precarious (published by 42 Miles Press, 2014), I began…

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mckenzielynntozan

Every year in September or early October, I feel t Every year in September or early October, I feel the same call: to go back and reread Annie Dillard's THE WRITING LIFE. (I read this book for the first time in my sophomore year of HIGH SCHOOL to give you an idea of how far back this tradition goes.) But it's become an integral part of my fall, almost like a welcoming home, and most certainly a readying for the winter that I'm never really ready for. 
#amreading #AnnieDillard #TheWritingLife #feelslikehome #memoir #craftwriting #fall #fallvibes #bookloversofinstagram #writersofinstagram #bookstagram #favoritebook #favoriteseason
Reading late tonight, including this incredible po Reading late tonight, including this incredible poem by Cameron Awkward-Rich. Enjoy.
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#MeditationsInAnEmergency #CameronAwkwardRich #amreading #poetry #poetsofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #bookstagram #poetrycommunity #poet
Good morning, friends! To start my day off on the Good morning, friends! To start my day off on the right foot, I'm having coffee and breakfast with my kiddos, and I wanted to share one of my latest successes: my first article with the Digital Nomad Writing Club.
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I am nowhere near 40, but I love articles that work as a bookend for a decade: what you should read to wrap up a decade, what you should read as you're preparing for the next one, etc.
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I also think there are some high quality titles here! What would you include on a list for someone turning 40? 
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LINK in the comments! Thank you for reading! 
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#DigitalNomadWritingClub #digitalnomad #nomad #freelance #freelancelife #momlife #booklist #bookstagram #writersofinstagram #reading #bookrecommendations #whattoreadnext #40 #40thbirthday
Hi friends! I haven't posted (again) in a while, t Hi friends! I haven't posted (again) in a while, thanks mostly to the times we're in... But I at least am here with fun news! 
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I've been working on and off on the first novel in my GIRL TO MOON series, and I've also been writing a series of short stories that I plan to publish as a collection early in the new year. 
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I'm planning to release one of these, "The Duplex," in anticipation of the full collection AND the new year, which follows a mother's grieving of her late husband and her child who has gone missing. But after a series of psychological turns and chilling bumps in the night, she begins to wonder if her child is really missing, and if there was really anyone to grieve at all...
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We all may miss trick-or-treating this year (I know I will), but this story is going to be available to read by the light of your creepy Black Flame Candle on Halloween night, with a few days and "ch-ch-ch-ch" and "ah-ah-ah-ah"s to spare. 🖤🎃📚
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More details coming spooky-soon...
#amwriting #shortstory #horror #psychologicalthriller #TheDuplex #mckenzielynntozan #Amazon #KDP #Halloween #scarystory #spooky
It's finally here! My review of Angela Voras-Hills It's finally here! My review of Angela Voras-Hills' LOUDER BIRDS from Pleiades Press is live at Green Mountains Review. 

If you enjoy stellar, subtle poetry with lyrical and imagistic turns, the dangerous and the creepy, taking chances and the beautiful---then I can't recommend this one highly enough. It's a beautifully-wrought, difficult, and highly memorable collection. It's still on my mind almost daily. 

The LINK to my review is in the first comment! Thank you, GMR, for having me; I can't wait to read more for you soon. 
@green_mountains_review
@vorashillspoet
@pleiadespress
#angelavorashills #LouderBirds #PleiadesPress #Pleiades #greenmountainsreview #bookreview #books #bookloversofinstagram #poetsofinstagram #poetry #amreading
Hi friends! I'm so happy to share with you that I' Hi friends! I'm so happy to share with you that I'll be celebrating my 10th anniversary with my wonderful husband tomorrow. 
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10 years, 6 moves, 5 years of school, almost 3 children, countless books read, and SO many memories later, we're happily going strong. 
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All my love to my husband today, our big day tomorrow, our anniversary adventure this weekend with our kiddos, and forever. 
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Happy 10th Anniversary, my love! 
*cheers*clink*živjeli*
#wedding #anniversary #10yearanniversary #love #memories
"The circle grows larger as the onlookers in the s "The circle grows larger as the onlookers in the stands shift out of their seats and the cheerleaders assemble and the girls from tryouts finally take a hint. As they slip Eric onto a gurney and keep him there on the ground to check his vitals, some realize the show is over. Emily appears and brushes my hair out of my face, her bright green eyes blazing with the love and concern I know so well, and she takes my hand and pulls me away."
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"As more of us move out of the crowd and drift out into the galaxy of a field, now mulling with sounds of confusion and distress, there is a visible break in the circle, and I see him:"
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"Sam is kneeling at Eric’s side, touching his knee, and he stares at me with a cold intensity as if he knows something. As if he were blaming me for a secret I’d never known."
GIRL LOST: 8100 words
#amwriting #GirltoMoonSeries #GirlLost #YA #Supernatural #Fiction #WIP #novel #bookseries #writersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #bookstagram
I *love* accountability posts. . Especially in the I *love* accountability posts. .
Especially in the writing community, where it's so easy to let our own deadlines slip. .
We keep the doctor's appointments and work deadlines straight... .
But when we tell ourselves it's time to finish our novel, often that internal agreement is as much of a story as the story itself! .
Which is why I always challenge my writing clients and writing friends to share with their loved ones when they WILL complete their draft. .
Setting the date with someone else makes for a firmer deadline. .
So today, I'm sharing MINE with YOU. .
I've been so focused on Book Strategy and Organic Marketing and promoting others' books lately, I've had very little time to put into my own. .
But it's time. .
I'm in the process of writing GIRL TO MOON, a four-book YA supernatural series. .
The first book in the series is called GIRL LOST. .
Landon is expected to be born on August 17th. .
I plan to finish writing the book by August 10th. .
I'll give myself 6 days to revise. .
On the 17th, if you'd like to check-in (or even read it?!), we can celebrate together. .
Thanks, all, for your support all these years in my various writing endeavors. I look forward to having something to share with you. 🧡
#amwriting #YA #Supernatural #Fiction #GirltoMoonSeries #GirlLost #writersofinstagram #bookstagram #bookloversofinstagram #novel #bookseries #WIP
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