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Hello readers & friends! I'm Caitlin, a writer of all sorts of things.
As a little girl, I often dreamed about becoming a detective, a doctor, a wizard, a ballerina, a spy, & on & on & on. When I got older, I couldn’t figure out which one fit me best, so I settled on all of them by becoming a writer and vowing to never go anywhere without a book. I’m also a high school English teacher which pairs well with my love of story.

I write fiction for middle grade and young adults, in the genres of fantasy and mystery, and when I’m not writing I spend way too much time on Instagram sharing about my life (which I sometimes also post on my writing space when I have more to say,) books, share cute pictures of my doxies, and peeks into my garden.

I’d love it if you subscribed to my newsletter, Lost In Story, where I also share notes from my writer’s desk, and book recommendations for all ages.

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Come follow me @caitlin_lore where I talk about books, life, and share lots of photos of my doxies!

day 7 // rewrite ✨ As a writer, one of the hardest things to do is rewrite my story. I’m a little partial to those first words I put down on the page, often hesitant to change them because the story is as it should be. • I get worried that I’ll delete a line or a scene I need later, or that if I change something too much, it won’t turn out how I want it too. So in my frustration, I stop writing. • Yet, when I step back from the page, taking a break for a day—a week—a month—I come back with fresh ideas & a better story to tell. • I can’t tell you what number of rewrites I’m on in this novel, (5? 15? 25?) but I do know that with each new revision, something shifts in my characters & plot, and I find myself sinking deeper into the story I’m meant to tell. • But isn’t that my life? I take steps forward in whatever season I am in, charging ahead with my plans, hesitant to change them. When they do, I find myself anxious & worried. • Yet if I could take a step back from my own heart, in that moment, perhaps maybe I would see the deep changes happening. • I never thought I would like rewriting novels, especially after being an English major for so long, but I’ve found myself enjoying the revision process much more than I ever thought, pursuing it fearlessly as my story changes over time, my soul with it. • #hopewriterlife #notesfromawritersdesk • • @hopewriters #caitiswriting #caitwritesfiction #amwriting #writer #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity
day 6 // note ✨ Lately, my writing is only coming in note form. But that’s just the season I’m in: one of brainstorming plots, developing characters, & getting to know my story. • I love this part of writing. When my story shows up on organizers, in my notebook, or on organizers IN my notebook. • Sometimes it shows up in the notes app on my phone, or post-it notes at my desk, or even (yes I’ve done it) napkins. • I have notes for people & settings, worlds, & plotlines. But my favorites are the ones that come out of nowhere & stay for awhile. • Like the 6 line poetic prophecy I woke up with in the middle of the night 8 years ago. I still don’t know the full story that it belongs to yet, but I’ve held onto that note (in a few different places) for the last 8 years just waiting. • Because I know that little note is the beginning of something bigger. • A story inside of me that needs to be told. • #hopewriterlife #notesfromawritersdesk • • @hopewriters #caitiswriting #caitwritesfiction #amwriting #writer #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity
day 5 // word count ✨ I used to obsess over word counts. But then again, I studied creative writing in college where stories always had to be certain lengths, & I’m also a product of #nanowrimo. • But the more I dig into my own writing now, the more I don’t care about the number of words I write each day. • Just that I’m writing & creating things that matter. • Word counts have their place in writing, but when they become the sole focus of a day’s productivity, I tend to miss all the good work I did do. When I focus on numbers, I find myself withdrawing into that inner critic who tells me “today doesn’t matter because you didn’t hit your goal of 500, 1000, 1667 words.” • But the truth of the matter is this: If I wrote 5 words today, I wrote. I made progress. I moved forward. • So these days, I don’t set word counts. Instead, I set writing goals of simply getting words down on paper or screen. Maybe it’s novel number 2. Maybe it’s novel number 3. Maybe it’s an Instagram post or dialogue with a writer friend. • Whatever my words my be, my hope is that they matter to whomever will read them: now or years from now. • But I can tell you... that final word count when I finish a novel? That’s one worth celebrating. • #hopewriterlife #notesfromawritersdesk • • @hopewriters #amwriting #writer #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #createthingsthatmatter
day 4 // idea ✨ Ideas come in the unlikeliest of places if I keep my eyes open. • My favorite is when I’m waking my pups around the neighborhood. If I pay attention, there are stories everywhere just waiting to be told. • Like the house with a bonsai tree garden on the front porch, just blocks from my home. I don’t know who lives there, but last Spring as I walked by & saw the funny little trees, I had the first lines of a story come to me. • So I held them in my head, saying those lines over & over until I made it the two blocks home & could write them down. • I just knew the character that was speaking to me was going to be one I needed to get to know. • Today, I find myself working on the plot of a novel this little idea has turned into. It’s fun. It’s whimsical. It’s mysterious. And despite not knowing anything about bonsai trees before seeing that garden, they’ve become the centerpiece of my novel. • It’s another story of my heart, born from a stranger’s collection of bonsai trees, which once again have found their way to the sunny porch this season. As I walk by lately, I picture my character & the first integral scene of my novel which motivates me to dig in more deeply. • I love when the whimsical & weird & ordinary, everyday life inspires ideas. • What about you? If you’re a writer or creator, where do your ideas come from? • #hopewriterlife • • @hopewriters #amwriting #writer #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity
day 3 // flow ✨ No matter how hard I try, lately it seems as if my stories won’t flow. But, despite the block, ideas do. • In fact, I’ve a working notebook right now with two novel ideas that I take to lunch with me to brainstorm & dream in. • There are no solid stories yet—but there are characters. Settings. Inklings of new novels. • And those inklings keep me dreaming. • Too often we writers frustrate ourselves when the words won’t flow, but I’m learning to look at my writing life in seasons, just as I do everyday life. • Some weeks... Some months... The words flow freely & I can pen chapters. • While other weeks or months stay stagnant. • When the words don’t flow, I often know it’s time for something else. Usually yoga. Or movement of some sort. Currently, in this season, it’s gardening. • But just as the stillness of Winter turns into the aliveness of Spring, so too do my writing seasons change. • As school wraps up, I have no brain power (or time!) to sit & pen chapters of a new story even though my soul years too. But I can dream about my new characters & plot lines, tending my words a little bit each day. • Soon my season will change to working from home, & I know that will be when chapters start to flow. • But until then, I keep writing. Even if it’s little ideas. Because one season bleeds into another & for me, I’m learning how to cultivate all the aspects of a writing life. • Seasons of quiet need tending in a different way for they bloom a different kind of growth. • I’m learning to be here for all of it. I’m learning how to flow. • #hopewriterlife • • @hopewriters #amwriting #writer #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #cultivatewhatmatters #writing #writinginspiration #hopewriters #story #storyteller #creativity #imagination #inspiration #inspire #writerinspiration #littlebylittle #progressnotperfection #writingspace #writingteacher #whyiwrite #yoga #yogaforcreatives
day 2 // mantra ✨ create magic tell stories write • These are the words that have settled into my soul over the last year as I fight my ▫️inner critic ▫️time ▫️busy schedule ▫️grief ▫️day job ▫️social media ▫️and more • Over time, these simple words have become a mantra. • A reminder to my soul to create things that matter because there are people out there who need my art. • And so, do I. • Because when I write, I tell stories that create magic. • For little eyes For hopeful hearts • For anyone else who needs to believe • #hopewriterlife • • @hopewriters #amwriting #writer #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #cultivatewhatmatters #writing #writinginspiration #hopewriters #story #storyteller #creativity #imagination #inspiration #inspire #writerinspiration #littlebylittle #progressnotperfection #writingspace #writingteacher #whyiwrite
day 1 // start ✨ It might not look like much, but this little corner has been a labor of love these past few months. • This is the first glimpse of my new office space—a place that will hopefully be filled with writing. That is, if I ever start. • I take that back. I HAVE started. • I AM starting. Every day anew when I choose to pick up my pen & put it to paper, which these days is more often than not. • Writing is difficult. Even on the days when words seem to flow, it takes all of me. • Most days, the blank space is terrifying, like an office that recently had wallpaper ripped off the walls. • As a writing teacher, my students’ biggest question is “How do I start this?” To which I often reply, “You just do.” • It doesn’t seem helpful. It might sound rude. But the truth of the matter, when it comes to writing, is you just have to start. Somewhere. • Maybe it’s here with small posts. Maybe it’s a journal before bed. Maybe it’s a notebook you carry with you or hang in the shower (they make those!) Maybe it’s the notepad on your phone. • Wherever it is, you just have to put one word down after the other, and in time they make something. An essay. A poem. A story. • And all those words together? Those are yours. The story you’re telling. The start of something new. • • #hopewriterlife • • @hopewriters #amwriting #writer #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #cultivatewhatmatters #writing #writinginspiration #hopewriters #story #storyteller #creativity #imagination #inspiration #inspire #writerinspiration #littlebylittle #progressnotperfection #writingspace #writingteacher
Our first little friend showed up in the garden last night, & he’s bringing a smile to my face today. • Even if Daisy isn’t quite sure about him. • There’s just something about making a whimsical garden space that’s filling my soul these days. • As my seniors wrap up their secondary school life & I move into my last unit with my Freshman, I find myself longing for summer. For days in the garden. Weeding. Planting. Tending. Cultivating. • • Creating. • I’m yearning for wonder & whimsy... something I don’t often find in my school day, but something I want to change. • I’m hoping my garden will teach me how to this year. • • #lifewithcait #caitsyearofwonder #caitfindswhimsy #gardenwithcait #gardengnome #garden #cultivatewhatmatters
*Would you consider supporting literacy and donating a book (or two) to our classroom library? We're always looking for patrons!

*Would you consider supporting literacy and donating a book (or two) to our classroom library? We're always looking for patrons!