I’m currently reading Keep Going by Austin Kleon and it just seems so very applicable these days. Not only just to writing, but to everything! Keep Going by Austin Kleon Take this gem as the book opens for instance: “Whether you’re burned out, starting out, starting over, or wildly successful, the question is always the […]
How are you all doing these days? Are you doing okay? There have been some hard times recently. A lot of unknowns, a lot of heartache worldwide, and a lot of injustice and anger. Responding to Hard Times It’s hard to know what to do with all the emotions. It’s hard to process the information […]
Do you have anything on your summer book list? Something about summer makes me want to make plans involving taking piles of books to a beach somewhere or some secluded park where I can spread out a blanket and relax. Summer is definitely for reading. …So are fall, winter, and spring too, of course- but […]
Symbolism in stories is when symbols are used to represent something else. For instance, a red rose may signify love. A rainy day may signify sadness. Some authors and readers love symbolism. Plenty of books and college classes are devoted to the symbolism within famous books. Others think symbolism is too confusing and should be […]
Sometimes we don’t want to write. Sometimes we really can’t write- whether we don’t have the time, small gremlins are attacking us, or because we’re just completely exhausted. I’ve had trouble focusing lately and sometimes it seems like my brain isn’t quite working at full speed. (Or even half speed!) So what do we do […]
I’m in a weird place with my writing right now. I just finished up some revisions on a novel that I’m querying with agents and I haven’t started in on a new big project yet. It feels a bit odd to be between stories. There’s a bit of hesitation- I don’t want to jump into […]
Life has been hard for a lot of us lately. It isn’t always easy to find things to be happy about. And it can seem almost wrong to want to be happy when there is so much suffering in the world. But there is nothing wrong about searching for joy in the midst of suffering. […]
I’m thrilled and honored to be guest posting over at Fiction University this week talking about 5 Reasons Our Characters Need to Fail. I hope you’ll hop on over and check it out! (And be on the lookout for a meme featuring Uncle Iroh! He’s one of my favs.) Fiction University is a huge treasure […]
Story structure is the framework that keeps our novels strong and makes them as powerful as they can be. Today we’re looking at the very last element in our stories- the resolution. The resolution of our story is incredibly important. As Mickey Spillane put it, “Your first line sells the book. Your last line sells […]
Sometimes writing is really hard. If you can’t be writing right now, that’s okay. You may be in crisis mode and that comes first. There may not be any mental energy for anything besides caring for yourself and those you are with. And that’s okay. Let’s be gentle with ourselves. Let’s have grace and patience […]