Each month I take a moment to pause and share a few things I’ve found to be helpful and fun along the journey as a busy writer. I hope you find them to be enlightening and encouraging! Article Roundup: Beta Readers I recently wrote about the importance and value of working with beta readers. Getting […]
Creating Balance (not Busyness) in Writing and in Life
It’s too easy to be busy. We have meetings, commutes, chores, errands, classes, and bills to pay. We have families and coffee dates. And somewhere in there we should probably shower, eat, and sleep. Now these aren’t bad things. In fact, they’re important and good. (Please don’t give up showering! 😉 ) The problem is […]
8 Great Books For Busy Writers
School season is upon us! This is a great time for all of us to be looking for ways we can learn and grow. As writers, one way to grow and improve our craft is by reading books for writers. Writing is often hard. There is a lot to learn. The good news is, we […]
Steps to Success Part 7: Beta Reading
Beta reading is the process of having other people look at our work and give critical feedback. I know, I know. I hate asking for help too. And who likes receiving criticism? Unfortunately, the solitary writer who classily churns out novel after novel on their vintage typewriter completely on their own isn’t a practical model […]
Bethany’s Best, August Edition: Revisions, Beets, and Deep Breathing
Each month I take a moment to pause and share a few things I’ve found to be helpful and fun along the journey as a busy writer. I hope you find them to be enlightening and encouraging! Article Roundup: Revisions I recently wrote about the importance of revisions. Revisions can be a bit intimidating at […]
A Writer’s Guide to Underappreciated Mythical Creatures
There is a limited variety of mythical creatures in our stories these days. Ever find yourself reading fantasy stories about dragons and wonder what other fantastical beasts could be out there? Not that there’s anything wrong with dragons- there’s a reason they’ve become the poster child for fantasy creatures. They are fascinating, dangerous, and magical. […]
Writing With Grace Through All Seasons
As writers, we want to have writing habits that consistently produce results. We want all our days to be good days. (I mean, who wouldn’t??) However, life rarely is quite that orderly. Much like the changing weather here in New England, our lives are constantly changing. We have seasons of our lives that are marked with […]
Start Now: Why We Should Start Before We’re Ready
Starting is hard There’s something magical about a new notebook with its blank pages full of possibility- but there’s something terrifying about it as well. Where to begin? Are we really ready to start writing? What if we mess it up? When we have a new project to start it can be an exciting time […]
Steps to Success Part 6: Revising Our Writing
Revising our writing can get a bad rap sometimes. After all, revisions are a lot of work! They can be confusing, hard, and none of us like to hear our work isn’t wonderful just the way it is. It would be nice if we could all write perfect stories the first time around. Unfortunately that’s […]
Bethany’s Best, July Edition: Blogging, Lemon Pie, and Music
Each month I take a moment to pause and share a few things I’ve found to be helpful and fun along the journey as a busy writer. I hope you find them to be enlightening and encouraging! Article Roundup: Blogging These days it’s pretty common for writers to have some sort of a website or blog […]
4 Writing Lessons from Small Children
There are endless writing lessons for us to learn. As writers we are constantly practicing our writing, improving our stories, and honing our craft. The entire world is our teacher if we allow it to be! As Sivananda Saraswati said: “This world is your best teacher. There is a lesson in everything.” It can certainly […]
3 Myths About Writing And 3 Truths
Being a writer is a strange and confusing identity. Sometimes writing is a hobby, sometimes it’s a lifestyle, and sometimes it’s something that sucks up all of our time and makes us frustrated. There are some days we love it and there are days we wonder why we ever started. Being a writer is sometimes […]
Steps to Success Part 5: Rest
So you’ve finished the first draft of your story- Congratulations!! That is a very big deal. No matter what shape your story is in, I’m so proud of you! Getting those words down on a page and creating the start of your story is a huge accomplishment. Are you feeling excited? Proud? A bit exhausted […]
Bethany’s Best: Villains, Dr Seuss, and Some Sunshine
Each month I take a moment to pause and share a few things I’ve found to be helpful and fun along the journey as a busy writer. I hope you find them to be enlightening and encouraging! Article Roundup: Villains No story would be complete without its villain! In fact, the strength of a story’s […]
Audacious Dreaming: 3 Reasons To Look Beyond Our Plans
Sometimes we need to throw away our plans and forget our goals in order to dream. That hurt a bit even to write because I’m such a compulsive goal setter. I love having checklists and then crossing things off when I’m done. (Anyone else out there with me??) After all, goals are great! Goals are […]