Composition Advice
A Pantser and a Plotter Walk Into a Bar…And the Pantser Learns a Lesson
For months, that’s how I wrote my first book, and then my second book. Some days the words were like a thundering river, literally gushing onto the pages. Other days, it was more like a seasonal creek in the middle of a long drought. I was lucky if two coherent words trickled out. Mostly, I ended up just looking at a blank page. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was a Pantser.
Taking Care of Your Health As An Author
Superficially, writing may seem like one of the least physically taxing professions on the planet. How hard can sitting in one place and thinking be after all?
Worldbuilding for SFF – Your Story Takes Place Where??
So, you’ve got an idea for a book? Fabulous! It’s a work of SciFi/fantasy, you say? Awesome! Ah, and I see you’ve got a list of characters and a general plot of your story. You’re doing great! Now what about a worldbuilding outline?
Writing by the Seat of your Pants
Intricate worlds. Unexpected twists, A satisfying ending. This, and much more is what an author promises a potential reader to entice them to pick their book out of thousands on the market. But delivering this isn’t and will never be easy.
Show, Don’t Tell is Bad Advice
Ready for some bad advice? Show, don't tell. I'm going to give you a second to rage at your computer, laptop, or phone.... done? Okay, let's talk about why it's the worst advice you can offer a writer. What info does show don't tell really give? Anton Chekhov once...
Fantasy Worldbuilding and the Three Bears
Fantasy Worldbuilding. Now there's a topic that I could talk about (or write about in this case) for hours on end. There's a lot to consider when it comes to creating a world for your story, after all! And you don't want to mess it up. Too much is obnoxious, too...
Structuring a Plot: Three Acts and What it Really Means
Structuring a plot. Just google it, there’s a million pictures and breakdowns. But you know what else is out there? The claim that this three act structure is pretty poorly named. It should be the six-act, or maybe the four-act. Tons of people who analyze stories have their own thoughts on how to break stories down perfectly.
Writing Romance (in non-romance genres)
articularly care for the genre, but I’ll make a concerted effort not to get distracted by that. That being said, almost all of my longer novels and all of my series include romance.
Outlining Novels, Campfire Style
Let’s jump right into today’s topic: outlining novels. This is arguably one of the first steps taken when you’re preparing to finally write that best seller. Campfire writing is an outlining process that helps storytellers learn how to both structure and free-write.
Writing Cliches and How to Avoid Them
An opinion most of us storytellers can agree on is that writing cliches is the ultimate no-go. Don’t do it, nope. And if you do? Better subvert expectations and turn that trope on its head.