Show of hands, who here has read a writing craft book? If any of you are like me when I started writing, then you might not even know these existed. However, any of you who have read some, please leave a comment mentioning your favorite writing craft book. That would seriously be awesome. Anywho, do you know why writing craft books are useful? Well, it’s because they can tell us what makes a good story come together. Everyone has heard…
First off, Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there! Second, should you type or write by hand? Which one is best? I think this is a question most of us have faced at some point. Depending on who you talk to, one or the other is more considered writing than the other. But is this true? No. Both writing by hand and typing are valid forms of writing. The important fact is that you’re putting words down. Which…
Heyo, Folks! April has been a crazy month for sure. The world has gone to the dogs a lot, and I think we can all agree on that. And I will say that some very unexpected events happened in April that threw me way off. But we’ll all get through it one way or another. Now, some of you might know that April was Camp Nano. For those of you who don’t know what that is, I shall endeavor to…
What is one thing that, no matter how good of a writer you are, your story will not exist without? Characters. There is no way on this blue planet that you can write a story without characters in some form or fashion. It is physically and literally impossible. But, even though characters are such a necessary part of giving life to a story, poorly written characters can kill a story just as quickly. So, how do we go about making…
Second up in our world-building series is geography. Let’s face it. If you’re building a world for your story, it has to take place somewhere. Your characters aren’t just floating in the great abyss interacting with each other. That’d be boring. And honestly, very confusing and worrisome. Let’s say that you want to have a city as the setting for your characters. Now, this city can be medieval, modern, futuristic, minuscule, gigantic, essentially whatever you want. It doesn’t really matter….
When most people learn a foreign language, it’s usually for school credit, work, or because they’re going out of the country. In class or however they learn, there might be a small snippet about the culture of the major countries that speak the language. While what little is taught about the culture is better than nothing, it is highly disappointing. Languages have such a profound influence on culture, and vice versa, that it needs to be explored deeply in our…
Reading. It is usually the bane of our existence, or it is the very water we breathe. Either way, chances are you don’t read nearly as much as you should or want to. I know that I definitely don’t. So, here are a few of my favorite tips on how to read more. In the morning Some of you are looking at that title and going, “I don’t have time in the morning to read.” I get that, truly, I…
I’m sure that all writers at some point or other have heard the saying “Reading for writing” or another form of it. This thought is pretty widely accepted, but does everyone understand why it’s important? One fascinating thing about the many genres is that they are all written differently, and the readers have different expectations for each. For instance, if you were reading a romance story, you probably wouldn’t anticipate car chases and shootouts in it. And you wouldn’t expect…
You’ve done it. There is a character staring back at from through all the words you’ve written. After hours of writing and planning and thinking you have a character and they are…flat. I know, I know. You tried so hard to make them something great but they just aren’t all there. Something is missing. Don’t worry. We’ve all been there and we will all be there again at some point. It’s okay. Here are three tips that can help you…
Do you have to write every day? Can you write every day? I know a lot of people would look at these two questions and answer “yes” to both. However, in my opinion (emphasis on opinion) the answer is “no” to the first and “only if you want to” on the second. Let me explain why. Athletes Need Rest Athletes have bodies honed to a near perfect physique for their sport. Even though they are trained to withstand a great…