Writing Tips and Prompts

Attacked by an Old Novel Idea

16 January 2018 / My Writing, Writing Tips and Prompts

I was recently attacked by the overwhelming urge to develop an old novel idea. What prompted it? And what did I do about it?

I was recently attacked by an overwhelming desire to work one of my old NaNoWriMo novels, None of This Means Anything. From the moment I woke up, I was totally driven to draft an outline and write up character charts and create a playlist and make a Pinterest board and draw a million sketches of my main characters […]

Why Writers Should Use Foils

8 January 2018 / My Writing, Writing Tips and Prompts

Foils are a great thing to have in your writerly toolbox. They make characterisation easier and help you avoid talking down to the reader all in one go. But what exactly are foils? And how can you use them?

One of my all-time fave literary devices is the foil. Foils are great. No, not the kind you make hats out of. No, not the kind you fence with. No, not the—you know what, maybe I’ll just tell you the kind I mean. There are too many kinds of foils out there. (nyuk nyuk nyuk) […]

The Gifts Writers Really Want

11 December 2017 / My Writing, Writing Tips and Prompts

Do you know and love a writer? Do you want to get them something nice? Here's a list of the gifts that all writers, no matter the type, want...a LOT.

Hello, writerly friends! The holidays are upon us! (Kind of an ominous phrase, isn’t it? “Upon us,” like it’s a tsunami or an alien invasion or something.) And we all know what that means…GIFTS. I FREAKIN’ LOVE GIFTS. I love giving them, I love getting them, I love all the sparkly paper and big shiny […]

December 2017 Writing Prompts

4 December 2017 / My Writing, Writing Tips and Prompts

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NaNoWriMo 2017 is officially over! Did you win? I…did not. That’s not to say that I got nothing out of it; I put 10k into the first draft of The Final Days and I got a much-needed brain break from Lady of Daemons. My magnificent critique partners, however, did not. Faith, Ríona, and Mikaela all critiqued pretty sizable […]

The Myth of the Miserable Writer

27 November 2017 / Writing Tips and Prompts

In high school, I was friends with Writers™, and they were miserable. The agony of having no inspiration! The torment of being an Artist™ in an uncaring world! The sheer indignity of a life surrounded by lay people who did not understand the pain and passion of the artistic life! Have I mentioned that we […]