Before you freak at the title, please know that the point of blogging titles is to get you here, and now you’re here, so voilà. That said, I really do believe writing a book can be a waste of time. Why is that such a controversial thing to say? I know that the publishing industry… Continue reading Sometimes Writing That Book Was A Waste Of Time
Tag: writing prompt
Writing the Cliffhanger
Love them or hate them, cliffhangers are popular and utilized in lots of books nowadays, even the ones that never get (or intend) a sequel to follow up the ending. So what’s the difference between a cliffhanger that makes a reader pick up the next book and the one that makes the reader chuck the… Continue reading Writing the Cliffhanger
Writing About Grief
As someone who usually writes science fiction and fantasy, I decided to take a sharp turn during these last few months of 2021 to write my first contemporary. It’s a verse novel, centered on the loss of my mother when I was 11. (For those of you who are new to my blog, she died… Continue reading Writing About Grief
What Writers Can Learn from Reading Their OLD Work
I’ve been writing stories ever since I learned how to write. I’m not kidding. My first pieces of work go back to when I was 4 years old. My first story was a 5-page rambling piece about my new husky throwing a party so that the two older dogs would attend and possibly befriend him.… Continue reading What Writers Can Learn from Reading Their OLD Work
Writing Crying Scenes
Crying is a common experience. “A study in the 1980s found that women cry an average of 5.3 times per month and men cry an average of 1.3 times per month. A newer study found that the average duration for a crying session was eight minutes.” (Heathline) Does this mean your characters should cry that much in your story? Probably… Continue reading Writing Crying Scenes
Tips for Writing Spooky
Happy Halloween! I don’t know about you, but Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. In fact, one time my father snuck into my car while I was at school and filled it with Halloween balloons, chocolates, and a pumpkin-shaped candle burner. (I know. He’s the greatest. Though I admit, I didn’t know… Continue reading Tips for Writing Spooky
Teachings from my Twitter Poll Story
It was noon, the sun was high, and I was standing on my back porch trying to get some fresh air during my lunch break when I heard strange music coming from the woods behind my house. Naturally, my imagination ran off with dreams of fairy parties and otherworldly adventures. It was a brief moment… Continue reading Teachings from my Twitter Poll Story
Starting a Novel: Tips, Tricks, & A Little Chaos
I recently finished a major revision on a manuscript. Typically that calls for a well-deserved break, to which I shake my fists at, because I am a write-aholic, and I love nothing more than to immediately jump into my next, shiny, new project. That’s right. I already started another novel. Why did I already start… Continue reading Starting a Novel: Tips, Tricks, & A Little Chaos
Tracking Character Motivations with a Free Spreadsheet
It’s no secret that I’m currently revising a manuscript. I’ve been talking about revising a lot lately and giving glimpses into what my revision process looks like. I’m currently on my third draft of a multi-POV sci-fi novel, and I am still smoothing out my character motivations. (What can I say? It can be tricky!… Continue reading Tracking Character Motivations with a Free Spreadsheet
Finishing My First Pantser Novel
I finished my first panster novel. For those of you who don’t know what a panster is in publishing, it basically means you write with no plan, no outline, nothing. You write by the seat of your pants. Hence, panster. Typically, I’m an outliner. A pretty detailed one, I might add. There’s something comforting about knowing my… Continue reading Finishing My First Pantser Novel
Shannon A. Thompson 