We’ve all probably heard the joke, “Be nice or you’ll end up in my novel.” That’s because writers are naturally influenced by people and situations from our real lives. Some writing advice (“Write what you know!”) even finds its foundation in this. But hitting too...
It’s Friday the 13th, so let’s talk superstitions! For storytellers across many genres, superstitions can be a great way to dig into and expand your world-building. They can also provide interesting and fun insight into characters and their psyches. Superstitions,...
What do you do if your draft is “complete” but you feel that it’s not long enough? We often hear about drafts that are too wordy—pushing the boundaries of even the chunkiest fantasy word counts. But it’s possible to wrap up a draft and feel the opposite: that...
We all can hit a block sometimes. Maybe it’s a scene we can’t quite visualize, or a character who isn’t coming off the page as we had hoped they would. Maybe we just can’t figure out where it all goes next, or we’re struggling against our...
Our mental health can be affected as we write—sometimes without us even realizing it. It’s important to be mindful of the emotional and mental investment we’re giving to our stories and to take a step back to protect ourselves when needed. This is especially...
Easier said than done, right? Maybe so. But there are a few things you can do to help yourself create characters who pop off the page and feel genuine. Get to know your characters. Sometimes characters will surprise us on the page, but we usually start out with an...
