Tag: writing advice

To write a long novel

If a book is well written, I always find it too short.

-Jane Austen

Let’s hear it for the long novel. There is just something about a big, hefty book that feels delicious.

Of course, I am a fan of Stephen King. I’ve read The Stand no less than seven times. I loved Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor. And Phillipa Gregory isn’t exactly short-winded either. Then of course there’s the holy grail of my childhood fantasy reading, Mists of Avalon.

A long novel is what you write when you want to explore sweeping expansive descriptions. When you want your readers to see the jeweled beetle sitting on the windowsill. In short (rim shot) writing a long novel takes a much different skill set than a short one.

Rich descriptions

If a short novel is like a sketch, a long novel is a wall-sized oil painting. The details in long novels are rich.

Consider a long novel you’ve read. I bet you feel like you could step into some of the most iconic rooms. You might be able to see the bedspreads or picture the garden bench.

Not everyone loves this sort of description, but some fans eat it up. I personally think it’s a great place to flex a more literary style of writing. This is a great place to get symbolic and poetic.

Large cast

Wheel of Time, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter. All of these have massive casts that span far beyond the main character. And most of those characters are fully formed. They have likes, dislikes, families, desires. We can see how changes in the world will impact these different characters in different ways.

This is a fantastic way to expand the world. To show different points of view that might challenge your main characters.

And yes, large books often have more than one main character.

Having the space to explore your world from multiple points of view is one of the benefits of writing a long book. It’s not an easy task. It’s difficult to juggle a large cast with their varying details and desires. So you’ll probably want to start a book bible as soon as possible.

Worldbuilding

Writing a large novel gives you space to really explore the world. If you enjoy creating different countries and communities, this is ideal for you.

Especially if you’re incorporating a large cast, you can establish as many communities as your heart desires and the story will support.

However, here’s a word of warning. Don’t get so lost in building your world that you forget to tell your story. Because the most beautifully crafted world can only hold someone’s interest so far. Remember, the story comes first. Everything else is just a stage setting.

Subplots aplenty

In a long novel, there is space to tell many stories. There can be subplots. There can be side quests. There can be love stories between secondary characters.

And that kind of feels more real, doesn’t it? There’s rarely a time when your life is just revolving around one thing. Even at the height of my husband’s stroke recovery, we were still dealing with other things. It’s never just one thing, is it?

Take my book, Station 86. While the characters are dealing with the Hollow Suits, they’re also falling in and out of love. They’re working on their careers and businesses. They’re trying to keep peace and keep food on the table. They’re running for office. They are living complex, complicated, messy, wonderful, horrible, realistic lives.

In the end, a large novel is all about space. It’s having space to stretch out and make sweeping and grand stories that are an investment of time. But that’s not going to deter people if you’ve done you’re job right. In fact, it might well be a great selling point.

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To write short fiction

Short novels and novellas are a pleasure. There’s a weight to them, paradoxically. Short fiction seems to punch us in the gut stronger than long fiction. Maybe it’s just me, but I often feel like the shorter the piece, the stronger the impact.

I’ve written before about brevity being a strong point in horror. But I have a deep respect for short works in any genre. Though I’ll admit that some genres lend themselves more to the form, you can find great short stories in any of them. Fantasy might not seem like something that can work well in a short time, but one of the best fantasy books I’ve read is This is How You Lose The Time War.

To write a short piece of fiction takes a different set of skills than writing a long piece of fiction. It’s one that not all authors have the ability to do. Stephen King comes to mind, much as I love him. Even his short stories are bloated, as far as short stories go. But if you want to write good short novels, short stories and microfiction, here are some things to keep in mind.

Every word matters

When you have a tight word count, every word matters. Elements of Style begins with the advice to omit needless words, and that is good advice. It’s also part of the fun of it, for me. When I write microfiction, it’s almost like a puzzle. How do I say all that I want to say within the word count? How do I convey all of the emotions? How do I tell the whole story?

One tip I love is using every bit of word count you can get. This means incorporating the title into the storytelling.

Short fiction has no room for fluff. No room for over-explanation. You have to cut it down to only the words that matter.

Subplots need to do double duty and be scarce

We all love a good subplot. Bits and pieces that add fun and flavor to a story but aren’t essential to a plot.

This one doesn’t exactly impact microfiction, as there’s no room for subplots there at all. But short novels will certainly have a few.

Think of it as the difference between an old-school TV episode, and the season-long stories shows have now. An episode of a show will have an A plot and a B plot. They might or might not impact each other. But a season of a modern show will have at least a handful of storylines. Maybe too many, depending on the show.

With short fiction, of course, you want to have as few subplots as you can get away with.

Maybe you have a romantic subplot that also foreshadows a backstory for the antagonist. Maybe a lost pet leads to a comedic story and gives more character development to a secondary character. Or maybe the main character. We’ll talk more about that in the next portion.

Fewer characters

In short fiction, you’re not going to have a huge cast of characters. It’s not like Wheel of Time or The Stand. Long fiction has lots of space to grow many, many characters.

Short fiction feels more intimate, and part of why is the smaller cast. Consider This is How You Lose The Time War, which only had two characters.

When you only have space for a handful of characters, it’s like the difference between attending a big party and an intimate dinner. You have more opportunity to get to know the people at that dinner. For better or worse. You’ll be more likely to learn secrets about others in that setting. Who went off their meds. Who cheated on their partner. Who has a dark secret about something hidden in their basement. Something that makes them afraid to go down there.

Something that might reach out through the shadows.

Having fewer characters to focus on means you can know those characters inside and out.

Writing a short novel, or any short piece takes practice. It’s not easier than writing a long piece. It sometimes might even take more time than the longer pieces because they require so much attention to detail. But a good piece of short fiction can be a gut punch in the very best way. And even if you don’t intend to write short forever, it’s a good skill to have.

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Is all writing art?

I’ve been busy recently. My darling husband is home, finally. And I am overjoyed. But a stroke is a serious thing and it takes a lot of work and care to recover. It’s a team effort. So it’s been a little hard for me to spend time on my writing.

We all go through these times. It’s nothing new. Right now I’m spending a lot less time writing and a lot more time cleaning and caretaking. Since my time is limited, I’m focusing on things that have actual deadlines. Sometimes, that means that all the writing I’m doing is reviews, blog posts and my daily freewriting.

That’s, um, not a lot. At least not compared to what I’m used to. And the writing I’m doing isn’t what I consider super artistic.

At least, it’s not the sort of writing most people would consider to be particularly artistic.

When you think of artistic writing, what do you think of? Everyone’s going to have a different list, but here’s mine.

Poetry

Songwriting

Short stories of all lengths

Novels and novellas

Now, I don’t write music. But I usually write all those other things. Even if I don’t always share the poetry, this is the writing that makes me feel like a real writer. A real artist!

But of course, there’s lots of writing that is, in fact, artistic writing. Let me give you a list of writing that counts as art.

All writing. All writing can be art.

No, I don’t think there’s an exception. I’ve written ad copy that is art. I’ve ghostwritten blog posts that were art. Everything I post here is art. Even my reviews of horror content on Haunted MTL are art.

If you’re creating something new, you’re making art.

If you’re writing something that gives you joy to write, you’re making art.

If you’re pouring your heart into your writing, you’re making art.

I believe that a lot of the rules some people have about art are bullshit. It tends to be quite elitist, relying on having the approval of the right people. But that has many issues. First off, art is subjective. What I consider art and what you consider art is going to be completely different. Visual artists have been poking fun at this forever. Consider the banana taped to a wall that sold for just so, so much money. I consider this art, not because the banana itself is somehow valuable. It’s art because its existence says something. Thought went into that piece. Intention went into that piece.

You get to decide what counts as art for you. Don’t worry about if anyone else agrees with you. People have also been misinterpreting art forever. Consider the heartbreaking story behind Portrait of Ross in LA, by Felix Gonzalez-Torres. If you haven’t heard of this piece, it looks different every time. It’s a pile of candy. People are invited to take a piece of candy, or even a few.

This piece represents the life and death of a man named Ross, who was the artist’s lover. He wasted away and died due to AIDS. This art piece represents the sweetness of his life wasting away. It’s beautiful and sad and meaningful. It captures the honest and raw emotion of a man who lost his person. We are gifted a glimpse of that pain in the pile of sweets that slowly diminishes. It is art.

What is art to you? To me, it’s a piece of work that’s created with joy. It’s something that is crafted with care. It’s creative work that we make to share with others, or just to take our own emotions and memories out of ourselves and into ink or paint or scraps of paper put together in a collage. Take this post. I wrote this for you, and I wrote it for me. I wrote it to share something with you that’s been making me feel better. I took care with the words I used, bringing some poetry to my prose. I put thought into it. It brought me joy to write. I hope that it brings you joy to read. My reviews of slasher flicks and gory anthology TV shows are also a joy to write. I hope that they’re a joy to read and that they help you find good stories about things that slither in the night.

Art is subjective. But don’t let yourself think that you’re not creating art. It’s a big tent, and all kinds of writing are welcome.

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Why I wrote a prequel

When I wrote Woven, I thought it would be a simple fantasy trilogy.

Well, that’s not entirely true. I at first thought it was going to be one epic novel that only encompassed the first two books. But as I wrote, I discovered more about the world and its people. This is one reason why it’s so important to finish a rough draft. The story tells itself to you, sometimes.

And the story started to breathe on its own, taking on a life I never imagined when I first started scribbling ideas out on index cards.

Despite this, I was as surprised as anyone to realize that the story needed another book.

Falling From Grace is, of course, that book.

Authors have all sorts of reasons for writing a prequel or additional content for an existing series. And it’s something that most of my favorite authors do. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, for instance. You might have any number of reasons for wanting to write more in a world that you’ve created after your original tale is done. But I’m willing to bet the number one reason is that you felt there was more to the story. More to a side character, or a region, or even a legend told in your tale that deserved more space.

Today, I’d like to share the reasons why I wrote Falling From Grace. Maybe some of these reasons will make sense to you, and inspire you to write your prequel or additional novel.

I wrote Grace by accident

Grace came to me while I was writing a prolog for Starting Chains that I never ended up using. This just goes to show that you should never, ever throw away any of your writing. I wrote a story about a young woman tasked with brushing down and caring for a horse before a long ride. This young woman overhears Calvin’s plans to invade Septa.

But this seemed like such a small peak into her world. Who was she? What was it like living in this village with our main antagonist? What would she have to say, if I gave her space and time to say it?

I wanted to see more of the world than the nobility saw

I loved writing about Devon, Sultiana and Lenore. But, they all had one thing in common. They were nobility. Even Victor, by the time he’s a main character, is a prince.

Grace is not a queen. At least, she is only a queen for a short amount of time. She is a simple woman who stepped up and led a rebellion.

I wanted to write about witchcraft and magic and rebellion

Speaking of which, Falling From Grace deals with a lot of things I wanted to write about. And that, of course, was the real gift it gave me. I loved writing about a rebellion. I loved writing about women and men discovering witchcraft.

Falling From Grace was an indulgence of a writing experience. So, as much as I had all of these other reasons to write it, this was the most important reason. I wrote it because I wanted to write it. Because it was such a joy to write it.

I realized that I hinted at a massive story that I never told.

Finally, though, I did have a concern when I was writing the Woven series. I hinted at a war in Montelair, Victor and Grace’s home. I mentioned, however briefly, that Calvin took over the country and killed their king. Later, I talked about a little girl whose story deserved to be told.

There was a story there. There was a whole story in Montelair that I wanted to tell. Because, and I think this is the most important to take from this. If nothing else stays with you, let it be this.

Don’t write a prequel unless you feel like there’s a story that’s waiting to be told. Don’t write more because you think you’re supposed to, or because the original series sold well and you want to capitalize off of that. Write the story that is there. Write the story that is calling to be told. You, and your readers, deserve nothing less.

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My thoughts on the TikTok ban

Bonus post because I’m sad.

I didn’t talk about this for a while because, if we’re being honest, I didn’t think it would happen. And, if I’m being honest, it wasn’t hugely on my radar until this past week. The darling husband is still in rehab from his stroke. LA is on fire and that has me scared in a deep extensential way that makes me fear for the future of our planet. The worst president in the history of America is seating his fat ass behind the honored Resolute Desk on the same day we honor one of the best men America has ever known.

Then, there’s the fact that I don’t use the TikTok. I’m 38, I use Instagram like an adult. I don’t post there or consume the content. I’ve never once installed or looked at the app. The only time I see any content from TikTok is if the iconic Loey Lane is doing a video about it.

So, why do I care? Because, despite everything I just said, I care deeply. And I wish to God that it wasn’t happening.

To start, so many amazing creators I love got started on TikTok. And I will be honest, I didn’t realize how many until they all started posting about how this app gave them their start. Jordan and McKay started on TikTok. A lot of progressive pastors I admire started there. B Mo The Prince, Professor Neil and Pastor Sarah, just to name a very few. While they eventually transitioned onto other platforms, they got started on TikTok. And I wouldn’t get to enjoy their content if they hadn’t started there.

I’m glad that these amazing creators are not going away. I hope that if you have content creators you love on TikTok you follow them onto other platforms. But the truth is that not everyone who follows someone on one platform is going to follow them on other platforms. So yes, every creator involved in TikTok is going to have to rebuild. They’re going to lose money in an economy that is already struggling. And while I don’t create that sort of content, I am still a content creator. I don’t want any content creator to suffer.

I have two pieces of advice for content creators of any sort. Writers, comedians, activists, video essayists. Do not put your hopes in one app. Don’t wait until your app of choice is going away before you encourage your followers to follow you on other platforms. Do it now.

Create for multiple platforms if you can at all. I write blog posts here. I review horror content on Haunted MTL. I post silly pictures of the pets and my life and microfiction on Instagram and Threads. I also get mouthy and political on Threads. I post and repost writing and reading content on Pinterest. And, of course, my books are available on multiple platforms. (Woven is going wide soon. Stay tuned.) If one of these platforms goes down, I can rely on others until I find an alternative. Remember, I used to post a lot on Twitter and Facebook. When those turned to Hell, I left. I didn’t lose that many followers.

Platforms come and go. Do not wait to diversify where your people can find you.

Speaking of apps coming and going, do not think that your favorite platform is safe. Because it’s not. That’s the scariest thing about this incident. The reasons why TikTok was banned were nebulous at best. And if they took it down, they can take any app down.

Any site down, if I’m being honest. I worry that this has opened the floodgates. I mean, I don’t know if anyone would want to ban Pinterest, as it’s about as dangerous as your sweet auntie who collects ceramic birds. But I didn’t think the silly dancing app was all that dangerous either.

That isn’t the only way an app can die. They can get taken over by terrible and dangerous people. They can become so full of toxicity that anything beautiful or worthy gets choked out. I’m concerned about some things I’m hearing about Meta, so Threads and Instagram might be next to go.

Everything we lose gives space for something new to grow. New apps will come to take the place of TikTok and hopefully give new creatives a place to find their tribe. I want that for them. I want creatives who just lost their platforms to find their people all over again. And I don’t want anyone to take this lightly. Losing the TikTok platform is a blow to creatives, some of which will not recover. It’s a blow to freedom of speech and freedom of creativity. And I dearly hope that I’m wrong when I see this as just the first of many platform losses.

Protect your art, my friends. Vote every election. Diversify your platform. And above all, do not stop creating. Do not stop posting comedy skits, creepy horror content, microfiction, progressive Bible knowledge, new music, book reviews, pictures of your pets, cleaning tips, and witchy aesthetic content. Don’t stop putting your good stuff out there.

We need it.

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New Year, pretty much same me

I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. I think they set up an unrealistic expectation that we’re going to become completly different people and somehow be able to make different health and productivity decisions just because we’ve just cracked open a new planner.

This isn’t to say that I don’t believe we can make changes in our lives. I think we’re all imperfect works in progress and we can choose something different for ourselves every day. I’m just saying we try to do too much too fast and at an arbitrary time. You can start something new any day. For instance, I’m already 25 days into a Dulingo streak.

What I do believe in is setting SMART goals at the start of the year. Just in case you don’t remember what that acronym stands for, it’s a goal that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevent, and Time Bound.

I do have some slightly ambitious writing goals this year. But I should let you know off the bat that there will be no major launches. At some point Woven will be going wide, so you don’t have to rely on Amazon to get it. But other than that, you will see no novel launches from me in 2025.

I did launch four books in 2024, after all.

My writing goals for 2025 are pretty simple.

– I want to officially join SFWA.

– I want to join another local writing guild.

– I want to write the rough draft and second draft of Aurora, the final Station 86 book.

– I want to write the third and fourth drafts of a secret novel that I’m hoping to tell you more about later.

– Finally, I do want to launch Woven on all platforms.

That sounds like a lot, and maybe it is. But I think I can reasonably do all of those things. And being reasonable with my goals this year was very important.

Many of you, like me, have a word of the year. My word for 2025 is Heal. I decided on this word in early November. I realized that I’ve been putting off dealing with some heavy emotional stuff. I’m also suffering from burnout, and not taking care of my health. I needed to dedicate some time, yes a whole year, to healing myself first.

Then, on December 8th, my husband had a stroke. I don’t just mean a little stroke. I mean a brain bleed stroke. And he’s still in the hospital.

I’m sharing this for two reasons. One, if you see less of me around you know why. I’m not planning on taking any time off, but you never know. And two, to remind you of what I said in the beginning.

January first is a nice day to make changes. But so are the other 364 days of the year. Just because everyone else is making these grand plans right now doesn’t mean you have to if now isn’t the time for that shit.

You can decide next week that you want to start working out and just do it. You can decide in April that you want to start drawing and just do it. You can decide today, right now, that you want to start writing a novel, and just do it.

Or you can decide that what you’re going to do is just your best. And you know what? That’s valid too. Just do that.

However, if you’re stuck on this and you want to make some sort of positive change, may I suggest drinking more water? You’re probably dehydrated.

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Shared elements of fantasy and horror

Fantasy is scary. Fantasy is the closest genre to horror, and the one that blends most naturally with it. I believe this with my whole heart, as a speculative fiction writer. I also believe that the best of each genre borrows heavily from the other.

Some of the best horror I’ve read this year (which we’ll discuss next week) have strong fantasy elements. My best fantasy work, Woven, has strong horror elements. My best horror work, Quiet Apocalypse, has strong fantasy elements.

I think this is because some of the most often-used elements of each genre are the same. And it is those elements that I want to talk about today. Each one is a coin with two faces. We’re going to talk about how each of those faces can look.

The fey

Fairy, fair folk, the good neighbors. As a practicing witch, I won’t say anything bad about the fey. For reasons that should be perfectly obvious.

Fairies are most often seen in fantasy. They’re depicted as beautiful, cheerful dancing creatures alight on gossamer wings who like to play light-spirited games on people. They love children, honey, milk and dogs. Especially corgies.

In horror, they are often still small-winged beings. But their hands become a little longer. Their teeth and fingernails become a little sharper. Their songs are just as alluring. But are most likely going to trap you in a brightly colored world you will never escape from, in which you might become a feast or simply dance until you die. Their games and pranks become less joyful and more sinister. They love children, so much that they might steal yours away and leave a changeling in their place.

Cryptids

We all love fantasy creatures. Griffins and gargoyles. Dragons, drakes, sasquatches and any number of winged animals. There are countless joyful stories of experiencing these creatures who come into our dull human lives and spread magic just by existing.

But cryptids have a darker side. Mothman, the Dover Devil, chupacabras, yetis, and flesh pedestrians. Also, giant rats. There always seem to be a few giant rats wandering around in both genres.

Humans have forever seen creatures that no one else has seen, that may or may not have been real. These sightings have either filled us with wonder or terror, depending on the creature in question. And while those stories are often laughed off, or simply considered works of fiction, there’s something a little frightening to consider.

We thought narwhals, platypi, gorillas, and giant squids were cryptids, too. Until we didn’t.

Magic

Magic is a mainstay of fantasy. I love magic. A wave of a wand or some well-chosen Latin and the monster is defeated, the famine is over, the bitter wound is healed and the house is cleaned. I especially love tricky magic, that requires skill and knowledge. Learning an incantation, knowing the herbs and words to say. It’s like catnip for me.

But magic is a tool. It can be used to heal, create abundance, bring order, and protect. It can also be used to bring illness, famine, chaos and death. A curse can wrap itself around someone’s neck and force them to watch everything they love melt away in front of their eyes. A spell can let lose a demon or darkness. Magic can make someone bleed.

Family loss

Why do so many heroes lose their parents or parental figures? This is something I plan to explore in a blog post at some point.

Losing a parent is something most of us will experience. Unless we die first, that is. It is one of the great tragedies of our lives that the people who love us the most, the ones who love us unconditionally from before we’re even born will someday leave us.

In fantasy, this is a scar that the hero carries with them. Because they felt alone, they wanted to protect others from feeling that way. Or, their parents died saving them. This is a noble and honorable weight they bear.

In horror, things shake out a bit differently. In my opinion, it’s more honest. Losing someone you love hurts. It can make you stronger, but it can also make you weaker. It can lead to PTSD. It can take away any feeling of comfort or safety you have. Especially if you lose your parents young, you tend to feel like the world is a very dark place. Some people don’t rise to that occasion. Some just sink into this dark world. Or, they become the darkness themselves.

War

War is a big thing in the fantasy genre. An epic battle between two armies, one full of goodness and light and one full of monsters. We see elves and orcs facing off. Demons and angels. Armies of light and goodness hold back armies of darkness from destroying innocent people.

But war isn’t like that in the real world, and it sure isn’t like that in horror. Real war, horror war, reminds us that nothing is ever black and white, cut and dry. There is no such thing as a pure army. And in war, even if someone has the best intentions, dark and terrible things happen.

Young men and women, little more than teenagers, die. They die on blood-soaked grounds, adding their own blood to the mass. They die screaming for help that cannot come. They burn and bleed after causing other people they will never know to burn and bleed. They starve, get sick, get injured, get broken. Even those who come home physically whole are often broken inside. I’ve lost people to that breaking.

War is hell. There’s a reason so many ghost stories are about fallen soldiers. And while the individual people who fight and die are often noble, including those members of my bloodline who have done so, the people making the decisions at the top are all too often not. Anywhere you look in war, you can find a horror story.

I hope this post has given you something to think about, especially if you are a horror or fantasy writer. And I’d love to hear from you! Do you write a blend of horror and fantasy? Leave links to your stories below.

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The books that inspired me to write Woven

Writers are readers first. I have been honored to know and befriend many writers, and I have never met one who didn’t have a passion for books. Ask any of us about what we’re reading, or what our favorite books from childhood are, and watch our faces light up.

(I am currently reading Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. Tis the season.)

What we read shapes what we write. Because of course, we want to tell the sort of stories that we love to read.

There are exceptions, of course. I love some good historical fiction, memoirs and biographies of interesting people. But I have no desire to write one of those.

As a child, I loved fantasy, science fiction and horror. As an adult, that’s what I write. And there are three series in particular that inspired my fantasy series, Woven.

Likely, you’ve read these before. If you have, maybe you can see the inspiration already. If you haven’t read them, I cannot recommend them enough. Here now are the three series, what they taught me, and how they inspired me to write Woven.

Dragon Riders of Pern taught me to love dragons and see a place for myself in writing fantasy.

This might surprise you, but Dragon Riders of Pern was my first introduction to dragons. It shouldn’t surprise you, because this introduction took place when I was about five, being read to by my aunt. I immediately fell in love with the relationships between humans and dragons. And when I discovered dragons who were just as smart, if not smarter, than humans in the film Dragonheart, I was hooked.

Dragon Riders of Pern was also the first time I remember seeing a woman’s name on the cover of a book. At least, a fantasy book. I was fully aware that The Babysitter’s Club and Sweet Vally High were written by women. And I was already hooked on Ramona. I mean no offense to Francine Pascal, Ann M. Martin, and certainly not Beverly Cleary. They wrote great books that I loved as a child. But they always wrote about, well, children and teenagers. They wrote about the real world, and all the problems girls and boys got into. The people who wrote about robots and dragons and ghosts were, well, men. Stephen King, J.R Tolkien, R.L Stine, C.S Lewis. I loved them, but I had a hard time seeing myself among them. Anne McCaffrey showed me that I could belong in that world first.

Chronicles of Narnia taught me to write about faith.

Speaking of C.S. Lewis, I love him. I love the Chronicles of Narnia.

The story is fantastic, I cannot stress this enough. But it’s also faith-affirming.

Gently. And that is the important part here.

Chronicles of Narnia is not judgemental. It’s not the Left Behind series. It’s not one of the many books I read as an LDS child. It is a gentle story that teaches real morals about being a good person.

While Woven doesn’t have a strong religious component, it is a little bit about faith. Lenore specifically learns about celebrating your faith when it doesn’t celebrate you. She deconstructs and removes herself from the Church, but not the Creator.

Gee, wonder why I wrote about that.

Chronicles of Narnia gave me the inspiration to write about faith, as I experienced it, without worrying that I was going to be judgemental towards others.

Circle of Magic taught me to write about tactile magic

Finally, Tamora Pierce’s Circle of Magic was the biggest inspiration for Woven.

Pierce once said that she was inspired by her mother and sisters doing handcrafts. She saw magic in creating cloth from string. This is something I agree with. I knit and crochet, and that’s always felt like a very attainable magic.

Great, grand magic is loads of fun. It’s fun to read about people who wave a sword and bring lighting down from the sky. So I wrote that. But it’s also somehow comforting to imagine magic coming from such a simple act and powerful act.

Now it’s your turn. What books inspired your current WIP? Let us know in the comments.

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Ten ways to fill your creative cup

I write most days. Not every day, because I live in a capitalist society and I have to have a job. But I try to get some writing in most days.

I don’t do writer’s block. This isn’t to say I’ve never looked at the blank page and been stuck. Because of course that happens. That happens all the time. But I don’t like the term writer’s block. It makes it sound like a large, unmovable brick in your path. That is pretty daunting. I prefer thinking of it as an empty cup. And you can fill a cup.

What do we fill our cups with? Well, I tend to fill mine with things that take a little effort, but not much. Coffee and tea, mostly. You have to do a little more than just pouring something from one container to another, but not a lot.

That is how I want you to think of the advice in this post. These suggestions will take a little effort, but not much. But, like a cup of warm coffee or tea, you will feel filled in more ways than one.

Freewrite

Of course, this is where we always start. Freewriting has always been the first line of defense against an empty creative cup. Sit down, set a timer for five, ten, fifteen minutes, and just start writing. They don’t have to be good. They don’t have to have punctuation or good spelling. Hell, they don’t even have to be in order. They just have to exist

Read people who inspire you

Many writers inspire me. Natalie Goldberg and Maya Angelou come to mind first. So when I’m feeling creatively drained, I read some of my favorite works from them. It always encourages me to get back to the page quicker.

Find a random picture online

This is something I’ve done as a group game, and as a way to unstick my creativity. Jump on a website like Pixabay, and check out some random pictures. Or if you’re trying to write a certain genre, look up a keyword from that. Look up ghosts, dragons, haunted castles. Whatever you want. Then write a story about the pictures that come up.

Grab a writing prompt

Similar to the last bit of advice, find a writing prompt.

I used to think this was cheating. Was I really writing my own work if I wasn’t coming up with my own ideas? But honestly, I’ve written some of my best work from a prompt. And trust me when I say, it’s still your story. You can give a group of writers a prompt, and every one of them will write a completely different, unique story. So go get one and get writing.

Do a writing exercise

A writing exercise is different than a writing prompt. A writing prompt is an idea for a story. An exercise is a little less structured.

What does blue make you think of?

What are five things you wish you didn’t remember from your childhood?

How many ways can you write the same information?

Write the same scene from three characters pov.

These are little things that stretch our writing muscles and make us look at the world differently. This is never bad.

Give yourself a goal that is aside from finishing a project

Sometimes if you sit down and try to write a thousand words, that can feel oppressive. And if your goal is to write a whole novel, that can feel like a goal that is never going to happen. So these goals, while good in theory, can get in the way of actually getting writing done.

So try to give yourself a more unique goal. Write until a sand timer runs out. Put on a song and write until the end of it. Or write just this one scene, however long or short that scene is.

Rewrite something

Sometimes I find that my cup is empty because something is wrong with the story I’ve been writing. I’ve messed something up somewhere, and what I’m trying to write now doesn’t feel right. The cure for that is to go back and rewrite whatever isn’t working. Maybe it’s the scene before. Maybe it’s further back.

A warning, though. Sometimes this is the whole damn project that needs to be rewritten. This happened to me recently with my latest Station 86 book, and I had to throw out over fifty thousand words. While this was necessary, it also sucked ass.

Read over what you’ve read already

Sometimes you just need to get back into the groove of your story. So try reading the scene or chapter that came right before the one you’re working on. Maybe you forgot something that can turn into a serious plot bunny.

Write a list of things that absolutely won’t happen. Why won’t they happen?

If you aren’t sure what is going to happen next in your story, try making a list of what you are sure won’t happen. This helps get your brain moving in a way that doesn’t have a lot of pressure behind it.

A funny thing happens every time I do this, though. As I’m writing things I’m sure won’t happen, I start to wonder why they won’t happen. Wouldn’t it be cool if this happened? Wouldn’t it mess things up for the characters if that happened?

It’s your story, after all. Anything can happen.

Plan a writing date with a friend

Peer pressure! Grab a writing friend, and make a plan for a creativity date. Plan to go somewhere, or even get together over Zoom. When you see someone else hacking away, you’ll feel inspired to do it yourself.

If you don’t have any writing friends, there are a ton of virtual writing events online. You can find a bunch on YouTube, both live and prerecorded. There’s a big, wide community of writers out there. And we’re ready to write with you.

So now it’s your turn. What is your favorite way to fill your creative cup? Let us know in the comments.

And don’t forget, we are still doing a giveaway a day for Paper Beats World’s Tenth Anniversary. Like this post and leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of Nova.

See you tomorrow.

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Ten amazing pieces of writing advice

I have done a lot of talking this week. But now, I think it’s time for me to take a break.

While writing often feels like talking to yourself all day, some of the best writing advice you can ever take is to listen. Listen to people’s stories. Listen to how they talk. And listen to the advice of people who have gone before.

So today, I thought I’d share ten of my favorite pieces of writing advice. These are from some of my favorite authors. Women and men who have inspired me through my career. I hope they do the same for you.

Be sure not to discuss your hero’s state of mind. Make it clear from his actions

–Anton Chekhov

You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have

–Maya Angelou

In writing, your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person- a real person you know or an imagined person and write to that one.

–John Steinbeck

Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on

–Louis L’amour

Getting the first draft finished is like pushing a peanut with your nose across a very dirty floor.

–Joyce Carol Oats

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.

–Stephen King

Don’t identify too strongly with your work. Stay fluid behind those black-and-white words. They are not you. They were a great moment going through you. A moment you were awake enough to write down and capture

–Natalie Goldberg

You have to be careful as an author. You have to remember that you are not the protagonist’s friend. You are actually the enemy of the protagonist. The idea is to get the protagonist in as much trouble as possible and then finally get them out at the end.

–R.L Stine

A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

–Maya Angelou

Use all your seasoning sparingly. Do not worry about making your characters shout, intone, exclaim, remark, shriek, reason, holler, or any such thing, unless they are doing it for a reason. All remarks can be said. Every time you use a fancy word your reader is going to turn his head to look at it going by and sometimes he may not turn his head back again.

–Shirley Jackson

So what do you think? What is your favorite writing advice? Let us know in the comments.

And don’t forget, we’re still doing a giveaway every day for Paper Beats World’s tenth anniversary. Like this post and leave a comment if you want a chance to win a free copy of Station Central.

See you tomorrow.

If you liked what you saw here today, please consider liking and sharing this post. Or you can support the site financially on Ko-fi.

Broken Patterns is available now for preorder! You can order it now on Amazon.

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