(Even Though It’s All Been Said Before) By Renate Hancock Writing isn’t a piece of cake because we all know it isn’t. It’s hard. It takes energy, discipline, and creativity to create something fresh and engaging enough that someone else will want to read it. And you know what they say: “It’s all been said before.” SoContinue reading “One Overwhelming Reason To Write”
Tag Archives: Writing Advice
Refresh Your Writing
By Brian Kaufman It’s January. Snow, bitter cold, a false spring for seven days somewhere in the middle, crowded gyms, and empty restaurants. (Of course, who knows what the rest of January holds for us with climate change at the helm.) A time for resolutions.
The Year I Wrote for Myself
By Katie Lewis Looking back at 2022, I’m tempted to be disappointed by how much I wrote (or rather how little). Every year brings new challenges, both to life and in writing. This year had different challenges from last year, so comparing the two is only partially fair. While I may not have produced theContinue reading “The Year I Wrote for Myself”
Writing My Way Through 2022
By Shelley Widhalm In 2020, I was pretty much done with writing, overwhelmed with trying to keep my freelance writing and editing business afloat and supplementing it with a gig grocery store job. Despite my sort of giving up, I still went to conferences and belonged to writing groups like Northern Colorado Writers (see https://northerncoloradowriters.com).Continue reading “Writing My Way Through 2022”
Down in The Exposition Dumps
By Katie Lewis In 7th grade, my best friend lent me the first Wheel of Time book by Robert Jordan. As a veteran of Tolkien, including The Silmarillion, I was excited to dive into another high-fantasy series. Over a hundred pages in, after a detailed description of the Bel Tine festival and one village’s preparations, there was noContinue reading “Down in The Exposition Dumps”
The Evil Twin
By David E. Sharp Whether you are closing in on your NaNoWriMo word count or plugging away at your magnum opus, those rigorous word counts take a lot of think-juice. You have been diligent, laying one word after another, watching the chapters take shape. Your verbs are immaculate. Your adverbs are scarce. You always attendContinue reading “The Evil Twin”
What gets more attention? Description or action?
By Shelley Widhalm If you want to keep readers turning pages, the key is balancing description with action. Readers get bored with too much description, and they get overwhelmed with all action and no breaks. Action in a novel or short story keeps the pace moving at a rapid clip, while description can slow theContinue reading “What gets more attention? Description or action?”
Proper Care And Feeding of Your Inner Troll
By David E. Sharp The writing journey is a hazardous one, full of setbacks and self-doubt. I remember asking myself why I thought I had a story to tell. I felt like a fraud. The sight of my manuscript in progress would put me into a tailspin of criticism and despair. I wondered if AmazonContinue reading “Proper Care And Feeding of Your Inner Troll”
NaNoWriMo: The Speed Writing Challenge
By Shelley Widhalm Every fall, do you start thinking about NaNoWriMo’s built-in goal and deadline as a Yea or a Nay? Like me, maybe you’re a veteran author who’s done it before, or possibly committing to writing 50,000 words during November is new to you. Divided up to a daily count, it is 1,667 words.Continue reading “NaNoWriMo: The Speed Writing Challenge”
Developing A Formula
By Katie Lewis We’ve all become overly familiar with isolation in the last two years. While it’s undeniable that on a worldwide scale, the vast experience tended toward the negative, setting aside time to be alone remains an essential part of the creative process. Many writers find the act of cloistering important to their creativeContinue reading “Developing A Formula”
The Writing Bug 