How to Complete Your First Draft (and Fast!)

Hello hello! Writing the first draft of a novel is quite difficult. Completing a full draft is even harder! In my time talking to other writers through online communities and other places, it seems that a very common problem new writers have is struggling to complete that first draft of a story idea. Perhaps they …

3 Ways to Find Your Genre

Hey there! A very common question I've seen in the writing community is beginning writers (or even some intermediate writers!) asking, "How do I find the right genre for me?" It seems that they enjoy bouncing around between multiple genres, or just can't find one they really really like. I'm not beating up on any …

Short Story: Master of Patience

The ring of the thundering hammer blocked out all other noises in the blacksmith shop. Hensan turned to Rison, his partner in the shop. Hensan's old eyes, still sharp as ever, flicked to and fro along the anvil, surveying Rison's skilled fingers pressing down on the clamps that held the red hot bar of iron …

Writing Characters Your Readers Care About

Writing characters can be one of the most difficult things you'll come across while writing a story. Well, maybe characters aren't the hardest thing. But creating a character who seems authentic and life-like, a character your readers care about? That's a different story! Writing great characters is very difficult. I honestly feel like my characters …

5 Great Ways to Create Character Names

You've come up with a great idea for a character. They have a background, a flaw, a strong personality, and a great part to play in your new, epic novel! You only have one problem. Whenever you were plotting out this new character, you titled them "CHARACTER NAME HERE" or "NAME". And now you're stuck. …

Coming Back to My WIPs!

Hello hello, everyone!! Today I have a really exciting announcement which you all ready know by now because you definitely read the title of this post. That's right! I'm returning to my WIPs I was working on before NaNoWriMo!! Woohoo! I'm super pumped to get back into editing Frostbite and Raid of the Krames. I …

Tropes and Cliches: Which to Use in Writing?

Hey, everyone! Today I wanted to talk about the differences between Tropes and Cliches. I feel like some people don't take the time to figure out exactly what these are, and assume that they're the same thing. That is definitely not true. So let's jump right in! What is a Trope? A trope is a …