Tag: about writing
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A Long Way to Get From Here to There (finding your voice, etc)
“As far as my knowledge goes, children who have an early bent for writing have no special inclination to attempt the writing of fairy-stories, unless that has been almost the sole form of literature presented to them.” J.R.R Tolkien, On Fairy Stories We’ll get back to that in a second. My brain has been rattling…
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bleary eyed and clinging onto a rocket hurtling towards the new year (November Wrap Up
IT’S DECEMBER. IT’S ADVENT. 24 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS. And a foot of snow was dumped on Ohio. WRITING Well, first off, another NaNoWriMo IN THE BAG. This is my 5th NaNo and the 2nd I’ve won (the first three were….not great but not too terribly awful. I had fun and that’s what really matters. Right??…
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Finding Time to Write…this one just never gets old
“Time, time time…” I could go on the usual tangent I go on, talking about how life changes, and the different phases of life you go through, how your life looks different when you get a year older, when you switch jobs, move cities, overthrow an empire…but I’ve said that all before, haven’t I? BUT…
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Distinguishing from a Mood and What Actually Sucks
This Monday (writing wise) was a big UGGGHHHHHH and an even longer GAHHHHHH. *featuring me staring angrily at my laptop with a murderous glare* I was editing Lily, and it was just one of those days where this happens: Me: I don’t even know where to start. Ugh this sucks. This all sucks. This can’t…
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Write How You Need to, and Let That Be That
I’m about to get angry. Everyone duck. DISCLAIMER: if you are a plotter by nature and believe in the power of plotting your novel, do not take offence. I don’t care how you write your novel, and that is the whole point of this post. Write how YOU need to write. *grabs megaphone and climbs…
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Journey Through a Notebook with Me (Will it be fun? Scary? Bewildering befuddlement?)
First off, I almost called Charles Dickens “Chickens” this week so that’s how your writer’s doing right now. Second thing, I thought I would take you all on a magical mystery tour through….a notebook. More particularly, one of my notebooks. (“Only one of many,” I say ominously.) Mostly so you can admire my crazy handwriting and…
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There is no Guarantee of a Good Writing Session
First Rule of Having an Effective Writing Session: understanding that there is no way to make sure that every. single. writing session is effective. While there are tips and tricks (finding the right time of day, the pomodoro method, getting rid of distractions, calling up Gandalf) there never is a guarantee. There is no magic…
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Should You Read Nonfiction as a Fiction Writer?
I don’t know about anyone else, but I LOVE reading nonfiction. Evidence: Writers are constantly berated with the fact that they need to read fiction. That they need to read within their genre. And WE DO NEED TO READ FICTION. I mean, we make fiction, so we better be familiar with it. But you know…
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Am I a Good Writer?
Any artist of any medium (dance, painting, writing) will probably wonder at some point, “Am I a good [insert thing]?” In our case, “Am I a good writer?” My first thought about this is CAUTION. *alarm bells and tornado sirens* This can lead down a deep, dark worm hole, from whence you may never return.…
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How to Find the Perfect Writing Routine
I got a little secret for you. Here, come closer. THERE IS NO PERFECT WRITING ROUTINE. There. I said it. It’s easy to become the writer who is constantly searching for the perfect writing routine/method. They bundle their belongings on a stick and go out searching, searching, and searching, like they are looking for El…
Bernadette Benda 