“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” ― Toni Morrison
Perhaps I'm just whingeing over semantics here, but I had to get this off my chest. When I purchased the audiobook for Neil Gaiman's book on short stories I was very excited. Not only am I a fan of Gaiman's writing, I am also a big fan of his narration. His dulcet tones and faint… Continue reading Why I’m Disappointed By Neil Gaiman’s “Trigger Warning”
Last week I wrote a post about Mary Sues and why people write them. Today, I want to give you some unsolicited pointers on how to avoid writing a Mary Sue, or even a Gary Stu (the male equivalent). Enjoy! Start with a real person. While it may not be a good idea to base a… Continue reading How to Mary Sue Proof Your Characters
For those of you who aren't familiar with what a Mary Sue is, it's essentially a female character that is too perfect. A character that is always morally correct no matter what, has all the male protagonists drooling themselves over her even though she would describe herself as plain, and is special without having to… Continue reading Why Do People Write Mary Sues?
I've seen several Instagram posts that say things like "is it sad that my characters are my best friends?" or "I have more conversations with my characters than I do with real people. Is that bad?" Yes. Yes, it is. Not because you're a wallflower with friends that exist only in your mind. That's perfectly… Continue reading Your Characters are NOT Your Friends: A Public Service Announcement for Writers
Conventional wisdom says that you're supposed to write what you know. However, I have decided to go the harder route and try writing what I don't know. Why am I trying to carry out this obviously horrible idea? Because if I never try anything new, every single protagonist I write will be an introverted middle-class… Continue reading How I’m Writing What I Don’t Know
When I was a child I daydreamed all the time about talking to my favorite writers. While I was toiling for hours over my own horrible manuscripts, I would wonder to myself what wisdom they would impart onto me if I ever mustered up the courage to write to them. Writers back then were these… Continue reading Social Media Killed My Curiosity About Authors
A few years ago, my novel writing class had a high-profile guest speaker talk to us: the award-winning author of a YA book we had been assigned to read about a week prior. I was pretty jazzed about it considering how much I'd enjoyed the story. I've had predominately good experiences with meeting published authors… Continue reading When a Writer You Admire is a Jerk
Does anyone else get their ideas when it's most inconvenient? I think I am at my most creative during the height of the school semester where everything is due and my entire future hangs in the balance.. I'll be mentally calculating how much time I should commit to studying and she'll show up, donut in… Continue reading My Muse Hates Free Time
I would like to thank the beautiful hope.s of "The One With Feathers" for nominating me for this award! “Mystery Blogger Award” is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get.… Continue reading My Mystery Blogger Award Nomination!
As a writer who is trying to gain recognition, I've done what dozens of writing magazines, podcasts, and Facebook pages keep telling me to do: have multiple platforms on multiple social media sites. This has been a...mostly unsuccessful endeavor on my part seeing as I find social media a distraction from what I really should… Continue reading Opinion: Instagram v. Twitter
The Crooked Pen 