“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” ― Toni Morrison
When you decide to become a writer, there's one truth that you must confront at some point: what you write will probably not be as good on paper as it was in your head. I've come to realize this after multiple drafts and constant rewrites of fiction, nonfiction, blog posts and etc. I know it's… Continue reading If You Want To Be a Writer, Lower Your Expectations a Lot
Life has been sucking recently so my writing has been put on the back burner....well, my writing is usually placed on the back burner, but now that life is not going that great, I at least have an alibi now. I haven't updated my blog in two weeks. From a professional standpoint there's no excuse.… Continue reading UPDATE: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going
I hear readers complain time and time again that they cannot get into a story because the character is a "bad person."Now I can understand not wanting to read something because the character is unbelievable or underdeveloped, but a bad person? I say "bad people" make some of the best characters. Why? Three reasons: 1. They're more… Continue reading Why You Should Love Unloveable Characters
It's pretty obvious that one of the central components to a story is the conflict. It doesn't matter what the conflict is: fighting the Dark Lord, winning the beef cake, or keeping the world from losing its Twinkies. There just has to be a problem for the protagonist to solve. I am good at coming… Continue reading A Writer’s Dilemma: The Problem With Conflict
After over a year of the same theme, I thought I might try something a little more bold as far as my blog's template is concerned. I'm not sure how people will respond to it, but I believe it's an improvement over the original. My attempt was to look a little bit more professional and… Continue reading Giving My Blog a Makeover
I experience a mixed bag of emotions when I'm rewriting a piece. One emotion is excitement because I'm fixing things I had problems with in the original draft. Another is trepidation because I'm worried that the things I actually did enjoy about my original draft will have to be cut out. Each thing you change… Continue reading Rewriting: Once More with Feeling!
The Crooked Pen 