by Stephanie Morrill | Nov 2, 2022 | Dialogue, The Craft of Writing
Occasionally I see those word lists on Pinterest, Instagram, or even educational sites geared toward teachers or young writers: “Creative words to use instead of said.” On the list are words like exclaimed, retorted, jeered, and other jazzy words. I...
by Stephanie Morrill | Oct 5, 2022 | 100-for-100
This year, we had an amazing 72 writers finish the 100-for-100 writing challenge! WOW. I lost track of how many emails i received saying things like, “I had been in a writing slump and this challenge broke me out of it.” Or, “I had no idea I was...
by Stephanie Morrill | Sep 7, 2022 | Characters, Mailbag
A while back, I asked our community, “If you had a writing mentor, what kinds of questions would you ask them?” In today’s post, I’ve culled a selection of your questions about characters to answer: “What are some good ways to develop...
by Stephanie Morrill | Aug 31, 2022 | Story Structure
(If this post sounds familiar, it’s because I’ve adapted it from one written in 2013. My daughter is now a freshman in high school and no longer watches Tangled obsessively. Thank you in advance for offering your condolences.) I love the...
by Stephanie Morrill | Aug 17, 2022 | Creativity, First Drafts
If you have spent much time hiking in national parks or government protected land, you may have noticed signs like these: These are areas where the park is being intentional about regrowth. The land can still flourish, but not if a bunch of us are traipsing around on...
