by Stephanie Morrill | Nov 3, 2021 | Author Life, Writing Life
We often talk about writing being “a journey” and today I’m going to double down on that rhetoric and talk about waypoints. You probably know what a waypoint is, but in case you don’t, they are “a place between major points on a...
by Stephanie Morrill | Oct 27, 2021 | Guest Posts, Marketing
Jenneth Dyck is a dyslexic writer, illustrator, and designer who creates book covers professionally for indie authors and small press publishers. She is currently the senior graphic designer at Havok Publishing and resides outside of Washington D.C. She holds degrees...
by Jill Williamson | Oct 20, 2021 | Writing
Last month we talked about how to get started writing a new fantasy novel. You now have your list of the storyworld elements you need for your story, but you still might feel overwhelmed. Where do you start when building an entirely new world? I have a couple tips. 1....
by Shannon Dittemore | Oct 13, 2021 | Author Interview, Author Life, Encouragement, Learning from Other Authors, Writing, Writing Life
UPDATE: The winner of this giveaway is Gabrielle! Thank you all so much for entering. What a lively discussion in the comments! Gabrielle, please check your email for details. Hello, writer friends! I have something fun for you today. An interview with author,...
by Stephanie Morrill | Oct 6, 2021 | Characters, Writing a Series
An excellent question was emailed to us by Rachel. She asked, “I know that if I’m writing a stand alone book my character should overcome her internal flaw or lie by the end, but since I’m planning a series should I create another flaw or lie for the...
by Stephanie Morrill | Sep 29, 2021 | Characters, Editing, First Drafts
I have a tendency to create overly large casts of characters. I never intend to do this, but I frequently have to spend time in edits pruning away needless people from my first drafts. One technique that has really helped me is to think through each character’s...
by Stephanie Morrill | Sep 22, 2021 | 100-for-100
We are blown away by the 50 finishers of the 2021 Go Teen Writers 100-for-100 writing challenge! Together they wrote for a combined 1,374,072 words! AMAZING! And I know there are many of you out there who made it through part of the challenge before stopping for a...
by Jill Williamson | Sep 15, 2021 | Brainstorming, Fantasy, Setting, Speculative Fiction, World Building
I mostly write fantasy. I’ve taught lots of classes on worldbuilding. I’ve taught classes on magic systems. Classes on how to draw fantasy maps. Classes on creating a storyworld bible. Classes on creating cultures, creating creatures, and creating entire solar...
by Shannon Dittemore | Sep 8, 2021 | Author Life, Learning from Other Authors, Mentor Texts, Writing
Books are the best mentors for fiction writers. Perhaps that statement is controversial to you, but today I’m feeling it, and I thought, in light of Stephanie’s delightful post entitled, What Should a Writer Spend Money On, it’s high time someone...
by Stephanie Morrill | Sep 1, 2021 | Brainstorming, Discovery Writing, First Drafts, Story Ideas
Story ideas come to us in all different ways. Sometimes our spark of a story idea is a character facing a dilemma or making a hard choice. Other times, we might have an idea for a world we want to explore. This is especially common with fantasy or science fiction...
