by Stephanie Morrill | Dec 28, 2022 | Writing
We are enjoying holiday festivities and will be back next week! In the meantime, here are some of our favorite posts from 2022! In Development: In this post, Jill talks about her newfound strategies for dealing with the abundance of story ideas she has. Understanding...
by Jill Williamson | Dec 21, 2022 | Brainstorming, Creativity, Fantasy, Setting, World Building, Writing Tools
If you missed the first two posts in this series, you can check them out here: Geography for Worldbuilding, Part OneGeography for World-Building, Part Two: Climate, Weather, and Biomes When I drew my very first fantasy map, I knew it needed water. My world was a...
by Shannon Dittemore | Dec 14, 2022 | Author Life, Live Events, Writing
Hello all! Shannon here with a special invitation. To celebrate the release of my newest book, REBEL, BRAVE AND BRUTAL, Steph, Jill, and I are going to throw an online celebration, and we wanted to invite the Go Teen Writers crowd first! The evening will include some...
by Stephanie Morrill | Dec 7, 2022 | Encouragement, Getting Published, Practicing, Writing Life
I read a story in Atomic Habits by James Clear that changed how I think about writing. A professor at the University of Florida named Jerry Uelsmann divided his photography class into two groups. Half the class would be graded on how many photographs they turned in....
by Stephanie Morrill | Nov 30, 2022 | Encouragement, Writing Life
(A version of this post was originally published October 9, 2017) I have a love/hate relationship when it comes to talking about my mistakes. What I don’t love: The vulnerability. I’ve taught classes based on my writing mistakes, which seems like a fabulous...
by Stephanie Morrill | Nov 23, 2022 | Writing
It’s Thanksgiving season here in America. As cliche as it may sound, one of my favorite things we do at our Thanksgiving table is share something from the last year that we’re thankful for. (I especially love hearing what my kids say. My older two...
by Jill Williamson | Nov 16, 2022 | Learning from Other Authors, Setting, World Building
If you missed the first post in this series, check it out here: Geography for Worldbuilding, Part One Last week you designed a map. You considered the placement of plate tectonics and added mountains to your landscape. Today we’re going to talk about how to decide...
by Shannon Dittemore | Nov 9, 2022 | Characters, Elements of Fiction, The Craft of Writing, Writing
Today we’re jumping back into our series on The Five Elements of Fiction with some thoughts on Character. Previous posts in this series include: The Five Elements of Fiction The Five Elements of Fiction: Style Today, it’s all about Character! That’s...
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 Shannon Dittemore | Oct 26, 2022 | Author Interview, Author Life, Learning from Other Authors, Writing
We have such a treat for you today! An interview with author, Nova McBee, and a giveaway of her debut novel, Calculated! I had an opportunity to read this book before it came out, I’m happy to share my whole-hearted endorsement, and also, a bit about Nova....
