by Stephanie Morrill | Oct 30, 2025 | Editing, Encouragement, First Drafts, Getting Feedback On Your Writing, Learning from Other Authors, Practicing, The Craft of Writing
In the last few articles, I’ve talked about how to learn from great books as well as how to learn from books you don’t like. There are lots of other ways to learn about the craft of writing, including but not limited to taking classes, attending conferences, reading...
by Jill Williamson | Dec 20, 2023 | Brainstorming, First Drafts, Story Ideas, Writing
As a novelist, short stories have always been challenging for me. I have the tendency to overcomplicate things, and short stories need to be simple. Last year I wrote a short fiction story for a magazine. Thankfully, my editor gave me some advice about how to...
by Stephanie Morrill | Dec 6, 2023 | First Drafts, Writing
When writing a first draft of a novel, most writers tend to either write long (use more words than necessary) or write short (use too few words). You likely know which one you are. If you’re the type of writer who writes short, you’ll notice that when...
by Stephanie Morrill | Nov 1, 2023 | First Drafts
Obsessively rewriting the first chapter or two of my book was one of the first hurdles I had to get over as a new writer. Story beginnings felt easy and fun to me. I would write my first few chapters, or my first few scenes, and excitedly pass them out to my friends....
by Jill Williamson | Oct 11, 2023 | Brainstorming, First Drafts, Learning from Other Authors, NaNoWriMo, Plot, Story Structure, Writing
For the past few months, I’ve been taking you through my process of developing my upcoming Blood of Kings Legends short novel using The Story Equation by Susan May Warren. This story is about Guy and Girl. (I cannot yet share their names because my contracts says I...
by Stephanie Morrill | Oct 4, 2023 | Creativity, First Drafts, Productivity, Writing Life
Isn’t it great when you feel excited to write? Yes, I have developed a writing routine that I faithfully stick to, and I believe in sitting down to write even when I don’t feel like it. I think the path to success as a writer is best built with good...
