by Stephanie Morrill | Jul 22, 2019 | The Craft of Writing, Writing Life
Last week, my three-year-old asked for chips and guacamole for lunch. You might think, “That’s not a good lunch,” but this is how cute he is, so we basically let him have whatever he wants: I pulled out avocados and Eli had a mini freak out....
by Stephanie Morrill | Jun 17, 2019 | Author Life, First Drafts, Productivity, The Craft of Writing, Writing, Writing Life
Over the last few years, I’ve seen an increasing amount of excitement about writing faster. Even aside from events like NaNoWriMo (where you write 50k in the month of November) the market is crowded with books about writing fast. I searched for “Write...
by Stephanie Morrill | Jun 10, 2019 | Plot, The Craft of Writing
If you’ve been writing for any time at all, you probably know that if there’s no conflict in your story, you don’t have much of one. Some writers relish creating the conflict in their stories. They’re excited to kill characters, to ramp up...
by Shannon Dittemore | May 17, 2019 | Scenes and Scene Structure, The Craft of Writing, Writing
As a modern fiction writer, your words have to do some serious heavy lifting. Shorter attention spans combined with endless entertainment options mean that we have a very condensed amount of time to hook a reader. On top of that, it’s just good storytelling to ensure...
by Stephanie Morrill | Apr 22, 2019 | Antagonists, Characters, First Drafts, The Craft of Writing
**Today is the last day to enter the 100-word contest! Get your entries in by 9pm central. Details here.** Recently, I’ve come across something in a few different young adult and middle grade books that’s bothered me: The child character is absolutely...
by Stephanie Morrill | Mar 18, 2019 | Getting Feedback On Your Writing, Learning from Other Authors, The Craft of Writing, Writing, Writing Life
Confession: I dread when I’m asked about author voice at writing conferences. I always trip all over my words, and I usually find myself talking in circles. My answer is always convoluted with so many half-baked thoughts that I’m sure I’ve never...
