I sent my first query on January 6, 2020, and today is February 3, which means I’ve somehow survived these literary trenches for about a month. I think that was the longest month I’ve ever lived. Of all the questions rattling around my brain for the past several weeks, the primary one has been, “Are the responses I’m receiving about … Read More
Top 9 Querying Tips From Twitter’s #WritingCommunity
It’s officially 2020, and I’m back to blogging! Today’s topic was entirely unexpected. After cutting over 16,000 words from THE FIRE BREATHES and doing an absurd amount of line edits, I was finally ready to start querying—armed with existential dread, encouraging critique partners, and a querying group chat of constructive feedback and support along the way. About a week ago, … Read More
THE LAST OF US is a Masterclass in POV
When discussing point of view (POV) in storytelling, we often default to literature. In today’s blog post, I’m here to argue that a video game—Naughty Dog’s since-remastered 2013 release, THE LAST OF US—provides a masterclass in how to leverage POV effectively, regardless of the medium in which you’re writing. Let’s start with the nitty-gritty: What’s POV, anyway? According to Reedsy, … Read More
Character Development in Gaming & Writing
Last week, we looked at how video games develop character backstory, vary worldbuilding and balance action and reaction scenes. That blog post received more views in two days than any of my other posts so far. (Thank you so much to anyone who read and/or shared!) As a result, I couldn’t help but expand the topic into a series about … Read More
Top 5 Worldbuilding Tips for Conquering #NaNoWriMo
Welcome back to the National Novel Writing Month blog series! In previous entries, you’ve explored the importance of outlining your plot and your characters. There’s only two more Mondays before #NaNoWriMo participants break from the starting line, hotly pursuing the elusive 50,000-word finish line. Now is the time to design your setting—before your daily word count looms over your creativity. … Read More
How to Develop Dynamic Characters for #NaNoWriMo
The “Star Wars” films (and books, and games, and beyond) feature laser swordfights in space. They include creatures that range from reptilian Rodians to (unfortunately) gangly Gungans. But chances are, when you think of the galaxy far, far away, you think of Luke Skywalker, staring hopefully at the twin suns, or Princess Leia, vaulting into the garbage chute instead of … Read More
3 Reasons You Can’t Survive Without an Outline for NaNoWriMo
You’re hours away from October, which means you’re only a month away from National Novel Writing Month. In honor of the annual 30 days of masochism, I’ll be sharing weekly tips here for anyone—especially young writers—who wants to maximize their literary productivity this November. If you’re participating in NaNoWriMo 2019, then first of all, you have my utmost respect as … Read More