Alyssa Hollingsworth

About Alyssa

Alyssa was born in small town Milton, Florida, but life as a roving military kid soon mellowed her (unintelligibly strong) Southern accent. Wanderlust is in her blood, and she’s always waiting for the wind to change. Stories remain her constant. Alyssa received her bachelor’s in English/Creative Writing from Berry College and her master's in Creative Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University. Alyssa is represented by Amber Caraveo at Skylark Literary. Her debut The Eleventh Trade – "a powerful story of love, loss, friendship and hope, centered around Sami, a young refugee from Afghanistan now building a new life with his grandfather in Boston" – will be published Fall 2018 by Macmillan (U.S.) and HotKey (U.K.).

10 Writing Resources: Drafting

Jan 22, 2015

My 10 Writing Resources: Characters was the beginning of a series where I compile some of my favorite creative writing links from around the web. Here I present the second post of the series: 10 writing resources I like to keep in mind while I’m drafting. From tools to keep your creativity churning to the basic elements of dialogue and POV, these links will help you get through your first draft. Enjoy! 1. The What If: A List Method for Getting Unstuck It’s inevitable that at some point in the writing process, we’re going to get stuck. Even for...

Best Book Discoveries of 2014

Jan 3, 2015

I’ve completed my reading goal for the year! I set my goal on Goodreads back on January 1, 2014. This year I shot for 70 books, which I wrapped up in a mad rush during the last two weeks of the year. One interesting thing I’ve discovered since finishing my undergraduate (with all the general education and other random classes attached) is that I willingly read a lot more non-fiction than I used to. Case in point: In 2012 out of my 75 books, 4 were “for fun” non-fiction. This year, I’m split even at 35/35. I think it’s a...

2014 in Review

Dec 30, 2014

If 2014 had a word, it would probably be: Belonging. In 2014, I… (more…)

5 Ways to Avoid Infodumping

Dec 8, 2014

I primarily enjoy writing (and reading) fantasy. It’s wonderful when your head is full of another world, with all the culture and worldbuilding attached. But getting necessary information about this crazy awesome world across to your reader can be hard. Really, really hard. The best worldbuilding is done in a steady trickle, so soft the reader doesn’t really know how they know the information. I’m not there yet. Instead of a gently flowing, melodious stream, I often find myself taking a hammer to my readers’ brains and being like, “NOTICE THIS, IT’S IMPORTANT.” This, my friends, is an infodump. An...

When Everything You Write Sucks

Dec 2, 2014

There comes a point in every writer’s journey where every idea, every sentence, every word seems to suck. When writing is no longer sunny meadow frolicking, but the Cliffs of Insanity. The first thing to do is remind yourself: Every writer ever in the history of the world has been where you are. Everyone has hated their writing at some point. Or multiple points. Or pretty much all the points. So. Keep that in mind. Give yourself permission to suck. That’s what it’s all about. But if you are desperate for new ways to move forward, there are some methods...

First Book Launch + Returning to the States

Nov 29, 2014

So one or two things have happened in the last few weeks. And by one or few things, I mean a whole ton of stuff. At the beginning of October, my parents came to England for a series of fun adventures. We drove around because my dad considers it a personal challenge to take on as many foreign roads as possible. Bookstores were visited and historic sites toured. Our trip included high tea with my dad, which was something a little like trying to have high tea with Ron Swanson. At the end of October, my parents helped me pack up...

Type 1 Diabetes: A Guide from Little Sister

Nov 14, 2014

It’s National Diabetes Awareness Day! I cracked my knuckles, pulled out my stalker credentials and hunted up my little sister’s super secret old blog (which I will not link to, because she has access to younger!me blogs that I’d rather leave dead I respect her) for a guide to Type 1 Diabetes she wrote when she was 16. My sister was a weird 16 year old. I’ll let younger!her tell you the tale, originally written for our cousin, Brooke, and later shared with the wide world through LiveJournal. I’ve touched it up a little. There is a strange organizational flow...

Creative Writing: Influence Maps

Nov 10, 2014

I’ve just published a post over on The Great Novelling Adventure about creating influence maps for your creative writing. I thought I’d take the maps I made for myself and expound on them here, in case anyone is curious. No story (or writer) is created in a vacuum. Everyone has threads connecting their creation to the wider world. Having other forces influence you doesn’t make you unoriginal–in fact, I think the way we interpret the things that influence us is what makes us unique. (more…)

10 Questions to Ask When You Create a Fictional Culture

Nov 2, 2014

The way I build worlds is by collecting cool stuff from the history, myth and people around me. I blend these details with my own imagination, and create my own cultures. Culture is a vital part to realistic worldbuilding. Normally there are a few particular cultures that interest me at a given time. I read whatever I can find about them, their environment, their traditions and their myths. The interesting details filter into the new world I’m creating (example: at one time, Venetian widows could only remarry on the stroke of midnight). In the long term, there is nothing more inspiring and challenging than visiting...

10 Writing Resources: Characters

Oct 13, 2014

From the basics to the very in-depth, these are some of the resources I go to when I’m developing new characters. Have a look at my favorites, and add your own in the comments! 1. 25 Things About Creating Characters As a writer, creating characters is probably the most important thing you do. Get it wrong, and the story will be wrong no matter how well plotted. 2. Lessons From James Scott Bell: Characters That Jump Off The Page Readers are engaged by characters who do not always act in a predictable way. Think of how to have your character...

About Alyssa

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