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.).

The Massive Story Doctor Giveaway!

Jul 29, 2016

Welcome to this blog’s first giveaway! I’m super excited for it! To celebrate my manuscripts taking a magical journey to far off publishers at the end of the summer, I want to share some editing joy with you guys. This giveaway features critiques, consultations, and even mentoring. I tallied it up, and as a freelancer the whole bundle would normally cost my clients almost $500! But for you guys, it’s free! (Well, mostly free. I mean, you don’t have to pay to enter or anything. Just, you know, pick some of the options below and go at it.) Here’s a bit more about the giveaway...

How to Design an Author Business Card

Jul 27, 2016

Design is my second love (after writing). I worked as a designer for Creative Services for about a year at Berry College (before moving across the hallway to Public Relations), and I’ve kept up on my graphic design enthusiasm since. So when I needed to design a business card, I dove in head-first! However, I know that my nerd-love for design isn’t something every writer shares. When it comes time for conferences, gatherings, or other writing-related events, it’s always a good idea to have a business card on you. This entry will help give you direction as you start to...

24 Things I’ve Learned in 2016

Jul 25, 2016

Last week, I shared my mid-year report on my SMART Goals. As I reflected on what I thought this year would look like and what it has become, I started mentally compiling the things I’ve been learning. I know a lot of people (especially my age) are struggling with the darkness of this year. To us younglings, in many ways 2016 feels like the wider-scale darkest time in our lives. Hopefully these 24 confessions will bring hope, or at least an honest voice to the craziness. 24 Things I’ve Learned in 2016 There’s always something you can do. Last year, I...

10 Agent Resources Vital for Your Query-Quest

Jul 22, 2016

If you’re on a quest for an agent or publisher, there are a few sites you’ll need to get well acquainted with. Whether directories of trustworthy agents/publishers or places to scope out tips, these stops will help you fully prepare for the plunge into capital-q Querying. For your convenience, I’ve also included a file at the end you can download to track your research. I called it my Stalker List of Agents during my hunting, and found it a great resource for the complicated mess agent-research becomes. (I was highly influenced by Susan Dennard, I think, and her advice on querying.) Free...

A Novel Idea: Excerpts

Jul 20, 2016

A little bit ago, I participated in A Novel Idea’s prompt for story blurbs. It was a lot of fun and I got some great responses (shout out to my Tumblr folk and brambleberrycottage for chiming in!), so I’m doing it again: this time, with excerpts! Here’s the Novel Idea prompt for this week: This week, share a favorite quote from your novel: whether it’s one sentence long, a paragraph, or even a whole chapter. It can be from your current novel or one that you’re finished with. Writing can be filled with self-doubt, but this week, take the time...

My SMART Goals: Mid-Year Assessment

Jul 19, 2016

Back in January, I shared my SMART goals for 2016. These are basically poorly-disguised New Year’s resolutions. I wanted to take a moment mid-year to look back at what I said then, and see how I’m doing. And because Accountability, I’m sharing it with you! A refresher: SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. How I’m Doing with My SMART Goals: Writing: Illuminate I wanted to finish two rounds of Illuminate revisions and have everything set to go by Fall 2016 at the very latest. Mid-year, I’m just about done with my “final” edits, and the book is...

Let’s Talk Research: Illuminated Manuscripts

Jul 15, 2016

When I first began writing my YA fantasy novel, Illuminate, all I knew about the story was that it needed to include illuminated manuscripts. The problem: I only had a scattering of knowledge about illumination. In this entry, the first of a series about my research adventures, I’m going to talk about the places I went, the books I read, and some of the weird things I learned. Hopefully this will be entertaining and educational–and perhaps help another young writer on their way! Research Trips: The Places I Went Living in England during my master’s opened a lot of opportunities...

80 Questions for Worldbuilding (A New Subscription Perk!)

Jul 13, 2016

It will probably surprise no one that worldbuilding is my favorite part of writing fantasy. I love sitting down and asking questions about the cultures I’ve studied, places I’ve been, and stories I’ve heard. It’s always exciting to feel the new place take shape, and to discover my protagonist’s role in it. So I’m thrilled to reveal that now when you subscribe to this blog, I’m able to offer you a cool perk: Creating Stunning Worlds. This is a short PDF that includes my worldbuilding tips, a questionnaire to help you brainstorm, prompts to help you focus your brainstorming, and recommendations...

15 Inspirational Quotes About Writing

Jul 11, 2016

The world needs more pretty things. So I made 15 hipster pretty graphics with inspirational quotes. All the lovely photography was by my crazy talented brother, Jason Koons. From quotes about writing craft to writing in general, these calm my spirit and make me smile. “Writing fiction is the act of weaving a series of lies to arrive at a greater truth.” – Khaled Hosseini (more…)

Diagnosis: After the Doctor’s Door Closes

Jul 6, 2016

“I’ll send someone in to schedule the test,” the specialist says to me. “Wait here a moment.” I nod and watch her leave. As the door clicks shut, a sinking, sick, hollow gap grows and groans in my chest. I shrink against the uncomfortable chair, stare at my hands or count the number of tiles on the floor. I don’t look at the posters of disease on the walls. I already read them earlier. It never gets better, this moment after the door shuts and there is only you and the white white room. It never changes. The me who...