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.).

20 Prompts to Uncover Characters’ Hearts

Sep 26, 2016

Characters! Those cheeky fellas. I love seeking out my characters’ hearts. Finding the deep-down stuff that really makes them tick, and then bringing it out in the story. Normally I’ll spend a lot of time brainstorming this in the early side of my drafting, but I also like to revisit the basics when I hit a roadblock and stall out. Often when I’m stuck, it’s because I have stopped listening to my characters. Here are some questions that can help you explore your characters and gain new insights. I’ve written them addressed to your character directly, and recommend answering them...

The Homeless Man

Aug 11, 2016

I made a storify list of my tweets last night, because this encounter hasn’t left my mind since it happened. My heart is heavy and I’m longing for change after this brief interaction. [View the story “The Homeless Man” on Storify]

The Massive Story Doctor Giveaway: WINNERS!

Aug 8, 2016

The blog’s first giveaway has ended! Thank you everyone who entered – there was a great turnout and I’m excited for more giveaways in the future! I’m gonna keep this short and sweet, because 1) It’s Deadline Month and 2) We all know why you’re really here. The Prizes Were… 1 Month of Writing Mentorship: I’ll reach out to you via email and get to know a bit about your writing project and your goals for the month we’ll be working together. From there, my job is to hold you accountable to your targets with regular check-ins, help guide you...

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...

About Alyssa

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