I recently entered Marissa Meyer’s Pinterest competition and tied for first place! [Insert fangirling here] If you look at my winning board, you might notice it’s organized and has dividers. The credit for the idea goes to my sister, Laura, who’s an art major and recommended I build a board like someone would build an art portfolio. So in case you ever want to create a stellar, beautifully organized board, below are the steps I took to make this one! 1. Collect all the images on a secret board I made a board that only I could see (called: CRESS...
When I was preparing my manuscript for my magical beta readers, I decided to give it a complete read-through in the most merciless way possible. If I expected them to read a 90,000 word novel for me, I wanted to at least make sure they weren’t tripping over typos! There are three ways you can listen to your text: By reading it out loud to yourself (or, even better, with an audience), by asking someone else to read it to you, or by employing a robot. I’ve done the first two before and they work well. However, people sometimes read...
As a child who read over 500 books before she was thirteen (my school curriculum was very reading intensive), there are only a handful of books that stand out in full color among the wash of other stories. Of these books, I still remember very specific moments—and sometimes, even a quote. The following three moments still spring to my mind frequently. They fascinated me as a child, and they still fascinate me as a person, a reader, and a writer today. (more…)
After seeing the trailer for Saving Mr. Banks, I suddenly found myself far more interested in Mary Poppins than I have ever been before. So I picked up the book and gave it a read. Not only that—I decided to put my English major to good use and take notes, and I found some universally good writing tips in this (frankly, very strange) children’s book. (more…)
I’m deep into my revisions for my WIP, Blessings, and if there’s one thing everyone needs when it comes to revision, it’s this: Ways to (productively) procrastinate. “What do I mean?” you ask, tossing your golden/raven/auburn/brown (sorry, brown haired people) locks. “Procrastination cannot be productive, one must simply push on! Also, have you been reading Mary Poppins today? Because I sound unaccountably British.” Yes, yes, I read the whole book in under twenty-four hours. Anyway. When I talk about productive procrastination, I mean forms of procrastination that will keep your creative juices flowing whilst requiring minimum brain cells. Bonus: All...
So some people asked me to share my symposium presentation about building myth in creative writing. Your wish is my command! Here’s my abstract: The world is not constructed simply of fact, but also of myth. The interplay between mythology, geography, culture and history is a relationship which fiction provides a perfect platform for exploring. This presentation will focus specifically on Welsh and Celtic mythology, a relatively unknown genre of myth, before exploring the ways studying the influences of myth can help create worlds in fiction. Welsh mythology is closely tied to its geographic roots, with many tales informing the...
Over the years, the computer has become the place where I either work or I procrastinate. It’s increasingly harder to sit at the computer and write if I’m not already inspired or don’t already have blueprints of what I need to be doing. So this semester, I started looking for creative ways to get the inspiration flowing without having to sit in front of a screen. You might be thinking, “That’s what journals and pencils are for, foolish child!” I agree. I used to love writing in journals. But with my Rheumatoid Arthritis, I find it increasingly difficult to hold...
Last year I used Goodreads to set a goal of 100 books in 2011, and I made it! This year I gave myself a bit of slack and aimed for 75 books. I wanted to focus more on non-fiction, but… didn’t quite do as well as I would have liked. Non-fiction and I are still learning how to get along. Out of my 75 books, I present: My best reads of 2012! (more…)
Wrote this while I was abroad, but I didn’t get the chance to take it to Tolkien’s grave. Thought I’d share anyway. Dear Dr. Tolkien, I wanted to thank you for changing my life. When I was a little girl, my dad would read your books to me and my siblings. He read them three times to us, when I was eight, and again when I was twelve, and again when I was fourteen. When I was twelve I prayed for Frodo after he was stabbed. Later I remember running to the book and turning to the passage in the...
After consuming the Mark of Athena in a matter of days, I approached my writing professor to rave about my reading experience. Since I kept talking about character voice and the beginnings/endings of chapters, she recommended I have a look at the book and think about ways Riordan wrote these elements, so that I might glean something for my own novel. She probably didn’t expect me to go through all four points of view with multicolor pens and margin notes. Writing tips below the cut! I’ve taken the first chapter containing each character’s narration and analyzed the heck out of it....