Blog - Alyssa Hollingsworth

3 Writing Tips from a Terrible Cartoon

For those who don’t know, Ultimate Spider-Man is an (admittedly pretty terrible) cartoon on Disney XD. The first season was on Netflix, so during my superhero cartoon phase last spring I watched it all, and I’ve occasionally dipped back in throughout the second season. Even though this is the show everyone loves to hate, there are some writing tips you can glean from what it does well and what it does… not so well. 1. Peter Parker is what makes Spiderman interesting. Peter Parker is a geeky, every-day guy who also happens to have spidery superpowers. That’s the heart of his conflict—how...

By Alyssa October 22, 2013 Writing Tips

New York and Elie Wiesel

Last fall, I wrote an essay that eventually won third place in the Elie Wiesel Foundation’s Prize in Ethics. Over a year after the first draft, I found myself in New York City to attend seminars with the other winners and an award ceremony. It was a crazy, crazy experience, guys. October 2nd: I arrived from Heathrow and met my parents on Wednesday. We got to the Wellington Hotel (where the foundation had reserved a room for me) without too much hassle—though Dad driving in NYC during rush hour traffic was a terrifying experience in and of itself. I got...

By Alyssa October 9, 2013 Fiction & I, Life

Shaking Elie Wiesel’s Hand

Originally written early on October 4th, the day after the Prize in Ethics Ceremony. A full day report will be coming soon. Dr. Patterson told us that when he met Elie Wiesel his life was divided into two parts. I did not understand what he meant until after the awards were handed out. When the ceremony was done, I found myself standing near Gavriel (the first place winner). Professor Wiesel came to us and took my hand his his left and Gavi’s in his right. He held my hand in the way family does sometimes, when they are proud or...

By Alyssa October 6, 2013 Life

Make Your Pinterest Board Look like a Portfolio

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...

By Alyssa September 15, 2013 Fiction & I

Creative Writing Tips: 3 Reasons to Listen

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...

By Alyssa September 3, 2013 Fiction & I, Writing Tips

10 Gifts for People with Rheumatoid Arthritis

If a friend or a loved one has Rheumatoid Arthritis, there are a lot of little ways you can show support—including giving the occasional present! Below you’ll find of a list of helpful gifts you can give to show you care. From the extremely practical to the extremely thoughtful, find a gift for your friend below… (more…)

By Alyssa August 20, 2013 Chronic Illness

3 Childhood Books and What They’re Still Teaching Me

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…)

By Alyssa August 18, 2013 Writing Tips

3 Writing Tips from Mary Poppins

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…)

By Alyssa August 8, 2013 Writing Tips

5 Ways to Productively Procrastinate on Your Novel

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...

By Alyssa August 4, 2013 Fiction & I, Writing Tips

The Role of Mythology in Fiction

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...