Blog - Alyssa Hollingsworth

WriteOnCon is Back!

Things have been a little scarce here recently. Why? Among numerous other reasons (the topics of future posts!), I’ve also been helping plan, set up, and coordinate the fabulous online kidlit conference: WriteOnCon! We’ve been doing an Indiegogo campaign to help cover website costs, etc., and there’s just about a week left. Of course, it’s only now that I remember I haven’t actually talked about it here at all. *facepalm* SO HERE WE GO. (EDIT: The campaign is over, but you can still register here!) What is WriteOnCon? WriteOnCon is a three-day online children’s book conference from February 2-February 4, 2017 for writers...

By Alyssa December 8, 2016 Fiction & I, Writing Tips

Show vs. Tell: A Rewrite Analysis

Photography by Jason Koons Show vs. tell is one of the most difficult things to learn as a young writer. One of my novel mentees came to me with some excerpts to examine for the dreaded telling pitfall. This lovely writer had spent hours scouring the internet for advice, but found herself becoming more and more confused. My method of mentoring often involves examples — partially because I learn by doing the thing, so I have to try it before I can fully explain it. I took her paragraph and spent about 15 minutes rewriting it in my own voice. Then...

By Alyssa October 27, 2016 Writing Tips

Story Graphics: How to Assemble Your Cast

I was recently telling someone I’ve been novel-mentoring about creating graphics, and how it can be a great way to break writer’s block. She was like, “Huh?” And I was like, “Oh, I guess this isn’t the most obvious.” So, we already talked about visualizing characters with photo collages. Today we’re going to talk about assembling our casts. This used to be something I just did for fun, but it’s become a necessary part of my drafting process. In fact, for Eleventh Trade I had to stop writing and take a day just to pull together my cast. Making a cast...

By Alyssa October 20, 2016 Fiction & I, Writing Tips

Dear Past!Self: Some Advice

Dear 24-Going-25!Self, Hey, kid. It’s me, 25-going-26!Self. How you doing? I know the answer, but I thought I’d ask to be polite. If your math skills aren’t working (it happens, I get you), I’ll just clarify: I’m writing from the end of your 25th year on earth. Kind of crazy. There are a few things I’d like to tell you, things that might make this coming orbit of the sun a little better. Maybe. This year’s going to be nuts. You thought 24 was a ride, but this is a whole new level. You’re going to have amazing highs. You’ll...

By Alyssa October 13, 2016 Afflictions Eclipsed, Life

How to Visualize Your Character (With Photoshop)

Story graphics are one of my favorite parts of productive procrastinating, and one of my favorite types of story graphics is creating character concepts. I got this idea from my sister, Laura Hollingsworth, who uses it sometimes to brainstorm ideas for her webcomic, The Silver Eye. Though I’ll be using Photoshop for this tutorial, you can really use any photo editing program that lets you adjust layers and occupancy. (GIMP is a good, free alternative to Photoshop!) Step 1: Find a Base Image Find an image that basically looks like your character. This image will be at the base of your...

By Alyssa October 7, 2016 Fiction & I, Writing Tips

17 Autumn Books to Read Before Halloween

Fall has filled the air (finally!) here in Virginia. It’s the season for warm drinks, scarves, and boots. It’s also the season for catching the last warmth of the sun by reading on the porch, or staying dry with good books during the October rains. Below are seventeen books I love to read around this time of year, with their publisher’s description included. They mostly fall under the umbrella of YA, MG, and fantasy, because that’s what I love. It’s ordered roughly by age range. Enjoy! Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty Serafina has never had a reason to disobey...

By Alyssa October 5, 2016 Fiction & I

Beautiful People: Luc

I’ve just turned in my new draft of Illuminate so I wanted to participate in Beautiful People as my reward! The character I’ll be talking about this time is my darling romantic interest, Luc. Sweet child. What is Beautiful People? Beautiful People is a blog meme hosted by Sky @ Further Up and Further In and Cait @ Paper Fury. Every month, they post ten questions to help writers get to know their characters better. How do I join? Just jump in! Snag the September questions, post them on your blog, and come back to add your link! I also recommend checking out the posts...

By Alyssa September 30, 2016 Uncategorized

20 Prompts to Uncover Characters’ Hearts

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...

By Alyssa September 26, 2016 Fiction & I, Writing Tips

The Homeless Man

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]

By Alyssa August 11, 2016 Afflictions Eclipsed

The Massive Story Doctor Giveaway: WINNERS!

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...

By Alyssa August 8, 2016 Writing Tips