I find myself unexpectedly with a set of books on my hands. Blessings started out as a straight-up standalone book, and Illuminate jumped on board as a companion book/sequel of sorts, and other ideas are still coming. It occurred to me the other day that I have an actual series, and no idea what to call it. Of course, it’s likely that whatever series title I come up with will be changed when/if it goes to publication. But I still need something to call the collective project. Are you in the same boat? Well, below I’ve compiled all the research...
I’ve been watching copious amounts of figure skating on the Olympics (this is why I missed church two weeks in a row shhh) and it’s reminded me just now much I love dance. There is so much you can tell about a person from watching how they move. Look no further than two Russian figure skating superstars: Julia Lipnitskaia and Evgeny Plushenko. Dance is a great way to discover something about a person: How they like to move, how comfortable they are with the opposite sex (yes I am from a Jane Austen novel), what sort of music appeals to...
Clothes can be fun to describe, particularly if your setting is the 1700’s Venice, Medieval France, or Regency England. But when handled poorly, fashion descriptions can feel awkward, slow down a scene, or come across as an infodump. Though I am a bit indifferent to fashion in real life, I love researching costumes and making style guides for my characters. Sometimes I go to museums and pick out which suits suit (haha see what I did there???) my male character, as if I’m at a mall and am going to walk out with it for him. But despite my obsession,...
Sound is one of the most powerful ways to get into a scene, and when utilized can help your writing flow easier. Below are my favorite tips for using sound to kick you into writing mode (from least to most obvious). 5. Make the sounds of your scene on your computer. Credit for this idea goes to friend/classmate Annie (who is awesome). With an app like White Noise, you can actually create the sound of your scene. Characters are walking near a harbor? No problem. Character’s are sitting by a fire? You got it. Place yourself in the center of...
I’ve just finished reading through my WIP, Blessings, in under 24 hours, and I noticed a few things: My revision techniques really saved me from any terrible transgressions in passive voice (FINALLY. HUZZAH!!!). I still could be more thorough in pinpointing my weaknesses and attacking them head-on. I thought I’d share the tricks I’m learning, which just might help expedite your future revision goals! (more…)
Since my WIP, Illuminate, is also the thesis project for my graduate program, I don’t have as much time as I’m used to for fiddling around and rewriting stuff. The logical response? Go absolutely crazy. Step 1: Make Character Arcs for Everyone. The Interwebs contain lots of great information about character arcs, so in brief: In the course of a story, characters will respond to conflict on an external and internal level, and by the conclusion characters will undergo some sort of change. This creates story arcs. Every book has at least one major arc. I personally like Doug Tennapel’s...
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...
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…)
