I was perusing the Nanowrimo forums the other day and I stumbled across something absolutely magical. It’s a thread called “Find a Beta Reader, Become a Beta Reader” (it’s under the Novel Draft Aftercare and Critiques & Feedback categories if you’re looking for it). On it, users are posting calls for beta readers, as well… Continue reading Writer, you need an alpha reader
People have really strong opinions about tense. I know this because I write mostly in the present tense, which means I get to experience the full force of people ranting about how awful present tense is. I, as you might gather, respectfully disagree. I also think people get tense wrong more broadly – what it’s… Continue reading Present tense? Past tense? Here’s how to choose!
One of the most common things to hear from new writers seeking help with their work is, “My story doesn’t make sense.” Everybody has this problem at some point. Sometimes the concern rises from vague feedback. Other times, it’s a feeling you have – a strange, intuitive sense that something is just off. Sometimes the… Continue reading What to do when your story doesn’t make sense
Editing sucks. I’m in the middle of it right now, and I can tell you, 80,000 words looked a whole lot smaller before it was already on the page. And how do you even know what needs to change? It’s your baby – you think it’s perfect. And on top of everything, editing is boring.… Continue reading Why you should stop editing and start rewriting
Believe it or not, I planned to publish this the same weekend Part 2 of Stranger Things Season 4 released, way back in the beginning of July. But after witnessing a lot of discourse online, rewatching the entire season from the start, and rewriting this post more times than I can even count, a review… Continue reading Stranger Things Season 4 has some important lessons for writers
Writers, bookworms, and critics alike love to talk about “three-dimensional characters” – how great it is when stories have them, what a horrid mortal sin it is when they don’t, blah blah blah. But it occurred to me recently that no one – literally no one in my 25 years on God’s green Earth –… Continue reading What are three-dimensional characters, anyway?
Once upon a time, I got bit by a story bug and spent the entire weekend doing barrels and barrels of research for a manuscript that may or may not ever actually end up being written, ignoring friends, relations, and my cat as they expressed concern for my sanity and time management skills. And by… Continue reading So, you want to retell a fairy tale
If I call this review spoiler-free, does that mean I have to not say anything to do with Hopper? Or am I allowed to acknowledge that he’s alive? Are we all past that cliffhanger now? Can we as a society please move on? Yes? Ok, good. So, welcome to my virtually spoiler-free review of Stranger… Continue reading Stranger Things Season 4 Part 1: a (mostly) spoiler-free review
HAPPY STRANGER THINGS DAY!!! In honor of the long-awaited arrival of season 4 of one of my favorite shows of all time, I wanted to write about the genre this work of art calls home: Lovecraftian horror. What is it, where did it come from, and how do you write it? Fair warning, this post… Continue reading How to ace Lovecraftian horror and creep everyone out
I was going to review a book this month, but I didn’t have as much reading time as I’d hoped, so I decided to use this month’s review to defend something that I’ve realized is badly in need of a good defense. That would be the game Firewatch, an indie “walking simulator” that I have… Continue reading Game Review: Firewatch
