It’s unbelievable how often I encounter books written for teenagers where the author misses the mark about how a teen thinks or just rides off of teen clichés when crafting their stories. Don’t get me wrong, there is some good teen fiction out there, they just are hard to find, given how poorly many ofContinue reading “5 Things to Avoid When Writing Teen Fiction”
Category Archives: Writing Advice
5 Tips to Get You through Your Manuscript’s 1st Draft
DO NOT edit as you go. This is perhaps the most time-consuming writing-preventer I’ve encountered when trying to write a manuscript. Rereading what you have written and making changes instead of writing the next part can be quite a hinderance to the progression of your story or novel, so please try to avoid editing untilContinue reading “5 Tips to Get You through Your Manuscript’s 1st Draft”
10 Story-Prompt Lines to Get You Started on Your Next Story
Sometimes I need a little push of inspiration before beginning or continuing any short story. Brainstorming a line or two that I want in the story sometimes does the trick. What line should the story begin with? What line should the story revolve around? Which sentence should complete the story or leave it on aContinue reading “10 Story-Prompt Lines to Get You Started on Your Next Story”
12 Ideas to Help You Get Over Your Writing Slump
If you are a mood-writer like me, then you may find it hard to find either the inspiration to write stories or the time to write. I know how annoying it can be to try and just sit there and wait for inspiration to come, so let’s brainstorm some ways that can help get thoseContinue reading “12 Ideas to Help You Get Over Your Writing Slump”
6 Overdone Tropes in YA Literature and TV
The more I try to find new books/TV shows, the more frustrated I get from repeated tropes that I believe no longer need to exist or just need to exist in a new light than they already have been previously portrayed. Here’s a list of ones that are currently getting my literary goat. Let’s takeContinue reading “6 Overdone Tropes in YA Literature and TV”
14 Fun Virtual Creative Writing Group Activities
Write a story collaboratively. I recently did this with my group for Halloween and it was a great success! One week before Halloween, we decided to write a ghost story collectively by opening a Google Doc and making a list of who would start the story, who would go second, third, etc. We each couldContinue reading “14 Fun Virtual Creative Writing Group Activities”
5 Reasons to Join a Creative Writing Group
If you’re a writer of fiction and poetry like me, you may be looking for ways to expand your writing community or help others showcase their own writing. Here I’ve listed some advantages I am inexplicably grateful for in my own creative writing group. 1. Give and receive feedback. Some writers (including myself) cringe whenContinue reading “5 Reasons to Join a Creative Writing Group”
Advice for Fiction Writers: 3 Do’s vs. 3 Don’ts for Making a Good Story
+ Respect the reader’s imagination A good writer trusts the reader well enough to fill in the blanks when necessary. I’m not implying that the writer purposefully create holes that end up making the whole book a speculation, but use them where credit is due, like when describing scenery, journeys, or other necessary elements thatContinue reading “Advice for Fiction Writers: 3 Do’s vs. 3 Don’ts for Making a Good Story”
Writing A Story: Inspiration
So, you’ve decided that you would like to write a story. Congratulations! But where do you start? Whether you have written no more than a sentence or an entire anthology, you have what it takes. Every member of the human race has a story inside of them. But whether or not you can discover it,Continue reading “Writing A Story: Inspiration”
Writing A Story: Crafting Your Characters
What kind of character appeals to you as a reader? For me, I am always am drawn to a protagonist with an amiable virtue that either matches my own or is one that I hope to aspire to. The same goes for the antagonist, as shocking as that may be. They too may have someContinue reading “Writing A Story: Crafting Your Characters”
Ashley Weaver 