Introduction: 

Okay so I know I’m not the only person who struggles with writing things, whether it’s creative or not. And because of that I made a master list of sources I, myself, use because I  know it can be hard to know where to start or what to do.

→Essay Writing

→Character development

→Plotting/Structure

→Editing/Revision

Ah yes the dreaded revision and edit that mush of a first draft. Some of these can be used for essays as well.

→Other Helpful things:

Write it! Pinterest Board: looove this. You’ll see a couple link are here as well.

I hope this is helpful!

The Many Faces of the Novel

Illustration for John Sutherland’s review of “The Novel: A Biography” by Michael Schmidt, appearing in the August 10 NY Times Book Review. Thanks to AD Nicholas Blechman! 

By D.M. Johnson

The Good, The Bad, and The Obvious

In basic terms, dialogue tags (or speech tags) are like signposts, attributing written dialogue to characters. Dialogue tags don’t need to be fancy, splashy, or self-conscious. Their primary purpose is to show which characters speak and when. The greater the number of characters involved in a scene, the more important the frequency and positioning of tags becomes.

Each tag contains at least one noun or pronoun (Carla, she, Rory and Ellen, Jets, they) and a verb indicating a way of speaking (said, asked, whispered, remarked). For example:

Tags may be extended into longer phrases describing action or context:

Adding adjectives and adverbs to tags to provide specific information about the speaker or the speech—she asked warily; he said innocently. These are calledadverbial tags. Sometimes adding an adverb to a tag can be useful, a quick way to indicate a mannerism or emotion (she said quickly; he said coldly) without drawing it into a longer, descriptive sentence. As a caveat, it’s frequently suggested in writing advice columns and books that such tags be used with a careful hand; an adverb can make a tag more obvious and remind people they’re reading a story instead of experiencing it. Still, published authors use them when it fits the situation.

Read More →

Stan Lee (via fictionwritingtips)

Fun ways for characters to be wrong

-Being intentionally mislead

-Naively thinking something won’t be that bad

-Ignoring facts so they don’t have to change their opinions

-Assuming something will always be the same

-Putting too much trust in something or someone

-Assuming everybody else holds a certain belief

-Assuming everybody else acts a certain way

-Not knowing all the facts and extrapolating

How to Avoid Stereotypes

When you first start out writing, there can be a tendency to rely on stereotypes and clichés. While clichés aren’t something I actively feel like writers need to avoid, stereotypes can be a bit more dangerous. You should never rely on what you’ve heard about other people to build a character; you should take the time to learn what you need to know.

With that said, here are a few ways to avoid stereotypes in your writing:

Do Your Research

If you have a very basic understanding of something (people, places, etc.), you need to do your research. Even if your experience is limited to what you have gone through personally, you should still do more research. How you experience something isn’t necessarily the same as how someone else experiences something. This is a huge mistake that writers make—research is incredibly important and this step should never be skipped.  Don’t assume you know everything and don’t assume that no one will know the difference.

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone (but don’t ask people to step out of theirs)

There are plenty of people to talk to and there are tons of resources available to you. Speaking with another person about an issue or experience they’ve had will require you to step out of your comfort zone. However, don’t approach people who have not opened up the lines of communication. No one owes you an explanation or is required to share their experiences with you if they don’t feel comfortable. Reach out to people who have offered advice or try people who educate on related topics for a living. Read some interviews, memoirs, books, etc., in order to gain a deeper understanding.

Reverse Them

In addition to everything else I’ve mentioned, stereotypes can make your story feel boring and flat. They’re relied on too much to actually make your story feel original. Think them over and figure out a way you can reverse them and make them stronger ideas. I’m not saying you should utilize stereotypes, but there is a way to flip the narrative on them. Make people think about stereotypes in a different way. Challenge them. Show your readers how ridiculous they can be.

-Kris Noel

Learn the causes and treatment options of this debilitating affliction here.

I frequently talk about genre and category here, and I tend to speak about them in pretty offhanded terms, with the assumption that everyone knows what I’m talking about. I imagine many of you do, but I’m also aware that it’s very likely at least some people don’t. And many could probably use clarification with some labels anyway. So! I thought I’d create what was supposed to be a mini index of the major genres. Except the post was getting way too long, so I split it into two. Enjoy part one! Fantasy Magic, dragons, elves, wizards, witches, portals, fairies, mages—anything goes in a fantasy novel. These books are built off fantastical worlds where the impossible is impossible and where the mythical is reality. Examples: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Half Bad by Sally Green, The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker, The Queen of Tearling by Erika Johansen, Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, Graceling by Kristin Cashore. For more info on writing fantasy, check out this post. (Others) Paranormal Technically this is a subgenera of fantasy, but it’s so big I thought it merited it’s own category. Paranormal books are a step closer to reality than epic fantasies, but they include supernatural creatures like angels, vampires, fairies, ghosts, werewolves, shapeshifters, etc. Think the TV show Supernatural. Examples: Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, Ink by Amanda Sun, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, Shiver and The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, The Coldest Girl in Coldtownby Holly Black, The Diviners by Libba Bray, Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. (Others)

For more info on writing paranormal, check out this post. Science Fiction (Sci-Fi) Science Fiction is similar to fantasy in that the worlds and situations aren’t real (at the time they are written, at least), but the so-called “fantastical” elements are based in science, rather than magic. The idea here is the made-up stuff could be real, scientifically-speaking. It’s just not real right now. Examples: Across the Universe by Beth Revis, Salvage by Alexandra Duncan, The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, The Martian by Andy Weir, The Cage by Megan Shepherd,The Edge of Forever by Melissa E. Hurst, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, Alienated by Melissa Landers. (Others)

For more info on writing sci-fi, check out this post. Dystopia Dystopian novels are a subgenre of Sci-Fi, but as they’ve gotten pretty huge on their own, it felt important to list them separately. Dystopian novels frequently feature futuristic oppressive governments that are often overthrown at the end of the book. Expect speculative societies with extremely strict rules and characters who unwittingly find themselves at the center of a revolution (though that isn’t always the case). Examples: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Divergent by Veronica Roth, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker, Red Rising by Pierce Brown, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, The 100 by Kass Morgan, The Selection by Kiera Cass, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, Legend by Marie Lu, Matchedby Ally Condie. (Others) For more info on writing dystopias, check out this post. Horror These books are written to scare. Or at least creep you out a little. Monsters, murderers, paranormal situations out to get you—these characters usually go through horrifying situations that end in a lot of people dying in terrible ways. Examples: Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry, Follow You Home by Mark Edwards, Ten by Gretchen McNeil, Sweetby Emmy Laybourne, House by Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti, The Enemy by Charlie Higson, Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Feed by Mira Grant, World War Z by Max Brooks, anything written by Stephen King, The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. (Others) Thriller Thrillers are similar to horror, but here, it tends to be about a killer going after people (rather than something supernatural). Sometimes the two blend a little, but these are exciting, fast-paced novels where the threat of death is a constant. Examples: Hushed by Kelley York, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Black Iris by Leah Raeder, Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll, Thr3e and Adam by Ted Dekker, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, The Devil You Know by Trish Doller, Delicate Monsters by Stephanie Keuhn, The Rules by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié. (Others) Humor These books are funny. The point is to tell a story that makes you laugh quite a bit. These are often written by celebrities, and when they’re not they tend to also cross into other genres. So yes. Examples: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, Yes Please by Amy Poehler,Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling, Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, Denton’s Little Deathdate by Lance Rubin,Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh. (Others) So that’s just the first part! I’ll finish part two for you guys shortly. :)

My dog, Bella, relaxing with the family. She gets to come on vacation with us! 🐺

This blog is over three years old, and I don’t think I’ve ever posted a picture of the real Author Dog…but here she is! She is a Keeshond and her name is Bella. She’s old now (10) but she’s still running around just like a puppy.

Everything Is Awful and I’m Not Okay: questions to ask before giving up

Are you hydrated?  If not, have a glass of water.

Have you eaten in the past three hours?  If not, get some food — something with protein, not just simple carbs.  Perhaps some nuts or hummus?

Have you showered in the past day?  If not, take a shower right now.

If daytime: are you dressed?  If not, put on clean clothes that aren’t pajamas.  Give yourself permission to wear something special, whether it’s a funny t-shirt or a pretty dress.

If nighttime: are you sleepy and fatigued but resisting going to sleep?  Put on pajamas, make yourself cozy in bed with a teddy bear and the sound of falling rain, and close your eyes for fifteen minutes — no electronic screens allowed.  If you’re still awake after that, you can get up again; no pressure.

Have you stretched your legs in the past day?  If not, do so right now.  If you don’t have the spoons for a run or trip to the gym, just walk around the block, then keep walking as long as you please.  If the weather’s crap, drive to a big box store (e.g. Target) and go on a brisk walk through the aisles you normally skip.

Have you said something nice to someone in the past day?  Do so, whether online or in person.  Make it genuine; wait until you see something really wonderful about someone, and tell them about it.

Have you moved your body to music in the past day?  If not, do so — jog for the length of an EDM song at your favorite BPM, or just dance around the room for the length of an upbeat song.

Have you cuddled a living being in the past two days?  If not, do so.  Don’t be afraid to ask for hugs from friends or friends’ pets.  Most of them will enjoy the cuddles too; you’re not imposing on them.

Do you feel ineffective?  Pause right now and get something small completed, whether it’s responding to an e-mail, loading up the dishwasher, or packing your gym bag for your next trip.  Good job!

Do you feel unattractive?  Take a goddamn selfie.  Your friends will remind you how great you look, and you’ll fight society’s restrictions on what beauty can look like.

Do you feel paralyzed by indecision?  Give yourself ten minutes to sit back and figure out a game plan for the day.  If a particular decision or problem is still being a roadblock, simply set it aside for now, and pick something else that seems doable.  Right now, the important part is to break through that stasis, even if it means doing something trivial.

Have you seen a therapist in the past few days?  If not, hang on until your next therapy visit and talk through things then.

Have you been over-exerting yourself lately — physically, emotionally, socially, or intellectually?  That can take a toll that lingers for days. Give yourself a break in that area, whether it’s physical rest, taking time alone, or relaxing with some silly entertainment.

Have you changed any of your medications in the past couple of weeks, including skipped doses or a change in generic prescription brand?  That may be screwing with your head.  Give things a few days, then talk to your doctor if it doesn’t settle down.

Have you waited a week?  Sometimes our perception of life is skewed, and we can’t even tell that we’re not thinking clearly, and there’s no obvious external cause.  It happens.  Keep yourself going for a full week, whatever it takes, and see if you still feel the same way then.

You’ve made it this far, and you will make it through.  You are stronger than you think.

How to Develop your Best Novel Writing Ideas

Writing a novel is no small task. Some writers spend years just eking out a first draft, followed by years of revisions. And that’s before they even think about the grueling publishing process.

On other words, you’re going to spend a lot of time with your novel. So you better love it. No wait – loving isn’t enough. You have to be in love with it. You have to be obsessed with it.

And obsessions cannot be forced. It’s normal to lose interest when you’re on your tenth revision, but if you’re losing interest in your plot or characters while writing your first or second draft, the problem may not be you or your novel. The problem may be that you tried to commit to something you didn’t love. And that’s never a good idea.

For many writers, the trick is to sticking with a novel is actually quite simple: find an idea that grips you.

Get in Touch with your Passions

Before you chase every crazy idea into the ground, stop and take a breath. Think about what moves you. Books you couldn’t put down. Movies you watched dozens of times. TV shows you couldn’t stop talking about. Songs you played so many times, you’re sure they have bonded with your DNA.

By identifying your passions, you can figure out what makes you tick, and that’s a great start to your quest for novel writing ideas that you can really sink your teeth into.

All your past and present obsessions hold the clues to your future obsession with your own novel. Pay close attention to your preferences for genre, theme, setting, style, character archetypes and above all–emotional sensibility. Make lists of what you love about your favorite stories and soon, you’ll see the shape of your own novel start to emerge.

Generate and Gather Plenty of Novel Writing ideas

Once you’ve made some general decisions about the novel you’re going to write, it’s time to start generating specific ideas.

Of course, the best novel writing ideas come out of nowhere. You’re on your hands and knees scrubbing the floor and suddenly that big magic bulb over your head lights up. Or maybe you have so many ideas, you don’t know where to start. It’s even possible that you’re aching to write a novel but are fresh out of ideas. Your mind feels like a gaping void.

Actually, story ideas are everywhere. The trick is to collect a variety of ideas, and let them stew while you decide which one is worth the effort. Here are some quick tips for generating ideas:

Create a stash file for your ideas. It can be a folder on your computer or a box you can fill with 3×5 note cards. You can also write all these ideas in a notebook. Just make sure you keep them together so you can easily go through them.

Let your Novel Writing Ideas Marinate

Some ideas are so great, you just can’t wait to get started. If you’re writing a poem or a piece of flash fiction, then have at it. If things don’t work out, you’ll lose a few hours or maybe a few weeks. But imagine investing years in a novel only to realize your heart’s not in it. Try to avoid doing that by letting ideas sit for a while before you dive into them.

The best ideas rise to the top. These are not necessarily the best-selling ideas or the most original ideas. They’re the ideas that are best for you. Those are the ones that will haunt you, keep you up at night, and provoke perpetual daydreams.

These are the ones worth experimenting with.

Experiment to See which Novel Writing Ideas Can Fly

There’s a reason people test drive cars and lie around on the beds in mattress shops. When you make a big investment, you want to feel right about it. You can’t know how a car will drive until you actually drive it. And you can’t know how a bed will feel until you relax on its mattress for a while. And you definitely can’t know what your relationship with your novel will be like until you experiment with it.

In truth, the experimental phase is when you start writing the novel–just like the test drive is when you start driving the car. But you haven’t committed yet. You’re still open to the idea that this is not for you. This might seem like I’m nitpicking over semantics, but you’ll find that discarding partially written novels wears on you after a while. If you play around with your story with the understanding that you’re experimenting, and if things don’t work out, you can always walk away without feeling guilty or like you gave up. Go back to your idea stash, and start tooling around with the next one.

How do you experiment with novel writing? I’m so glad you asked. There’s a lot you can do. Start by brainstorming. Sketch a few characters. Poke around and see what kind of research this novel might demand. Draft a few scenes. Write an outline. If you keep going through these motions and can’t shake your excitement, then you are finally …

Writing Your Novel

At this point, you’ve already started writing your novel. But suddenly, you’re not just writing a novel. You’re deeply, passionately, obsessively writing your novel. If a couple of weeks go by and you haven’t had time to write, you miss your characters. When you get stuck with a scene, you simply work on some other part of the story because you’re so obsessed. You have to fight the urge to tell everyone about how the story is coming along. Your trusted buddy, whom you bounce ideas off of, is starting to think you’re taking it all too seriously. “Maybe you should watch some television a couple nights a week,” he says, looking concerned.

This is a story that’s captured your full attention. And that’s a good sign that it will capture the attention of readers.

Many (or most) of your novel writing ideas might end up in a trash can or a bottom drawer. But every one of them will be worth it when all of that idea generating, planning, and experimenting finally pays off. Every idea that doesn’t work will pave the path to the idea that will set you on fire.

So no matter what, no matter how many ideas come and go, no matter how many drafts you discard, never give up. Just keep writing!

I hope this helped! If you have any questions or just want to talk, go to my ask box!