Author Archives: admin
Music as Inspiration – A Creepy Doll
One of my favorite “creepy” songs is Creepy Doll by Jonathan Coulton. Mike Spiff Booth put together a nice music video that captures the feelings, which I watch from time to time. When I’m working on a story, I’ll often listen to music that reflects the mood I want to capture. This weekend, I wanted […]
What makes a book a page turner?
I don’t know who said it first, but the answer is simple: tension on every page. Actually accomplishing this is hard. Last week, I finished up the Hunger Games trilogy. Suzanne Collins is a master at creating tension and conflict. Every page is filled with unanswered questions, raising the stakes for her characters, and overall, […]
Writing Efficiently Saves Lives
This is an excerpt from an upcoming book in the Writing Advice for Teens series: Editing Fiction. Enjoy! Every word you write takes time to read. When a reader has to reread something because they got confused, that’s time wasted. Let’s say that you have a manuscript with 100,000 words. What would happen if we […]
How do I choose names for my characters, creatures, or settings?
This is an excerpt from the recently released Writing Advice for Teens: Creating Stories. Choosing names can be tough. On the other hand, they’re also one of the easiest things in your story to change. As William Shakespeare said in Romeo and Juliet: “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” What matters […]
Develop a writing routine
This is an excerpt from the recently released Writing Advice for Teens: Creating Stories. One of the hardest aspects of writing, as with any other habit, is committing to writing every day, even if just for fifteen minutes. Developing a writing routine is kind of like brushing your teeth. Once you’ve gotten in the habit, […]
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