Write What You Know: Breaking Down Common Writing Advice

Based on the response I got to the last time I decided to look into common writing advice that is often poorly explained, I decided it would be a good idea to make this an ongoing series I come back to every now and then. So far, we’ve looked at the suggestion of “just write” …

See Jane Run: The Difference Between Showing and Telling

In last week’s post, I mentioned that I would spend some time talking about how to Show instead of Tell. I often mention that I’m going to do articles in the future, but this particular one received an unprecedented number of requests, so I decided to run with it. Just like last week, where I …

What’s a McDonald’s? Handling Exposition when you have to Tell Instead of Show.

One of the first pieces of advice most writers have beaten into them is “Show don’t tell.” The reason this advice is hammered home so hard is because it is, in fact, good advice. The story is almost always better when you show something, rather than when you tell it. It immerses the reader more …

How Long Should your Book be? Story Lengths Explained

One of the side effects of the modern ebook era is that the term “book” has pretty much lost all meaning. A book can be virtually anything when it’s published in an ebook format, because there’s no need to worry about printing and binding and all the things that come with a physical copy. Don’t …

3 Ways Tabletop Gaming Helped Me Improve as a Writer

Hey, quick question to everyone reading - who here has played Dungeons and Dragons, or some other tabletop gaming system? Well, for those of you who haven’t, Dungeons and Dragons - and all the tabletop games that came later - can be hard to understand. The best explanation I have is this: remember when you …

The Umbridge Effect: Crafting a Detestable Villain

I originally had a different blog post planned for today. Planned and written, in fact. But sometimes, plans change. Sometimes, you come across an idea that grabs your brain and won’t let go. Sometimes, inspiration strikes, and one big piece of writing advice I will always, always give is that when you get bitten by …

2018 Year in Review and Future Plans

It’s the New Year now, and I can think of no better way to celebrate this period of new beginnings and fresh starts by turning around and looking directly back at the prior year. It’s sort of an annual tradition of mine! 2018 has been an absolutely phenomenal year for me. Probably one of the …

2000 Words a Day – My 2019 New Years Resolution

While you're here, check out some of what I wrote last year and get a free book! 2019 is just around the corner! For the past ten years, my new years resolution was to write a novel. Last year, I accomplished that, and was able to publish Weird Theology. This year my new year's resolution …

3 Things that Make Characters Unrelatable

There’s a lot that sets a good book from a bad book, especially since what makes a book good or bad is incredibly subjective. However, one thing that can destroy the experience for a lot of readers are characters that don’t resonate. A character has to be someone that the reader can relate to; otherwise …

Just Write: Breaking Down the most Common Writing Advice

If you are, or ever have been, a new writer looking for advice, you’ve probably been told to “Just write.” On the flip side, if you’ve spent time on writing forums, listening and reading to things people say about writing, just write / write every day are some of the most controversial points that get …