Dear Florida, I have lived under your sky all my life, and I have only one question: WHY. If you’ve never experienced summer in Florida, you haven’t experienced true summer at all. Because summer is not, as most of us are lead to believe, the joyful, carefree, beautiful time where anything is possible and going … Continue reading An Ode to Summer (by a Floridian)
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Good Adaptation Practices from Pride & Prejudice
There's certainly been a theme of adaptations on the blog recently. Maybe it's because my current WIP is an adaptation... Just maybe... Anyway, in looking through everything I have on adaptations, I came across my post on Pride & Prejudice (2005) from two years ago. It's one of the first in-depth reviews I ever did … Continue reading Good Adaptation Practices from Pride & Prejudice
5 Signs Your Story Might Be Contrived (And How to Fix It!)
Have you ever felt like the story you're writing just isn't flowing naturally? Maybe you're unsure about some dialogue or a part of the plot. Whatever it is, when you begin to wonder, "Is my story contrived?" you know you're in trouble! The last thing any writer wants to do is put out a cheap, … Continue reading 5 Signs Your Story Might Be Contrived (And How to Fix It!)
Why Paying for Writing Courses May Not Be Worth It
You're stuck in a rut. Maybe you're a freelancer looking for the way forward or a fiction writer who's majorly blocked and can't finish your story. Maybe you're something in between. What do you do? Search the internet for answers, of course! And what do you find? ... Courses that cost thousands of dollars. At … Continue reading Why Paying for Writing Courses May Not Be Worth It
Reblog: Questions (and Answers) That Journal Editors Frequently Receive by Pedagogical Thoughts
https://kathleenslowney.wordpress.com/2023/06/13/questions-and-answers-that-journal-editors-frequently-receive/ Ah, yet another lovely post from this blog! I love how Kathe works in such a different writing field than I do, yet has so many thoughts on writing that I find incredibly valuable. This post is no exception! Whether you submit to journals, are thinking about submitting a manuscript to a publishing company, … Continue reading Reblog: Questions (and Answers) That Journal Editors Frequently Receive by Pedagogical Thoughts
Breathing Life into Classic Tales: A Guide to Adaptation
I've always loved fairytales; that's what happens when you grow up watching (and rewatching, and rewatching, and rewatching...) Disney classics. I was writing stories as soon as I learned how to hold a (sparkly pink glitter) pen, but surprisingly, fairytales didn't influence my writing much until my dad gifted me a massive book of fairytales … Continue reading Breathing Life into Classic Tales: A Guide to Adaptation
Emotional Writing 101: How to Connect with Readers on a Deeper Level
Writing isn't intuitive. Sure, I think that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, but even the best of writers don't know it all. We all need to learn, and one of the most foundational concepts of writing that we will be practising for the rest of our lives is writing with emotion. It sounds … Continue reading Emotional Writing 101: How to Connect with Readers on a Deeper Level
Instantly Up Your Writing Game with These 5 Small Things
Look, no matter what anyone says, writing is hard. There are so many things to think of, it takes tons of practice to get it right, and even when you know everything there is to know about writing, there’s still more to learn. Because yes, even in this age of “anything goes,” I believe there’s … Continue reading Instantly Up Your Writing Game with These 5 Small Things
Surrounded: A sci-fi flash fiction story
No. 45/100 flash fiction stories Lyra could smell that it was hopeless. Yes, smell. You didn’t have to be around too many Drin in your life before you recognized their distinct smell, but after Lyra’s extensive experience with (read: harassment by) the creatures, she could detect just how many there were by the sheer smell … Continue reading Surrounded: A sci-fi flash fiction story
“Is it okay to like bad stories?”
As someone who pushes relentlessly for better storytelling in the world, this is a question I get asked quite often. Sometimes, people ask it as a trick question—if I say yes, then they ask why good storytelling is so important. If I were to say no, they would inevitably find out that there are "bad" … Continue reading “Is it okay to like bad stories?”
The Story Canvas 