Tag: writing process

Writing Through It: When A Scene Doesn’t Come Together

February 6, 2023

Any writer will tell you that the process of writing can be equal parts exciting and frustrating. When you’re writing your own story, you’ll encounter moments where everything feels seamless. The words come easily to compose the right dialogue between two people, or a breathtaking confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist. And then you’ll have those days where writing a necessary, but hard to construct scene, will feel like a slog to get to the end of it.

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When You Know, You Know: The Ending Of A Novel

April 25, 2022

Writing any story, especially a full-length novel, is no easy feat. You have to know how it starts and how it will end. A writer needs to figure out how to map out a character’s journey so that when the end finally appears on the horizon, their character arc is wrapped up in a way that feels satisfying.

After spending the past few years diligently working on my YA fantasy novel, I’m edging closer and closer to what instinctively feels like the end of the story.

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Word Count Goals: Why This Targeted Writing Method Isn’t For Me

February 14, 2022

Writing the first draft of my YA fantasy novel has gone through many stops and starts over the years. There have been a lot of trial and error to figure out what writing practices worked and didn’t work for me as far as getting the bulk of my story written. A common piece of advice given by writers is to create a word count goal.

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Staying Motivated To Write…By Writing Something Else

January 31, 2022

Since the start of the new year, one of the things I would like to do is finish a full draft of my work in progress. I have been consistently writing in some capacity for the past two years, the pandemic making it easier to keep up a regular weekend schedule, and have gotten further with my story than I have in a really long time since I first came up with the idea. But as eager as I am to complete the draft, it has been a struggle to continue with my novel, often not knowing where to steer the plot or how to get to a cohesive and satisfying ending.

When this happens I would take a “break” from my novel by writing something else.

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Under The Microscope: Editing Your Written Work

April 19, 2021

Spending a year in lockdown has done wonders for my creativity. I progress a little more each day with the YA fantasy novel I’m working on, though, I still have a ways to go before I figure out how it will all end. I’ve managed to finish writing one short story as I currently work on another.

Finishing any kind of writing I do is an achievement. In the past I had no problem starting stories. Finishing them? That’s a separate matter. Having a fully written story, and one I feel is fairly decent, is exciting. All that’s left is the editing.

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A Writer’s Process: Crafting A Fantasy World With The Help Of Pinterest

January 25, 2021

Writing a fantasy world from scratch can be equal parts fun and challenging. Anything is possible and nothing is impossible when you’re building a new world. But trying to decide what the structures look like, who inhabits the world, and what are the laws the denizens of that world abide by can feel like a pretty gargantuan undertaking for any budding writer. While writers may have a clear picture in their heads of the kind of world their main character will be spending most of their time in, it’s also useful to have some visual aids to make the process of world building a bit easier. This is why Pinterest has been largely useful when I’m working on my YA fantasy novel.

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The Writer’s Process: Maybe This Doesn’t Suck After All?

October 14, 2019

Writing is hard. There are moments when you get sudden sparks of inspiration only for it to fizzle just as quickly. I’ve been slowly undergoing a rediscovery for my writing and feeding my creativity by doing things that will help me create the worlds and characters I’m currently writing about for my long-time, in-the-works fantasy novel. Because the urge to tap back into this side of writing has been strong for me lately, it was a good time as any to go back and read what I did write so far before taking a hiatus (2017 to be exact). What I discovered was maybe what I was writing wasn’t all that bad as I thought it was.

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Wanted: Passion Seeks Motivation

September 9, 2019

What is passion? The dictionary has multiple meanings behind the word, but when it comes to expressing a love for film, music, art, books, video games, sports, and other areas of interest and pursuits, the applicable definition here is “an object of desire or deep interest,” according to Merriam-Webster. When we tell someone what we’re passionate about, there’s almost an all consuming fire that goes along with it. The flames are fanned and continues to burn brighter and faster until there’s nothing but you and your intense devotion to the thing you adore.

I’ve been passionate about writing ever since I discovered my propensity for the written word and storytelling when I was a pre-teen getting ready to enter high school. Stories and potential characters dance around in my head, begging to come alive on the page. But even though there is a boundless and unyielding passion to write, the biggest problem is tying down passion’s other partner—motivation.

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The Path Of A Writer: The Process And The Frustration

August 1, 2016

I haven’t really discussed it much on the blog, other than as a passing reference here and there when I’m writing about something else, but I’ve been pouring all my attention and energy into writing the novel I want to finish. Writing a book isn’t exactly a small feat and to avoid making the whole process completely overwhelming, you set up tiny goals you feel you can meet. The bigger goal is to finish the first draft. The smaller goal is to set up a consistent schedule to keep writing, even on those days when you don’t feel like it.

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Overcoming Fear: The Struggle Of Pursuing A Dream And Silencing The Negative Voices In Your Head

April 18, 2016

I am by nature a quiet and introspective kind of person. When I am alone, I’m often found going deep within to reflect on any number of things––myself, people, and situations I may encounter in my day to day life. If you were to get inside my head, it’s constantly swimming in thoughts and emotions I’m trying to process. This is why I tend to keep and write personal journals. It’s an outlet to pour whatever I feel or think in written form. The pages become a vessel to unburden myself from the noise and crowding in my head that may have gotten too difficult to carry for a long period of time. It’s also a form of writing that helps heal me and pushes me to honestly and critically assess myself as I am now and who I still want to be in the future. Among my inner reflections lately has included the ongoing struggle of writing and finishing my novel.

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