Finishing a novel. Sounds easy, right? Sure. Just as easy as pulling out someone’s teeth when you’re not a dentist. Well, maybe it is easier if you don’t know what you’re doing, but that’s definitely not the case when you’re writing. Your characters will punch you in the face. It’s not just the plot that […]
The muse is a cruel mistress that plays by her own rules. Following her is a fool’s errand. It’s her job to make sure she follows you. If you have to wait for inspiration in order to write, who knows when you’ll write again? I know exactly what it’s like when the mind is dominated […]
Even the best writer has experienced that writing can be difficult. Whether it’s the plotting part or the writing part, the muse can be a fickle mistress. Every writer can use a little bit of help and there are some resources that can come to the rescue. I’ve listed what I have personally tried out […]
To a true writer, writing is addictive. It’s not like we can throw away our pen and our creative ideas. They are part of who we are. This is why cats roll around on our keyboard. Without their shout for attention we would probably forget they existed, and hungry cats are sad cats. Our passion […]
It took me a while to believe in my own writing. Part of that was because first I had to figure out what kind of writer I wanted to be and what my style was. Once you know that, being secure becomes a little bit easier. However, there is nothing wrong with being an insecure […]
This world can be so demanding, crazy, and horrible. Plus, the grass is always greener on the other side. Sometimes we wish for different lives, for different bodies, and to have other people around us. Don’t tell my cat I said that. She thinks she’s a person. We don’t have magic wands that can alter […]
You’re reading a good book; you care about the characters, you feel with them, and you are completely immersed in their world, empathetic to their problems. Great. But then you are beginning to run out of pages and the climax is yet to happen, or worse, there’s a major plot twist after the climax and […]
This the dream, right? When writing a novel you want it to be a joyous walk in the park. An adventure that sweeps you away and delivers you home feeling breathless and somewhat in love, like a really good date. You don’t want it to be like labour, pushing the novel out one painful chapter […]
Recently I got a question about how I write my characters. Since I write character-driven stories, characters are important. They have to be real, complex, and relatable. I never put pen to paper if I don’t know who they are. If I haven’t had a shrink session with them in my head, then I can’t […]
Nobody who has ever written thought that writing is easy. When on top of the desire to write, you also have a desire to get published, it’s even harder. It’s like climbing a mountain while being pulled back on an invisible string every now and then. Every finished novel is a personal victory, but life […]