Horses are legends of fiction. Novels such as Black Beauty and movies such as Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron have graced the storytelling market for years. And horses are almost always the preferred mode of transportation when it comes to fantasy novels (except, of course, when there are dragons). But over the years, something began […]
Family. The mere word has the power to create a multitude of feelings—hope, excitement, frustration, love, anger, and a whole barrage of memories and mixed emotions. And this is exactly the power that writing strong family relationships can have. The characters that you weave together and craft are influential, sparking emotion in your readers and […]
Have you ever found yourself caught up in a difficult season? Has the rain ever poured down with the streaming of your tears? Or has the thunder ever flashed above the pounding of your heart? I’m sure you’ve experienced those confusing moments when your emotions seem to change as quickly as the winds. Maybe you’re […]
If you want to get a lot of angry comments in a short period of time, there’s no faster way to do so than by writing about a controversial subject. As a teenager, I held (and still hold) strong opinions about controversial political, religious, and ethical topics. And so I wanted to write about them—with […]
You’ve probably heard stories of super-productive writers. Writers like Brandon Sanderson, who wrote 5 books during the COVID-19 lockdown. Writers like Agatha Christie, who regularly wrote 3–4 books every year, even at the height of a very busy career. Writers like Stephen King, who writes at least six pages every day and says that a […]
Imagine your best friend. The person that makes you laugh and cry and do crazy things that you wouldn’t do with anyone else. The person who had the most influence on you as a person. The person who impacted your life most, or who you would be totally different without. And now imagine your life […]
Have you ever read or watched The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings and thought, “Wow, the man who penned this was a true master at his craft”? Maybe you’ve wondered how you can write like J.R.R. Tolkien: make scenes memorable, characters engaging, and weave themes naturally through your stories. If you’ve asked these […]
Have you ever poured your heart and soul into writing a scene, spent hours polishing it to perfection, and then sent it off to a group of readers who immediately skim that section? Yeah, me too. It’s easy to play it off and blame it on the “writer brain” which always seems to get attached […]
