Webinars are one of my favorite sources of great writing advice. From the hundred or so webinars I’ve taken notes on since 2021, some advice has never left me. When I start a new book, when I’m struggling with muddy middles, or when I’m groaning over revisions, these suggestions and insights have pulled me through….
February’s Theme: Mushrooms
Every month, for my newsletter subscribers, I do a themed list of book recs, art, music, video games, etc. The newsletter always includes a little extra, but here are some highlights! Do you have any mushroom-oriented books you’ve loved? Any games or music steeped in shroomy goodness? Just a favorite mushroom? If so, drop a…
Should I Pay for Beta Readers?
First off, what is beta reading? Not everybody thinks of it the same way, so always know your reader’s definition of the term before agreeing to anything. For me, beta reading means outlining my general impression of a story in a simple 3-4 page report. Characters (development and arcs), pacing, and the “big picture” are…
January’s Theme: Snow
Every month, for my newsletter subscribers, I do a themed list of oddball items: book recs, indie games, art, weird facts, creepy internet rabbit holes… If you like what you see here, sign up! The newsletters always include little extra. If you’ve got more cool theme-related oddities or recommendations, don’t hold out: drop ’em in…
How to Give Feedback on Creative Writing
Maybe it’s a cousin with his first short story. Your quiet aunt who finally finished her draft of a romance novel. Your college roommate with a manuscript about aliens. Whatever the case, giving feedback can be as intimidating as receiving it. After a decade-plus of practice giving and receiving feedback, I’ve found the following rules…
Writing Resources
Are you a new writer? Here’s a list of free and affordable writing resources I’ve collected on my own five-year journey.
Ms. Wolownik’s New Assistant
Here’s my entry for the Official Kidlit #FallWritingFrenzy! Writers select one image to inspire a 200-word story. My image is below! Ms. Wolownik’s New Assistant Ms. Wolownik’s house looks like a rotten potato. It’s brown and white, and nobody can tell mold from paint. Its roof sags. Vines from overgrown plants spill out the windows….
Writing a Query Letter
Writing my first query letter has been transformative. I have lived the life of a phoenix. Taken my beak to shell. Swelled with the glory of flight. Burned into ashes. And then, in a chorus of mystical chemistry, I remade myself. Eh, in short, it was really effin’ hard. Here’s my personal path from zero…
Feb. 2020’s #PitMad
My second #PitMad! My first #PitMad, back in December of 2019, I was a wide-eyed fawn, brimming with hope and anxiety. You can read about that (and my favorite pitches) at my first To Pitch Madly post. This round, however, I was ready. TweetDeck posted my pitches for me, so I could respect some limitations…
How Do You Finish a Story?
How do you know a story is done? Or if not a “story,” a piece of writing—your flash fiction, your novella, your book. How do you know when it’s a ready, submission-worthy, finished piece? Reading the classics in high school, and even in college, I had this underlying assumption that every poem, every novel, was…