4 Tips for Finding Energy to Write When You’re Chronically Ill (GUEST POST)
S. G. Willoughby shares with us four tips for spoonies who are struggling to find the energy to write.
You Don’t Need to Be Published as a Teen
I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. My goal was to get published on my teens. So am I disappointed that I never achieved that desire to be published before I was twenty? No. And the older I get, the more I understand why publishing a book as a teen is not always a good idea.
How Long Should My Chapters Be?
Chapters are strange creatures, used to divide up books into more manageable chunks. They mostly exist for those who have enough self-control not to read a whole novel in a sitting but they also serve to keep the reader in the story, prevent information overload, and help the author to adjust the pacing of the story and create suspense. But how long should they be?
Paper vs Computer
I am of a generation that had to be taught to use computers. Don’t get me wrong, they’re immensely useful but for most of history, books were painstakingly written by hand. Is one method better than the other though?
Should I Write More Than One Novel at Once?
We all have a hundred and one ideas clamouring for attention and only so much time. Then we come across these authors that have eighteen novels in progress and it makes us wonder, am I just lazy? Should I be working on more than one project at once?
10 Great Websites for Writers
We all struggle sometimes and could really do with some friendly advice to get us back on our feet. Here are ten helpful websites to help writers do just that.
Should I Plot or Pants?
What kind of person are you? Are you the kind that has all their documents filed in order, in-trays and out-trays on your immaculate desk, and a pinterest-worthy, minimalistic workspace ready to go at a moment’s notice? Or are you someone with paperwork scattered everywhere and a hundred mismatched pens, the sort who never tidies up because if they did, they’d never be able to find anything?
How to Find Your Voice
So many people talk about your ‘writing voice’ but what is it? How do you develop it? And, let’s be honest, does it actually matter all that much?
An Introduction to Plotting
It turns out plotting is not just for evil geniuses, it’s for writers too (though whether they are the same thing I leave to your discernment). Plots are many things: pieces of land, dastardly plans, or that really important thing in your novel that you need to work out. It will be no surprise that it’s the latter we’ll be looking at (for now).
An Introduction to Theme
What is a theme? How do you choose one? And is it the same as the message of a book? All excellent questions. . .