Stuck? Discouraged? Archives

A Writer to Her Younger Self

March 2, 2017
Staff Writer
Stuck? Discouraged?, The Writing Life, Workshops, Writing Tips and Tools
6 Comments

By Sarah Noé, Staff Writer The saying goes that hindsight is 20/20, and I’ve certainly had moments of discovery that I wish I could pass back to my younger self. Alas, I am without a functioning time-travel device, hence I wrote up this open letter of sorts instead.

Grading Fiction the Smart Way, Not the Easy Way

February 23, 2017
Staff Writer
Homeschooling, Parenting a Young Writer, Stuck? Discouraged?
0 Comments

By Tineke Bryson, Staff Writer How big a part should grading play in your One Year Adventure Novel journey? How do you grade a teenager’s novel? The grading rubric for The One Year Adventure Novel—or “OYAN” for short—is disarmingly simple. But in my years of interacting with parents, I’ve come to realize that, sometimes, this disarming quality can mask some of the complexities of nurturing a young writer.

How Strategic Reading Can Unravel a Novel Knot

February 17, 2017
Staff Writer
Help with Characters, Push Your Imagination, Stuck? Discouraged?, Writing Tips and Tools
2 Comments

By Rachel Garner, Staff Writer Reading is supposed to be one of the writer’s major tools, and I was utilizing it: I read a lot. I had all the tools I’d been told to gather. But still I hesitated. What was I missing?

How to Write Battle Scenes When You’re Not into Battles

February 9, 2017
Student Contributor
Guest posts, Push Your Imagination, Stuck? Discouraged?, Writing Tips and Tools
1 Comment

By Avrie Roberts, Guest Contributor If you’re non-military minded, like me, the thought of writing battle scenes makes you inwardly groan. Maybe also like me, you hate every attempt you’ve made at writing those scenes. You can get away with not including warfare in some stories, but what happens when you can’t avoid it any longer?

Unforeseen Endings & Other Gifts of a Flexible Novel Outline

December 2, 2016
Daniel Schwabauer
Daniel's Writing Log, Push Your Imagination, Self-editing Tips, Stuck? Discouraged?, The Writing Life, Writing Tips and Tools
1 Comment

Daniel Schwabauer Outlines aren’t the only way to bring shape to a story. A bad outline will drive you compulsively in the wrong direction. Instead of giving advice, it will give commands. It will tell you to write what it summarizes, regardless of how the story has changed in your mind during the telling. “I am the story,” a bad outline will say. And if you listen to it, your story will be bad too.