writing honestly Archives -

Why Your Story Needs Flat Character Arcs

By Chris Babcock, Student Contributor If you’ve ever read The Lord of the Rings, imagine a Sam Gamgee who starts out selfish, petty, and cowardly. Then, over the course of the trilogy, he becomes self-sacrificing, noble, and courageous. It’s hard…

Writing Evil without Being Overcome

September 29, 2022
Student Contributor
Guest posts, Help with Characters, Writing Tips and Tools
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Suffering is an important part of giving your story meaning. But how do we make sure we're writing it well?

Writing Characters When You Don’t Hear Voices in Your Head

December 16, 2015
Student Contributor
Guest posts, Help with Characters, Writing Tips and Tools
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Miguel Flores, Guest Contributor People have told me their characters “talk” to them. These fictional characters use our brains as home base but are otherwise free to explore both their world and ours. When these vagabond ghost squatters re-enter our brains, they kick up their feet, scatter our neatly organized plot bunnies, and babble about their lives or rudely commentate on ours.

Writer, Are You Willing to be Vulnerable?

October 9, 2014
Student Contributor
Stuck? Discouraged?, The Writing Life, Writing Tips and Tools
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Patience Pennington, Guest Contributor When we write, the primary goal is to create emotion. But, why? Why is it so important to create these emotions? Further, how do we make those emotions believable without revealing parts of our own personal story, and risking the exposure of things deep inside our hearts?

What a Young Writer’s Brush with Death Taught Her about Life & Writing

Jacki Crooks, Staff Writer We’d like to introduce you to Jacki, who has been helping us at The One Year Adventure Novel for the past few months! I (Tineke) asked Jacki to share how her experience of fighting cancer impacted her writing—admittedly a pretty hard question to answer, never mind in under 1,000 words! But it’s a huge part of who Jacki is today.