A few months ago something happened that made me seriously worried about my little sister’s dating life.
She devours books and I’d given her the first draft of my novel to read asking for her thoughts (a safe bet as she tends to love everything I write regardless of quality).
Imagine my shock when she told me that her favorite character was my villain! No other character even came close, she was raving about this guy! Couldn’t she see how bad he was? Continue reading
In the spirit of Thanksgiving lets take a few moments to be thankful for all of the blessings we have. When it comes to writing what do you have to be thankful for?
Good story boils down to these four factors: plot, character, setting and craft.
While there are countless other elements that make up the intricacies of a good book, these are the backbone of a good story.
Odds are, you already know what you’re good at. If not, ask your friends or writing community—anyone who’s read your work. Or you can take this quiz to find out. What’s your specialty?
Are you…
They were all there, ringed around the table and chatting between mouthfuls of mashed potatoes and turkey, all smiling and nodding, but I knew it was there hovering just beneath the surface. One word and everything would shatter…
What is the word? (And who are the people, for that matter)?
Finish this prompt in 500 words or less and email it to thespinningpen@gmail.com – selected prompts will be featured on our blog.
Good luck writers!
During our first year we have tried, succeeded, failed, learned, grown, improved, written a lot, won contests, interviewed authors, reached goals, lost, gained, laughed, cried, made friends, built a community of writers, inspired other writing communities, and oh boy, not only did we survive, but we are stronger and plan on sticking around! Continue reading
Where are you in your writing journey? Are you NaNoing? Writing? Querying? On sub to publishers? In the midst of revisions? Taking time to read and improve your craft? Nurturing the seed of an amazing idea that’s taking root in your imagination?
Whichever of those things you are doing, or if you’re in a completely different place all together, I would like to take a minute to talk about something a lot of people would rather avoid.
FAILURE.
No one likes to experience it, and a lot of us hold back on our dreams to shelter ourselves. But you know what? I’m a huge advocate for failing. I say let’s fail. Let’s fail BIG TIME.
Let me tell you a quick story. Continue reading
What is the one thing I struggle with most when I sit down to write for Nano? A messy room? My to-do list? The cries of unfed pets? No! It’s how much my back hurts when I sit down, no matter where I park my butt.
After hours sitting at work (or if you’re fortunate enough to have November totally open to write), how do you relieve the aches and pains of crouching over a keyboard for hours?
Pen Friends–
Today is the day when I planned to give you a really practical middle-of-NaNoWriMo pep talk, full of tips on how to push through to the end (whether you’re aiming for 50,000 words this month, or doing something else entirely).
Pen Friends, welcome back Tessa Emily Hall to talk about Unwritten Melody, her new book that released on November 10th! Congratulations Tessa!
Hey Tessa! Thanks for dropping by during the madness of your book release! Can you tell us a bit about Unwritten Melody and what inspired it?
Continue reading
I was talking to a friend a couple weeks ago about writing. One of the first things she said is that she had been planning on writing a book for some time but hadn’t. When I asked her why, her answer was “I just don’t know where to start.”
In today’s post, I’ll be sharing some tips on how to take those first steps.
You can never stop being a writer.
You can stop writing, but there is a part of your brain that never sleeps, never stops observing, never stops scribing.
This is an unconscious process for many of us, but to write novels that clutch people’s hearts, we must tap into that thought process. Today, I’m going to give you four lenses you can use to observe the world and enrich your writing. So let’s get started!
The Spinning Pen 