Category Archives: Writings about Writing

Thoughts and tips about the craft

Why I Became a Fiction Writer

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While I may not be making full-time living from my writing (yet), I’ve been working my way towards becoming an actual professional writer. I write web content, articles, and social media posts for my job, which I’m blessed to be able to do.

But I’ve always wanted to be a fiction writer, and so I’m plugging away at short stories and novels. When I was in college, and for many years after I graduated and had various jobs that didn’t relate at all to my English degree, I seriously contemplated a life and career path other than that of writer.

I have always had many varied interests, and so picking one thing to do as a “career” seems kind of confining. So why did I pick “writer” and decide to pursue that instead of some other career that might actually be feasible and might make me money?

In short, because I’m lazy. Now to be a career writer (of fiction, or anything else) takes talent, discipline, and lots of hard work. It’s not a career for the lazy. But I considered writing to be the easiest pursuit of all of my interests because… Continue reading →

A Week Away at Tinker Mountain Writers Workshop

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This week I’m blogging from the grounds of Hollins University, which is hosting the annual Tinker Mountain Writers Workshop. This is my first time attending this workshop, though it’s not my first time at Hollins. I graduated from Hollins with a BA in English and creative writing (many moons ago), and so it’s been a fun yet strange experience being back on the campus after so many years.

The scenic Hollins campus

The scenic Hollins campus

I’ve attended writers’ conferences and other workshops before, but never a week-long event. Classes are in the morning, then a short seminar after lunch, and the afternoon and evening are for reading, writing, going for walks, open mic readings, and whatever else you want. It’s wonderful to be away from the bustle of everyday life for a few days, on the quiet scenic university campus, and surrounded by like-minded writers. Continue reading →

Strong Women of Fantasy – Aravis, from The Chronicles of Narnia

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A couple of months ago I wrote a post about Glinda the Good Witch (and other female characters) from L. Frank Baum’s Oz series (the books, not so much the Wizard of Oz movie). I discussed why I thought Glinda was a strong female character – an actual woman of strength, not just a tough, masculine character in a woman’s body.

In today’s world, readers and movie-goers want strong, well-rounded female characters in their stories, not just beautiful damsels in distress or rough-and-tough chicks who want to be one of the guys. There are a lot of popular characters right now that I could point to for my examples, but instead I’m going to continue with the thread started by Glinda, and discuss not only a lesser-known character, but a not-so modern one.

Aravis of Calormen

Aravis Tarkheena

Aravis Tarkheena

The Chronicles of Narnia (written a good 60+ years ago, in case you didn’t know) features several strong female characters, most notably the sisters Lucy and Susan Pevensie, who with their brothers, first find their way into Narnia via a wardrobe. Continue reading →

A Glossary of Writerly Jargon

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If you’re new (or even not so new) to the world of writing, you may have discovered that us writerly folks have our own jargon. Even if you’re not a writer, if you’re an avid reader you’ve probably associated with enough writers (and/or literary critics) to have heard some odd terms being tossed about. So I thought I’d help you out with this small starter list of writerly words and abbreviations. This is by no means a comprehensive glossary – I’ve just tried to pick some of the most common or weird-sounding terms.

WIP

This stands for Work in Progress. A short story in its first draft or a novel in its third draft is a WIP if it’s unpublished and the author is still working on it.

MC

MC stands for Main Character. There are a lot of other terms to define character types (like protagonist, anti-hero) and one of these may or may not be the main character. But if you’re reading about a writer or a book and you see “MC,” it just means Main Character. Continue reading →

Five Questions to Help You Create a Fictional Culture

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If you’re a fantasy or sci-fi writer, then you’ve probably tried your hand at creating fantastic creatures and aliens of all sorts. But inventing convincing aliens or fairy-tale creatures involves more than just coming up with cool looks or inhuman superpowers. If all you need for your story is just a scary monster or creepy creature, that’s fine – but if you want an actual alien race or people-group for a fantasy world, then you need more than just the basics of creature traits.

Here are five questions that you can ask yourself as you’re inventing people, cultures, races, and creatures for your fantasy/sci-fi stories. Continue reading →