Time and calendar world building mostly applies to the fantasy and science fiction genres. But this is a brief and informative post, so hopefully you’ll find it useful beyond those. Calendars Calendars are not just days, months, and years, they include holidays. Canadian and American Thanksgiving, multiple dates for Easter, Chinese New Year, Labor Day,… Read More World Building 103: Calendars and Time
This is a follow up to my World Building 101 post. They don’t need to be read in order; the 101, 102, and 103 distinctions were simply the easiest way to differentiate the posts. Two things to keep in mind that will always improve your world building: There is good and bad in everything Everything has… Read More World Building 102
World building entails many different things, and those things vary from genre to genre and manuscript to manuscript. While some world building advice is universal, other bits are not. This is the first post in a series about world building. I hope to keep them all brief and to the point, but let me know… Read More World Building 101
There are all kinds of writers in this world with different preferences about how, how often, and how much to write in one sitting. While there is nothing wrong with taking your time while you write, if you want to write faster, here are some helpful tips for doing so. They might not all work for you,… Read More How to Write Your Manuscript Faster
Generally, there are two extremes for how writers go about writing. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase ‘plotter or pantser’ and wondered what it meant. Basically, a plotter (or a planner) plans before they write, while a pantser “flies by the seat of their pants,” doing little to no planning. For a quick look at the… Read More Should You Plan Your Manuscript?
Time for an all inclusive look at sharing your writing with others. Topics that will be covered: Why to Share Your Writing, How to Share Your Writing, and Results of Sharing Your Writing. Why to Share Your Writing Letting others read your manuscript for the first time can be scary. Maybe you’re nervous that other… Read More Sharing Your Manuscript
I’m sipping coffee and considering grabbing a handful of vegan marshmallows to munch on while I drink (because gelatin [extracted from the skin, bones, and connective tissues of animals such as cattle, chicken, pigs, and fish] is disgusting). I will probably write this morning. I will definitely continue outlining the new story idea I came up with… Read More Coffee and Marshmallows
I read an incredibly awful book earlier this week. I had a blog post all lined up in my mind about it (don’t worry, it’s the second part of this post). But then I read a really good book, and now I have more things to say. Judging by the title and cover of the… Read More Wisdom from Good and Bad Books
I’ve been binge reading this January. I’ve read nine books so far: seven fantasy, one historical romance, and one romantic suspense (which I originally thought was mystery/suspense). You can check me out on Goodreads and be my friend if you want to know the titles of the books I read. I only plan to mention one of them by name in… Read More What Reading can Teach you about Writing
For starters, let me prove that I have written 40,000 words in ten days. My NaNoWriMo stats are: To be 100% transparent, I had a bad writing day Wednesday after the election and only got about 850 words written. In a world where those extenuating circumstances didn’t exist or happened in a different month, I would easily have been… Read More How to Write 40k Words in 10 Days
R.Q. Woodward 