Writing tips often focus on the technical aspects of becoming a better writer. And sometimes the abstract. But what is often overlooked is the practical precursor—curiosity. Writing is more than getting words down in the correct order to tell a compelling story. Most of us don’t open a blank...

Writing advice is never absolute. It often changes with circumstances and sometimes, like now, it’s a straight up contradiction. Of course you’re going to hide information. If the reader already knows what will happen, there’s no incentive to keep reading. Even when the reader expects the ending, like with...

What does this image have to do with writing? It’s a good visualization of a basic story structure. Let’s break it down. The colored balls are stationary representing the status quo. This is what the day to day life is for your main character at the beginning of the...

I wanted to love Amazon’s Wheel of Time TV Series. The previews made the show look so exciting. Magic, great cast, adventure – it had me counting down the days. So much so, I picked up the first book, “Eye of the World,” in preparation. Having only read the...

The most commonly accepted writing advice is reading more will help you become a better writer. Most writers are naturally drawn to reading. For a lot of us, it’s why we want to be writers. Just like people in the film industry like to watch movies, we love to...

I often ask myself if I should give up writing. It mostly happens in moments of feeling down, which strike at random. A wound opens up, and I ask myself, am I good enough to keep going? Is it all just a waste of time? This feeling also rears...

I first heard about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) 13 years ago when I came across Chris Baty’s book “No Plot, No Problem.” I wasn’t a plotter at the time and the idea of sitting down and letting the novel flow out of me was intriguing. And the idea...

We’ve talked about When to Give Feedback, How to Give Feedback, now let’s talk about how to receive it. Out of all three, this is the hardest, but a necessity on the path to improvement. We learn so much from feedback. But it’s not always natural at first. I’ve...

I had an epiphany while writing the blog post about imposter syndrome. The last section about believing compliments made me think about the first time imposter syndrome showed up in my life. I can’t believe this connection just popped into my head. It was a compliment that made me...

Suspense/Mystery/Thriller The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse 380 pages. Penguin Random House The setup for The Sanatorium was so promising. British detective Elin and her boyfriend, Will, travel to the Swiss Alps for her estranged brother’s engagement party. Her goal is to confront him about their little brother’s mysterious death...