Archive for the ‘The Craft of Writing’ Category

What to Write When You’re Not Writing

by Gargi Mehra

Writing when you’re in full flow is like living a dream. Who doesn’t love that feeling when the words spill out faster than you can type them? If you’re old school, the scratch of the pen as it flies over the pages struggles to keep pace with your thoughts.

The reverse scenario keeps writers awake at night.

Forming Practice from Passion

By Michael Michel

Regardless of where you end up on the journey known as being a writer, my guess is you want to enjoy the experience. Here’s my recommendation: focus more on the crafter than the craft. As the crafter, you are the instrument through which creativity flows and stories are shared with the world. If you want to be successful, start writing the story you’d love for yourself, first.

10 Reasons to Romanticize the Donkey

by Barbara E. Hill

Because of this diminutive rose-colored darling I learned a lot about life, relationships, and especially about writing.

“But… wait, what? Writing?” you ask. “A donkey taught you about writing?”

Surviving Times of Stagnation

by Paul Jessup

It will probably happen to you. Almost every career for a professional writer hits a snag at some point. Usually after a huge burst of activity and a feeling of momentum, of going somewhere. It comes out of nowhere, out of left field.

Building Worlds with SFWA

by Jeffe Kennedy

It’s apropos that “Lonen’s War,” book one in my Fantasy Romance series, “Sorcerous Moons,” is featured in the first SFWA Fantasy StoryBundle. That’s because the fantastically smart and helpful folks in SFWA helped me out with a worldbuilding challenge.

The Voodoo of Research

by Tim Susman

Since it’s fall and ghosts are in the air, I thought it might be a good time to talk about my research into vodou/voodoo, the religion and spiritual practices that coalesced on Haiti among the African slaves there and spread to America, most commonly and famously in New Orleans (for the purposes of this article, I use “vodou” to refer to the Haitian religion and “voodoo” to refer to the New Orleans practices).

On Writing of a Different Culture

by Douglas Smith

Eventually, I came to understand these stories were transcribed from versions people remembered being told when they were young or used to tell their children. Story telling was an oral tradition.