“You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.” ― Octavia E. Butler
Find your voice. That is probably the most common piece of advice every writer is given. To me, voice is defined by genre. The writers we love fall into specific genres, (unless they’re just unusually talented and can write across multiple platforms). I have finally found mine. Here’s how I did it. A Major Discovery…
Bella had never seen her brother Billy so inconsolable. She kept holding his hand and rubbing his shoulder and never left his side at the funeral. She watched his face as they lowered his best friend into the ground. She couldn’t remember a time in her life when Billy and Ricky weren’t together. They were…
Writers are always looking for new creative opportunities. Finding places to submit your work is overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be any more. What if I told you there is one website with thousands of opportunities to submit your creative work. It’s true. Whether you write poems, short stories, books, screenplays, or music (yes,…
Bella woke up to the smell of bacon cooking and muffled voices laughing. Her stomach made a rumbling noise letting her know it was ready to be fed. She looked around and realized she was back in her old bedroom. The muffled voices were Lenny and her parents. She pulled the covers back and sat…
Something unexpected happened to me when I joined an online writing challenge last year. The rules of the challenge were simple: you’re given a writing prompt, a word count, and one month to come up with a story. Simple enough. On the due date, you submit your story and then you have to give feedback…
Bella couldn’t believe she was on her way back home again. Almost a decade passed since she left home. She had become so adept at making excuses about not going back to Connecticut that her parents made trips to Illinois when they wanted to see her. She was lost in thought watching the fields of…
Writers. We don’t choose the calling, it chooses us. We process our world with words. We are people watchers. We find wonder in ordinary, every day things and turn them into stories. We create entire worlds with our minds. But there are a lot of things that keep us from staying committed to the craft….
“Funeral or not, I’m not going back home…now or ever again.” Bella pulled another handful of grass from the ground and placed it on her thigh. “So…that’s it? You’re turning your back on everything you’ve ever known? And stop pulling up the grass, you’re gonna leave a bare spot,” said Lenny. She brushed the grass…
To become a successful writer you need two things: credibility and a reading audience. If you’re an emerging writer like myself you may not know where to begin. Performing a search on either of these topics can leave you feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. But I found a few things that can help. #1: Free Online…
The people who annoy us the most in our youth are usually the people we end up having the most admiration for, sometimes we just need a little help appreciating them. Amos has lived on the corner of Fifth Street and Franklin place for more than fifty years. He’s seen more than his fair share…