Category: Writing
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Realm Makers 2024
Every year, my experience at Realm Makers is different, which makes sense because I’m in a different place in my writing journey each time. Last year, the main thing I came away from Realm Makers with was encouragement to write. This year, my takeaway was a sense of community and belonging. It’s kind of funny—people sort…
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Keep Writing
Sometimes you have to write the wrong words first. We’ve all heard you can’t edit a blank page. And that’s true. So put the words on the paper. Don’t think about how the characters are flat, the action unrealistic, and the setting bland. Don’t stop because you’ll probably end up cutting most of the words. …
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Writing Resource: WordCounter
It is tragically funny how many words and phrases I overuse while drafting. A substantial amount of my line editing is deleting those repeatitive weasel words. And one of my favorite tools for finding my overused words is WordCounter. WordCounter is a free program that you can paste your writing into. It then gives you…
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Your Old Writing
It’s okay to like your old writing. It’s okay to not like your old writing. Sometimes I read my old writing, and it’s pure cringe. For instance, I once had a character talk aloud to themself so I could explain the worldbuiling. However, that was by my twelve-year-old self, who hadn’t studied anything about the…
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Surrender Your Dreams
It’s hard to watch someone else live your dream. Maybe it’s a book contract, an agent, an opportunity, a job. It can be so hard to watch someone else get what you’ve longed and strived for. I know—I’ve wrestled with those flashes of envy and the accompanying discouragement. But you are exactly where you are…
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Fight for Your Story
Sometimes the person you have to fight with hardest for your writing is yourself. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my current WIP, it’s how to fight for my writing with myself. A year ago, I was literally *this* close to shelving this project and possibly giving up on writing altogether. I was burned…
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Don’t Let Your Editorial Letter Be Your First Experience with Edits
Last October, I sent in my manuscript for my first professional content edit, and received my editorial letter back in December. Like probably almost every writer, I was scared and nervous about it all. But there’s one thing I did that prepared me for the feedback—and no, it wasn’t eating ice cream and chocolate (believe…
Hailey Huntington 