The Blog

Motivating yourself to finishing your writing project is always a huge way to make progress, and - you guessed it, get that project finished. In fact, this doesn't necessarily have to just apply to the writing aspect of life - you can use certain things to motivate yourself to finish reading a book, deep-cleaning a messy room, completing school, etc. Anything you need to get done, really! Today, I'll be focusing on 10 things you can do to motivate yourself to finish that writ

You know, with as much as I love reading short stories, I really should start hosting more short story contests. Which got me thinking, why not do a yearly one? (Yes, I've only hosted one so far, and that was a year ago lol). Which also means, it's about due time I host another one! *much excitement* And the best part? This year, it has a theme! That said, to enter, your short story must be based off this prompt: Your character is following a strange, handwritten recipe found

Autumn is my favorite season. I don't know what it is, but the chill in the air, the cozy sweaters, and the pumpkin spice are a few reasons why I love autumn. And let's not mention writing! Long days with a pen and paper, scribbling ideas down in the chilly fall air. Gotta love it. I've put together a list of 20 autumn-themed writing prompts which you can find below. Feel free to use the ideas, edit the prompts for ideas more fitting to your WIP, or whatever you wish! These

It's that time of year again. With school starting back up, youth group, and many extracurricular activities, it can be hard to find the...

If you're like me, then you cringe at the word "villain". And if you're really like me, then the only reason you cringe at it is because when you were younger, the first time you heard the word villain was in a cartoon where the antagonist was whiny, annoying, and overall stupid. Thus, my detest for the word villain was born. But what is a villain, really? A villain is your story's antagonist — the bad guy, basically. He's trying to undo (or stop) everything the protagonist

Creating character arcs can be tough. Especially if you're a beginning writer and there are hundreds (if not thousands) of articles, books, and podcasts on developing your characters. It can be overwhelming. My hope for this post is that it breaks down the character arc process into a simpler, easier frame. That said, let's dive in! What is a character arc? When I started writing, I had no idea what a character arc was. In fact, I had never heard of this term before. Then one

Does anyone here struggle with making their characters realistic? Or does your character just seem to fall flat on the page? Well, today I have six tips for you that I'm hoping will help. This is the first of a three – part blogging series on characters , so stay tuned! Tip 1: Personality Ah, yes, personality. The number one thing that makes each character different from one another, just like people in real life. We each have our own personality: what makes us different, th

As writers, it’s not uncommon for us to deal with that one common enemy—burnout. I have experienced this multiple times, especially after writing for longer periods of time, such as during Crazy Writing Week. And every time burnout hits me, it can be hard to find the motivation to pick up my pen, or type away at the keyboard. But we can’t let burnout win. If we do, it will swallow us whole until we’re too lazy to write anymore, or ideas just don’t flow. Burnout is an enemy, a

This is a short story I wrote back in May, and I thought I'd share it with you all! (yes, I realize it's almost been a year since then... agh but HOW is that possible?!) Anyway, I hope you enjoy! <3 ~*~ The wrinkled skin is just the beginning of the transformation. We just always leave the water too early. ~*~ "Mermaids aren't real." Jess tossed in her bed, whispering the words that had haunted her the past five hours. Mermaids aren't real... mermaids aren't real... she clos

Have you been wanting to write more but are in a rut? Do you just need a burst of motivation to get you going? Well, friends, I have just...

With Christmas rolling around, I thought it'd be a fun idea to do a post featuring gift ideas for readers and writers. Who knows, maybe...

Hey readers! Today I'm going to cover a topic that has been weighing on me heavily for some time now: as a Christian writer, is it okay to write about magic in stories? To start us off, I would like to point out how common magic is in books--and movies--these days. Note that I'm talking about the fantasy genre. Almost every fantasy book I've read seems to have a touch of magic in it. In fact, my novel, Where the Tunnel Ends, has the slightest touch of it. But is that bad? I

Hey everyone! A while back I saw some other young author bloggers doing this, and I thought I would give it a try! (I've been looking...

Writers block. We've all been there. In fact, I was dealing with it just last week, and I can tell you, it's no fun. That moment when you sit down to write, and all motivation vanishes. It sucks--it really does. But guess what? It doesn't have to be that way! We're writers. We don't give up easily. And we definitely don't let writers block stop us from writing those stories we need to tell. Today I'm here with some tips to help overcome writers' block. Let's dive in! First of

I'm gonna be honest--I didn't know what I was going to post today. I had lots of ideas, but none of them seemed... right. So finally, I decided on something: How to create the perfect writing space. Which is what we will discuss today😃 *** Where Do You Like to Write? To create the perfect writing space, you first need to figure out where you like to write. In your bedroom? At the kitchen table? Outside? For me, there are two main places where I write: in my bedroom, or on th

Coming up with character names can be hard, especially for that one special character of yours. Which is why today I'm here with some tips for naming your characters! *** Going On A Drive: Yep, you heard me right! Going on a drive can provide lots of inspiration. A lot of street signs have names you can use or mix up the letters a little. Just remember to bring and notebook and a pen (or pencil, but personally I prefer a pen). Because, if your out in the middle of no

Welcome to Rivers of Words! If you’re here, then you’re probably a writer. Or someone who dreams of writing. Maybe you’re even a...