-
Adapting The Hero’s Journey for a Heroine
The hero’s journey (also called the monomyth), outlined by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, identifies common elements in stories from around the world, particularly myths and quest tales. I’ve been fascinated with the concepts Campbell defined since…
-
Jumping into the Rabbit Hole
Since I was a kid, I have always been drawn to the story of Lewis Carroll’s (whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The idea that you could be walking along in a completely ordinary world, and then fall…
-
Read It and Weep (Literally)
This week I killed off my first character, ever. It was difficult – even though I wasn’t super attached to him, I couldn’t help feeling a little guilty. After all, he was a good guy and under different circumstances maybe…
-
7 New Studies on How to Boost Creativity
I don’t know about other writers, but when I hit a mental block, I’ll try just about anything to get past it. And I’m willing to admit that I’m not above looking for an easy answer. After all, if I…
-
What’s Your Writing Research Style?
A few years ago, when I read The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, I was struck by how the depth of his research made his story so appealing. He had obviously deeply studied the legends around the historical buildings and…
-
100,000 Words in 100 Days
Lately I’ve been fighting with myself. There are so many excuses not to write every day – I have a toddler with a virus every other week, a demanding day job, and family and friends that I want to spend…
-
Five Terrifying Young Adult Fantasy Villains
Over the past few weeks I’ve been creating the backstory for the villain of my series, The Conjurors. I want him to be believable, compelling, and frightening. For inspiration, I looked to the masters of young adult fantasy and considered…
Join 900+ subscribers
Stay in the loop with everything you need to know.