Once you have a grasp of grammar basics, how sentences are put together, arguably all you need to do to become a writer is 1) read a lot, and 2) write a lot. You don’t need a college degree or an MFA, you don’t need to take writing classes or go to workshops. You can learn writing simply by doing it. Traditional wisdom holds that you will have to write about a million words of crap […]
Tag Archives | Resources
New Year’s Resolutions: How To Make Them Stick!
Inspiration, Writing Life
It’s that time of year, and most of us jump in every January with a pile of new resolutions. Then, in December, most of us remember them with a guilty start, and wish we’d done better. It’s okay to admit it—you’re in a judgement free zone! So, how do we do better? How do we make sure the resolutions we make in January actually impact our lives in 2015? At the bottom of this post […]
Five Tumblrs for Writers
Inspiration, Writing Life
When I first joined Tumblr in 2009, I recognized it as a paradise for fandom–practically every fandom under the sun. I was a refugee from Livejournal, looking for a little corner of the internet that was–then at least–a little quieter. What I didn’t expect, though, was for it to provide invaluable writing resources as well. Over the years, I’ve slowly gathered a list of writing-related Tumblr blogs that I read if not every day, at […]
Space Camp: The Final Frontier
Inspiration, Writing Life
A couple of weeks ago, I was thrilled to participate in one of the most exciting and memorable things I’ve ever done: the Launch Pad Astronomy Workshop. Dubbed a “space camp for writers,” it brings together established writers, editors, and creators for an intensive, week-long crash course in astronomy: basically a semester’s worth of Astronomy 101 classes in seven days. It was breathtaking (literally—it takes place in Laramie, Wyoming, about 7,100 feet above sea level), mind-blowing, and, […]
Every Book is Different
Beginner Resources, Writing Life
I love reading about authors’ writing processes. Even though I’ve been writing for a long time and publishing for a little while, I still read blog posts and books on writing all the time. I look forward to interviews that ask authors about how they wrote and revised their books. And occasionally I’m asked, “What’s your writing process?” As it turns out, there’s no simple answer to that question. The first thing you realize when […]