Let’s see what this week’s flash fiction challenge is, I think as I open my email. Chuck Wendig’s charge is this: write an essay about why you write. Huh. Okay. So I wasn’t going to write this one. I’ve sort of answered this question in author interviews and in casual conversation. What more can I…
If you plan to publish a novel, at some point you’ll have to write a blurb, whether it’s for a query letter or for the back matter of your book (and perhaps both). It’s that fun thing where you take your novel-length work and smash it into around 250 words that will make it stand out…
A little while back, my friend Dan wrote a post about his muse. I’ve been mentally returning to it since then, mostly because I don’t think I completely understand what a muse is. I know, a writer with a fuzzy muse sounds like a serious and, um, personal problem. I thought I understood the muse…
A couple months ago, I wrote a post about writing relatable characters, where I said readers connect most with characters when the characters interact with the story. I want to expand on that today. Characters have (or should have) personalities. Some authors even create big, detailed charts outlining every detail of their characters – looks, intelligence,…
Last week, the husband and I decided two things: 1. Our deck looks like crap, and 2. If we put forth a little effort and money, we can make it look less like crap. We suspect the deck was constructed by the previous owner. Nothing was pre-fabricated, including the lattice. Imagine two finishing nails at…
In clicking over to read this post, you’re probably wondering what the difference between an A/B and a B/A is. I’ll start by saying it’s more than simple word order. I had an epiphany a few weeks back whilst discussing blogging with another author. He was telling me how blogging felt like a chore, something…
I’m writing this post from here: For those of you keeping score, this is a beach on the big island of Hawaii. I’m not gonna lie. It’s freaking amazing. Neener neener. This time last week, I was here: This was the display at my grandma’s memorial service. What a difference a week makes. Don’t get…
After reading Eclectic Alli’s post for #1000Speak for Compassion, I decided I wanted to participate in this month’s theme: connection. I’m using the term “craft” loosely for the purposes of this post. Consider it “the thing you do for fun and/or to make money”. Hopefully, whatever you do to make money also happens to be fun.…
Last week, I participated in a flash fiction challenge in which I picked two subgenres to mash together into a single short story. I did this using a random number generator and landed on dystopia and erotica. (Read it here if you’re so inclined.) Yep, erotica. As in hormones, blood rushes and naughty bits. I…
Imagine a misfit kid. He’s picked on. The teacher doesn’t like him, and he’s often in trouble. He’s not from around here, so he has difficulty relating to the locals. After many weeks of loneliness, he tries to win the favor of his classmates by providing them with snacks. All is going well until his popcorn machine…
Allison Maruska 