So, recently I’ve been watching and reading a lot of murder mysteries. It’s a fall thing really. When the weather gets colder and the cafes start serving pumpkin spice latte, I like to curl up with a good murder mystery.  You’ll see more of that in this month’s reading list.  Anyway, the point is, I like murder mysteries. But I’ve never written them before. I’m not sure I could, to be honest. At least right now anyway. I’m way too involved with my own manuscript to think of anything else at the moment. But just because I’m not writing a murder mystery, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t either. And help…

To quote Chuck Shurley from Supernatural: “Endings are hard. Any chapped-*** monkey with a keyboard can **** out a beginning, but endings are impossible. You try to tie up every loose end, but you never can. The fans are always gonna *****. There’s always gonna be holes. And since it’s the ending, it’s all supposed to add up to something. I’m telling you, they’re a raging pain in the ***.” And yes, I was a Supernatural fan in my teens (part of the SuperWhoLock part of Tumblr). We’re keeping it PG for the kids right now. In case there’s any here. But the point is, writing endings can be difficult.…

I’ve hit a bit of a writer’s block recently with the romantic subplot of my manuscript, especially since I’ve been recommended to write a slow burn love triangle. And it’s led me down this road where every scene I write reminds me of Twilight. The movie, not the book. Now, as a writer, I’d love the frenzy around the whole “Team Edward/Team Jacob” debacle, but I don’t want to write stuff that would make you cringe. I mean, I guess sometimes you can’t help it. I personally adored Edward Cullen and hated Jacob. But my inclination towards Edward may or may not have to do with the fact that he…

I’ve started submitting some prose to literary magazines recently and as usual, I kept running into the same problem: the word count. In my guide on how to write a short story, I talked about how to structure and write a short story. I also briefly mentioned flash fiction, as a type of a short story. And well, this is the blog about it. We’re going to talk about flash fiction, and how you can write it. It’s super popular with most indie literary magazines and if you’re an up-and-coming writer, it’s a great way to start fine-tuning your writing and building your portfolio. So, let’s get started! What Exactly…

Writing a short story sounds simple…until you’re 6,000 words deep with no ending in sight. Trust me, I’ve been there. And even though I have a few publications under my belt, I still struggle to write short stories.  Or used to, before I got super focused on my manuscript and lost any interest in any other form of fiction writing. But recently (and that’s probably because I suck at writing romance anything), I’ve hit a wall with my manuscript. And it’s the summer, and it’s a slow time at the office, so I’ve been thinking about getting back into writing short stories again. So, in this blog, I’m going to…

In case you missed it, I just wrapped up my June reading list, and a common denominator in the four great books I read this month was subtext. Seriously, when done right, subtext in writing can be an incredibly powerful tool to make your story seem more alive. If you have no idea what I’m talking about (and that’s totally fine), think of it this way. Have you ever read a story where characters feel very, very realistic? Where their true feelings and motivations just seemed to simmer beneath the surface? Well, that’s subtext.  And if you use it correctly, it can do wonders. So, without wasting any time, let’s…

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been talking about writing anti-heroes and villains (if you haven’t checked those blogs out, I highly recommend it). So, this week I thought it would only make sense to talk a bit about morally grey characters. Characters who aren’t evil or rebellious on purpose—but still make you uneasy. Or at the very least, question if they’re making the right decision, or make you ask yourself: would I have done anything different? Think Victoria Neuman from The Boys, or Zuko during the Ba Sing Se arc in Avatar: The Last Airbender. We’re talking about characters who have the potential to be right, do the…

Last week, I wrote a blog on writing anti-heroes, so naturally, this week’s blog had to be on writing villains. Villains are interesting, to say the least. I personally like them, especially if they’re written well, or played by Benedict Cumberbatch.  Side Note: Did you SEE him in Star Trek? It’s been over a decade and god, he was good. But my affinity to Benedict Cumberbatch aside, villains can be fun to write—if you write them correctly. I guess the real challenge with writing villains is just how easy it is to make them cartoony. And this isn’t an uncommon problem or anything. Sometimes, I have a really good hero…

I don’t know about you, but I do love myself a nicely written anti-hero. Seriously. I spent my teens fangirling over Loki and Sherlock. Yes, I am that person. No, I didn’t end up developing  a weirdly parasocial relationship with Tom Hiddleston or Benedict Cumberbatch.  I kind of grew out of it. But it did help me when I started dating in college. Of course, don’t tell that to my mother. As far as she’s concerned, I spent every waking hour pouring over my mechanical engineering coursework, and the only reason I didn’t pick up the phone that one week in May in 2019 is because I was studying for…

Let’s be honest, characters are the beating heart of any story. In fact, writers spend a lot of hours developing their personalities, their motivations, their desires and so on. And that’s great; you should probably know what your characters’ roles will be in your story. But once you’ve figured that out, the crucial next step is to introduce your characters in a way that captivates your audience. From the very first encounter. It doesn’t have to be fantastical. It just needs to be right. Because here’s the thing: just as in real life, first impressions are everything in fiction.  A strong character introduction will not only hook readers but also…