How does one read a book the right way? Are there certain practices and behaviors that are often disrespectful of a book or the author? I would say yes. This is all in a half-joking manner, but there are truly some things that I think we should remember when reading a book. Judge Every Book … Continue reading Book Etiquette: Reading the Right Way
As a writer and weaver of stories, one of my favorite things to do is create characters. I love writing characters more than writing their dialogue, explaining a world, or even creating a plot. Building a character makes you feel like you're making a whole new person. Often, when you've finished, it's hard to believe … Continue reading Creating a Main Character for Your Novel
Recently I had a short argument on Twitter with an author who was detailing her experiences with sexism in the writing and publishing sphere. Obviously, I don't know her specific story and I couldn't tell you much about her. But what set me off of her hashtag and following was the obsession with identity and … Continue reading An Introduction to Identity Politics
I am publishing a novel. It's called The Fantastical Journey of Gavryn Wickert, and it's about a boy who finds himself in another world and must take part in a battle against a cruel Queen's dictatorship. As adventurous as that sounds, it's really more about his internal battle and the relationships he builds. I finished it at 2:02 … Continue reading An Update on My Novel
I am a dreamer. I don't mean that I sit for hours, hoping to have something in the future, or even that I have a lot of dreams. I mean that I think about a lot of things most people don't care to give thought to. Most of us are burdened down with our wants … Continue reading Think Outside of Your Universe
In the last few decades, liberals have done a pretty good job of making conservatives look bad. It doesn't matter that we fought against slavery and kept this country unified in the 1800s. It doesn't matter that we gave women the right to vote in 1872. It doesn't matter that we elected the first female … Continue reading Why I’m a Conservative
I can feel Summer coming. I love Winter. I really like all the seasons, except Spring, but I don't really believe in Spring. I think that, as soon as I can smell Summer in the air, it's Summer. And, as much as I love Winter... when I smell Summer, my thoughts will be for no … Continue reading Summer
As a writer of fantasy, one must learn to understand how magic works and the different theories of its use. If you let the characters in your book or short story run around inventing magic out of thin air, their power will be completely boundless and it will become incredibly unrealistic, because, as we all … Continue reading Magic Theory
Note: It took me about a month to realize I wrote two blog posts with the same name and (pretty much) the same content. They even begin with the same sentence! So, I'm adding "continued" to this title because it came second, and I'm leaving them both up because they do say a few unique … Continue reading How to Write Your First Novel (Continued!)
You probably heard someone say that they were tired today. Or maybe you told someone you were tired today. The reason this is so easy to predict is because people are constantly letting everyone know how tired they are. This is what I call Tiredness Culture. And (not to blame teens for everything) young people are even more prone … Continue reading Tiredness Culture: What it is and How You Can Fight It
