Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
Hannah Givens is always a favorite guest blogger at WriteOnSisters, and we’re thrilled she’s back. If you haven’t already done so, follow her wonderful book blog, power packed with great ideas for reading diverse books and authors. And now, take it away Hannah… I love sticky notes, and I’ve used them to organize my thoughts …
Continue reading “Guest Post: How to Use Scapple”
Today we bring back one of our favorite guest bloggers, Cindy McCraw Dircks. We first met Cindy about three years ago and it has been a pleasure to watch her journey from first draft to newly agented writer. It’s extra special for Robin since she was an early beta reader on the very project that …
Continue reading “Guest Post: Writing Sci-Fi”
I’m a newbie to hardcore worldbuilding. Up until recently, I’d only developed stories that took place in the real world. I may have put fantastical creatures in the stories, but the setting was Earth as we know it. Now I’m writing a novel that takes place 100 years in the future, still on Earth, but it …
Continue reading “1 Key Question for Worldbuilding (+ A Handy Checklist)”
Today’s Guest Post is by Rose B. Fischer. We first met Rose about a year ago and were instantly impressed with her creativity and willingness to lend a hand to her fellow writers and bloggers. Her kindness is teamed with a great sense of humor, making her a delightful person to know and a fun …
Continue reading “How Local Culture Inspires Worldbuilding”
Today we bring you a guest post from one of our newer blogging friends, Shawn Griffith. Shawn runs a blog called Down Home Thoughts, and his site is packed with old-fashioned wit and wisdom. He’s on WriteOnSisters to talk about character, a topic near and dear to his heart. In fact he’s conducting a survey …
Continue reading “Do Your Characters have Character?”
Most writers don’t naturally possess the best skills for a life of crime. We can’t crack a safe. We don’t have a clue how to forge documents. And we wouldn’t feel comfortable holding a gun, let alone pointing it at another human. That’s why research is often our best friend. The moment I decided to …
Continue reading “Throwing Open the Vault: Tips for Writing a Heist”
My debut novel, WIVES OF LUCIFER, has been through many incarnations since the first draft, almost as many as my young protagonist, but one aspect has remained stable: the setting. In this story, I invented alternate world concepts for what many would call Heaven and Hell and struggled mightily with taking the traditional concepts for …
Continue reading “Originality: Building the Unique World”
I happen to love architecture, I always have. I’m one of those strange people who measures time by my landmark acquisitions. However, I believe anyone can learn to write about structures (from castles, to space stations, to huts) by asking themselves a few simple questions about how they want to use the building in the …
Continue reading “Navigating Architectural Spaces in your Fiction: From Apse to Ziggurat:”
The principles of choosing and researching a real world location for your fictional setting follows the same rules regardless of the genre. So contemporary writers listen up, someone out there knows more about the downtrodden civic center you’ve picked as the setting for your new novel than you do. So if you don’t want the …
Continue reading “Misty Moors and Bloody Battlements: The Rules of Setting”