40 Writing Prompts to Inspire Your Short Fiction

Every once in a while when navigating the waters of writing inspiration, I'll find myself lost in a murky patch, unable to come up with anything worthy of the page. Practicing one's craft is essential, but too often we find ourselves void of ideas or inspiration, leaving us with nothing of substance to write about....

Worldbuilding: When to Stop

So, while I've enjoyed talking productivity and reading habits pretty continuously over the past month or so, I feel that I've gotten a bit burnt out over the topic and am ready for a shift. Worry not, for we will return to those things---just not today. Today, I'd like to harken back to a sort...

Writing with Clarity

Greetings! Today I'd like to talk to you about an aspect of writing that I've had a hard time with recently, and that I know others struggle with, but that I believe there is a clear solution to. I've recently been reading Dæmon Voices, a collection of essays on writing by the English author Philip...

Science Fiction: A Genre Study

Greetings! Today I’ll be discussing the great genre of science fiction, providing examples of the genre at work, and examining its various applications. The goal here is to give you a better understanding of the genre, and perhaps some inspiration for your own stories set within it.  Primary subgenres A difference should be mentioned here:...

Overcoming Writer’s Block

Writers talk about writer's block a lot. It's a question nearly every author gets asked—how do you deal with writer's block? How did you beat it? It's an issue that, it seems, penetrates every writing community, and the question of how to overcome it is one that no person, book, or google search has yet...

Worldbuilding—Nations and Cultures

Worldbuilding—the act of creating a fictional setting, usually for fantasy—is something that has always fascinated me. The possibilities are endless: your world can vary from our own, it can have its own weather patterns, geographical features, species, and nations. Worldbuilding is a creative art, and it presents no limit. However, there are certain aspects of...

Online Resources for Writers

In my time searching for advice concerning writing fiction, several online resources have fulfilled and exceeded my expectations. I'll list several of those here, along with others recommended and spoken of throughout the writing community. Brandon Sanderson's Lectures: Sanderson's YouTube lecture series has proved invaluable in my quest for writing advice. He posts them completely...

The Handmaid’s Tale: A Study in Dystopian Worldbuilding

Recently I finished Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, and it got me thinking about the role of dystopias in fiction and worldbuilding in general. Atwood's futuristic dystopia features a totalitarian regime that has taken control of a failing United States. The new state enforces rigid social roles, enslaving its inhabitants and providing only bare essentials...

Sensory Details in Writing

In writing anything fiction—a short story, a novel, what have you—it is important to keep in mind the significance of utilizing sensory details for the benefit of the reader. Even if your plot is centered around something far outside the realm of perception—and please enlighten me if this is your plan—you'll still want to try...

You need to read if you want to write

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”—Stephen King Too often, a fledgling writer will acquire the mindset of "no use reading, that's just wasting time when I should be writing! " Or it will go something like that. While the logic is...