Hey there,

This is a really good question, and I hope I’m not the only one who can say that I’ve also struggled with it. I’ve a couple thoughts that hopefully help, but initially, I found this article that I think addresses a lot of what you’re struggling…[Read more]

I haven’t been quite as consistent as I’d hoped, so I’m doubling up on some days to catch up. I’ve found that a number of the prompts flow together really well when I bring them to prayer.

I guess there wasn’t a certain direction any of these prompts were meant to go, but this week especially they’ve been starting points for praise. This…[Read more]

Yayyyyy I’m not alone. XD I don’t think I’m really a panster, since I’m not good a writing on the fly, but I do find out a ton about a scene by writing it. I finish writing it and I think, “oh, that’s how that’s supposed to go. Guess I need to rewrite it and then re-outline everything after it now that I know what it’s…[Read more]

Wow. Thank you so much for all those thoughts. I really appreciate them, especially from someone who has been writing for so long.

I think you caught onto my tendency to plan and then to rush. 😉 The thing is, I’ve written about 12 different novels over about 7 years now. Most of the later ones I’ve outlined, though…[Read more]

Thank you, that’s actually really helpful! I’m dealing with so many details for this story that something small but vital could definitely be off. This is making me begin to wonder if I’m dealing with a problem with my outline or a problem with one of my main plot points… I have some work to do. XD

Thank you so much for your reply! It’s very encouraging to hear that something similar has worked for you. I’m a bit of perfectionist, so it’s difficult for me to let myself write bad outlines. They’re either full or terribly incomplete. I guess no matter what way I do it, this draft isn’t going to be perfect. *sigh* 😉

That’s good food for thought about my Midpoint. In some ways it resembles a bit more of a 3rd plot point, actually… I’ll think on that. Thanks for your thoughts!

I wrote the second draft of my epic fantasy last year. Rewrite might be a better word, since it was radically different from the first draft. I outlined most of it, though the plan for the second half of the book was…[Read more]

Thanks so much for commenting on my concept! No, the Red Watchers are not all bad guys. Part of the reason for their war is that they’ve been running out of food for years and are on the brink of starvation. Because of how I did the worldbuilding, there’s no place for them to escape to without it looking like they’re…[Read more]

Ah, I get it now! That was definitely be a very cool and relevant theme. And yeah… plot bunnies… I know a lot about those. The last draft of my novel (the one I shared the concept for) ended up being 200k because of those annoying little guys.

YESSS. SARCASTIC CHARACTERS RULE. Ahem. I really love them.

That sounds…[Read more]

(heads up to any of my IP friends reading this… there might be spoilers, so beware 😛 )

Concept: epic fantasy stand-alone with a magic system where certain characters can control water or wind. It’s set on the ocean near a giant, end-of-the-world like waterfall that inverts and…[Read more]

Oooh, a portal fantasy! That sounds interesting right away! 😀

I guess my biggest critique is that I’d want to know why 1) the MC is transferred to another world (is one of her parents from there and she doesn’t know it, maybe?), and 2) why the king would send her on the quest. Is there something special about her? What is the…[Read more]

I really like the worldbuilding with the ability-borns! My one thought (and maybe you’ve already done this), is to have a deeper reason for them ending up abusing their powers. Like, some sort of twist to eventually surprise readers and change the direction of the plot and/or affect the main character.

I’m already really…[Read more]

I’ll critique a couple concepts then drop mine in…

Regarding yours, I love the idea of separated twin sisters starting a war between their adoptive families. It seems like there would be a ton of strong conflict in there! It did strike me as a little odd that both books…[Read more]

This is a really cool question! I agree with what others have said, but for me the main factor is whether the character is growing from his stupid decisions. Is he just doing the same thing again and again with no hint of him ever learning to do better? If there’s no indication of future growth and change, then I would give up on a character…[Read more]

I like both but agree that the second one is vague. So what if you combined them?

For instance, what if you took the beginning part of the second one from “You may hate me…” to “I am a hero. They say.” Then put the first blurb starting with the second paragraph (“Exton hunts for redemption”). I say that because the second blurb…[Read more]

“She knew how to wield the simplest weapon against the darkness: a warm meal and a warm smile.”

“Doing good was like holding back the ocean, but he kept trying anyway.”

I’ve had this problem a bit, especially with a family member who reads my stories. I’m told they’re kinda depressing and heavy sometimes.

I’ve found three things are important:

1) Writing the stories we feel called to write. For instance, I have a really hard time writing children’s stories. I just enjoy asking really deep and…[Read more]

As everyone else has said, there are lots of different kinds of…[Read more]

I do have a question: do you think it’s unwise to get alpha reader feedback later in the writing process? For instance, if a story takes a first draft and two significant rewrites to get it where I want it content-wise, are there drawbacks to receiving feedback after I’ve already been through that many…[Read more]

Is this a space opera/fantasy/horror book? xD

Ah, I forgot to add the articles to the title. That’s a little better!

I haven’t actually worked on any yet xD Schoolwork is good, since my trip got pushed back. Hoping to work on editing and the research paper over the weekend!

“Daughter Nightmare Stars.”

Um….? xD

I’d like to see what a book with that title would be like!