Noah Litle

Hey folks,

We’ve got a new guild war. This could be a good lesson in worldbuilding for speculative, historical, or contemporary authors…pretty much anybody.

Prompt: write a story in which two cultures clash.

@piperbee @gabriellepollack @ethryndal @corissa @raemarie @bama-rose @kate @r-m-archer @literatureforthelight @j-parkhurst @gabbyj @cassa…[Read more]

Okay, folks, I want to talk about VILLAINS.

(Wow, so surprising.)

I was wondering why some villains have the power to terrify us while others are more like a tired and sarcastic uncle in background. I see lots and lots of complex & sympathetic baddies (Kylo Ren, Loki), and tons of deranged psychos (Thanos, Mother Gothel, the White Witch), but…[Read more]

Hey guys!

Three announcements concerning New Wessex.

1. I know sometimes community building, brainstorming, etc can be difficult on a forum. So I’m going to run an experiment. I’m going to create a group chat. You guys vote. It could be Facebook, it could be Hangouts. We’ll see how it goes. 😛

2. The guilds as a whole have decided to stop doing…[Read more]

Hey Saxon Scribes!

At long last, the prompt war is back. This one should be interesting:

Write a mystery.

@piperbee @gabriellepollack @ethryndal @corissa @raemarie @bama-rose @kate @r-m-archer @literatureforthelight @j-parkhurst @gabbyj @cassandraia @chalice @noahlitle @julianne @germaine-han @sesi @r-j-karas @rosemarylouise @msqueen8 @eden-anderson

Dealing with multiple ideas

Most writers have more story ideas than they know what to do with. If you’re in this boat, you need to know how to cut through the clutter and make the right decisions. Here are a few things I’ve learned that have helped me.

Write everything down

Writing your story ideas down cements them in your brain. You’ll be ab…[Read more]

Hey Saxon Scribes,

As you’ve noticed, activity has been pretty low here. Same with the other guilds.

That’s fine if everyone’s busy, but if it’s just because the guilds weren’t attractive enough…

Well, we should do something about that then.

After talking it over with some of the other SE staff. We have an idea. This isn’t a premade…[Read more]

Hey guys! I want my writing family’s input on something writing-related.

You ready for it?

Women in fiction. Particularly in fantasy, where so many of them take on combat roles or other roles commonly filled by men, in the name of offering ‘strong female role models’.

What do you think about this trend? While I was thinking about this I start…[Read more]

Greetings Saxon Scribes,

I’m really excited about this new prompt war because I think it’ll be a great learning experience and result in some wonderful submissions.

Our goal is to write a story where we bring out the beauty of something ordinary in the middle of a very dramatic setting.

Unfortunately, I’ll be out of state during much of this,…[Read more]

Hey guys! What’s up?

This week, Jane, Faith, and I (Jane was the main one) worked on putting together a brief overview of the differences between traditional and self-publishing. I know a lot of you are curious about it, so check it out. 😀

@piperbee @gabriellepollack @ethryndal @corissa @raemarie @bama-rose @kate @r-m-archer @literatureforthelig…[Read more]

Hey guys, we haven’t just checked in on each other in a while.

So how are you doing? What’s motivating you to write these days and what’s keeping you back?

@piperbee @gabriellepollack @ethryndal @corissa @raemarie @bama-rose @kate @r-m-archer @literatureforthelight @j-parkhurst @gabbyj @cassandraia @chalice @noahlitle @julianne @germaine-han @ses…[Read more]

Hey guys!

Writing outside has been a wonderful experience for me, and I wanted to sell you on the idea. 🙂

~~~~~

Why to write outside

I’m writing this post outside. The sun is shining, and some trees provide shade. The stream is full and bubbling and a wind stirs the leaves.

Have I convinced you yet? Write outside!

But to elaborate m…[Read more]

So, I’m afraid I made a big mistake. I could use some recommendations (see below).

I have this free book I give to people who join my email list (see here: http://thescratchingquill.com/the-golden-ziggurat/). I’m planning to experiment with paid ads, driving traffic to that page. When people subscribe, I’ll market them a book. The hope is that…[Read more]

Hey guys,

Let’s do something RADICAL.

(That’s what Saxon Scribes do. Am I right?)

Let’s write a story in second person!

They say you can’t do it. They say don’t do it.

I’m like, “What are they trying to hide? 2nd person must be amazing!”

Anyway, I’m willing to give it a try. That’s what our newest prompt war is about: write a story in second…[Read more]