by Teagan Berry

There are countless social media sites out on the internet, each of them offering us different means to share our thoughts and life with other people. For authors, social media can help us out in many different ways. Book promotion, connecting with fans, networking with other authors… and that’s just to name a few.

A little while ago I was introduced to a site called Pinterest by a fellow author and let me tell you, I will be forever grateful to her for it. In this post, along with another one I shall be putting up in a couple days, I hope to give you a few reasons why I believe Pinterest is so useful for authors. Right now, I’m going to focus on the private side of Pinterest, and what it can do for you and your specific writing.

Continue reading Why Pinterest May Be The Greatest Website For Writers →

by Destine Williams

It’s only 8:20 AM and the battlefield is quiet.

A lone tumbleweed rolls across the barren land just like a blockbuster western, but today you’re not here to stop and smell the cliches.

Today you are here to fight.

The only ones left in the resistance are you, your editor, a handful of beta readers, and Joe, but Joe’s Wednesday schedule is sketchy so he might have to leave early.

And it’s all of you (Joe being tentative) versus your novel.

You survey the land quietly. The wind kicks up dust and in the wake of it you see something moving. You squint.

What is that?

Continue reading Why Characters Get Out of Hand and Understanding Them Better →

by Kathryn

To answer the question I am assuming is on all of your minds, yes, everything is traumatic to my hyperbolic little mind.

Especially fight scenes.

There’s a lot to them, and that means that you run the risk of fumbling the execution, and that’s never fun.

But don’t let the fear that you’re going to mess up your fight scene stop you from writing one in the first place.

In fact, don’t let fear stop you from doing ANYTHING when it comes to writing. Just don’t. You don’t need that angst in your life.

Continue reading 6 Ways to Make Writing Fight Scenes Less Traumatic →

Throwback Thursday is a series where we take a look back at some of AWP’s most popular posts. Enjoy!

by Andrea Lundgren

People have been telling a form of fantasy stories for as long storytelling has existed. Even when the hearers or readers believed them, tales of the gods, of floods and warriors with superhuman powers still had strong fantastic elements.

Yet not every fantasy has lasting power, where it gets passed down from one generation to the next. With so many versions and variations being created, it’s inevitable that some will be forgotten while others are treasured.

Continue reading Throwback Thursday: The Three Elements of a Memorable Fantasy Story →

by Samantha Fenton

Definition of a beta reader: A beta reader is a non-professional reader who reads a written work, generally fiction, with the intent of looking over the material to find and improve elements such as grammar and spelling, as well as suggestions to improve the story, its characters, or its setting.

Beta reading is typically done before the story is released for public consumption. Beta readers are not explicitly proofreaders or editors, but can serve in that context. Elements highlighted by beta readers encompass things such as plot holes, problems with continuity, characterisation or believability.

Continue reading The Rundown of Beta Reading →

by Megan Okonsky

I’ve got an exciting update: Andrew and I have planned our route! We’re doing a circle for about 5 1/2 weeks, hitting Bangkok, Koh Phagnan, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh, Dalat, Chiang Mai, and Pai. Phew!

Having this part of the planning completed has revealed the reality of other parts of the trip for me. Namely, oh my god I have to go fly to Australia and get a job and not run out of money but maybe stay in Southeast Asia for a bit first and get a job I need to get a job it has been 2 weeks since my last full-time job oh my god.

But we’re staying calm.

Continue reading Weird Ways to Make Money As a Writer →

Image source

by Laura Peters

As a writer, it’s all too easy to get bogged down with the boring bits of the English language, such as grammar rules and sentence structure. But it’s also important to remember that there is also a fun side to language! If you do your research, you’ll find that there are a lot of fun facts related to English. Here are some to get you started!

Continue reading Fun English Language Facts That All Writers Should Know →