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Fish and Ships: An Interview with Traci Chee
By Shelley Carpenter (harpspeed) Traci Chee began her writing career in fourth grade, writing and illustrating and experimenting with characters and story-building games. Today, Traci Chee is a middle...
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Toasted Cheese Success Stories: Interview with Janet Mullany
By Theryn Fleming (Beaver) In her author bio, Janet Mullany states that she “has worked as an archaeologist, classical music radio announcer, arts administrator, and for a small press.” Janet was also...
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Write What You Learn
By Amanda Marlowe (The Bellman) I’m a dabbler. I have a lot of interests, and as time permits, I explore them. Singing, acting, science, random online classes, reading… A stopping point in the list is...
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Tell the Stories You Have to Tell: Interview with Tanya Huff
By Erin Bellavia (Billiard) Canadian fantasy author Tanya Huff was born in Nova Scotia, but spent much of her childhood in Kingston, Ontario. She eventually moved to Toronto, and later, to “the middle...
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Alien Worlds
By Amanda Marlowe (The Bellman) Even with all the new special effects, the majority of aliens in the movies and on television tend to be humanoid. Sure, we all know that’s because you have human...
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What’s Your Creative Process?
By Shelley Carpenter (harpspeed) I was at a late summer barbeque at one of my friend’s homes when one of the people at my table (a non-writer) asked me about the writing craft. “So what is your...
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Sex and Setting
By Baker Set a story or poem in the town you’re in right now. Set a story or a poem in a real place you’ve spent a week or less visiting. Vanessa Blakeslee said that she doesn’t do a lot of backstory...
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An Open-Ended Question
By Bellman Consider a favorite book you have read. What question do you think the writer was exploring? Is it an open-ended question? Now consider a story you are working on. What are you exploring?...
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Variations on a Theme
By Amanda Marlowe (The Bellman) What Is Theme? There are about as many ways to describe what a theme is as there are themes. The moral of the story. The premise the story is trying to prove. The one...
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What Sets You Apart: On Valuing Your Own Experience
By Theryn Fleming (Beaver) When you can’t find someone to follow, you have to find a way to lead by example. —Roxane Gay A few years ago, writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave a TEDtalk called The...
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Writing Diverse Characters
By Billiard Create a character with a distinctly different gender/ethnicity/sexuality than yourself. Looking for resources to help you write authentic characters? Search Pinterest for writing diverse...
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Mashup
By Beaver Pull any four novels off your shelves. Flip through the first book randomly. Write down the first name you see. This will be your main character‘s name. Repeat at least one more time (so you...
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Choose Your Own Adventure!
By Beaver Write a “choose your own adventure”-style story. That is, start writing your story, but when you get to a point where your main character has to make a decision, first continue the story...
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Word Association Story
By Beaver Create a grab bag of words. Write random words on slips of paper or clip them from old magazines and place them in a container to draw from. This would be a good writing group or classroom...
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Who Are You?
By Beaver This one’s for those of you who find yourself falling down internet rabbit holes when you should be doing something else. Set a timer. ⏱ How long is up to you—adapt it to the time you have...
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