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7 Books That Every Writer Should Read

Cinderella is my favorite Disney Princess. But I have always identified with Belle: growing up, my nose was always stuck in a book. I would come home from school and public libraries with piles to read. As a child, I roamed the shelves of the fiction section barely giving time to nonfiction. As an adult, I’ve realized the value of the genre. Taking a look at a bookstore, you realize just how much of the store is taken up with nonfiction. Everything from reference books to coo…

Screenwriting Software To Use If You Can't Afford Final Draft

I remember when I first dove my toes into screenwriting. I was working in retail at the time and going to school full-time. At the time, I was lucky that the software I had recently purchased for writing my novels also allowed me to format screenplays. Shortly after that, there was a project I was working on collaboratively with another writer. They introduced me to a second program because it allowed for more open collaboration. Over the years, I’ve played with different pieces …

7 Resources Every Screenwriter Should Know About

We all need a little help, every now and then. One of the greatest things about being a writer is that there are so many tools out there designed to help us. The problem is, people don’t know they exist. When you’re a writer, you have to be a Jack (or Jill) of many trades and learn not just about writing, but about editing, and the business itself. It’s all part of honing our craft. And while, at times, the task may seem daunting, I’ve discovered a lot of online…

7 Resources Every Screenwriter Should Know About

We all need a little help, every now and then. One of the greatest things about being a writer is that there are so many tools out there designed to help us. The problem is, people don’t know they exist. When you’re a writer, you have to be a Jack (or Jill) of many trades and learn not just about writing, but about editing, and the business itself. It’s all part of honing our craft. And while, at times, the task may seem daunting, I’ve discovered a lot of online…

Killing Your Darlings - The Two Times I Cut Characters

As writers, we often hear the phrase, “Kill your darlings.” But, that phrase is often in the context of cutting out writing or scenes that don’t work, slow down a piece, or are utterly unnecessary. Recently though, I’ve found myself taking it another way. I’m one of those people who work on multiple projects at once, and two of the things I’m working on had a similar thing happen. I cut an entire character from both. This can be more painful than c…

Always A Student, Never A Master: The Power Of A Beginner's Mind

When I wrote my first book, it was an adventure. Not only was it my first major project, it was the moment I realized just how little I knew about the craft of writing. I was two years into my professional writing career when I shifted from short stories to my first book. Sure, I’d written “books” before. But trust me, those will NEVER see the light of day. That already made this one different. I was not writing it for fun or because writing is my passion (though both…

When To Cut A Character From Your Script

As writers, we often hear the phrase, “kill your darlings.” But, that phrase is often in the context of cutting out writing or scenes that don’t work, slow down a piece, or are utterly unnecessary. Recently though, I’ve found myself taking it another way. I’m one of those people who work on multiple projects at once, and two of the things I’m working on had a similar thing happen. I cut an entire character from both. This can be more painful than c…

7 Resources Every Screenwriter Should Know About

We all need a little help every now and then. One of the greatest things about being a writer is that there are so many tools out there designed to help us. The problem is people don’t know they exist. When you’re a writer, you have to be a Jack (or Jill) of many trades and learn not just about writing but about editing and the business itself. It’s all part of honing our craft. And while, at times, the task may seem daunting, I’ve discovered a lot of online res…

How to Throw Out A Project And Start Fresh

It’s a fact of writing that projects need multiple drafts. But that’s not what I’m talking about in this article. Instead, sometimes you might need to completely take apart a project, throwing out every previous draft and starting over. Sounds extreme? It is. But it’s something I recently experienced. To properly explain this, I have to give you some background on the project in question. I’ve been working on the sequel to my third book since 2017. At …

How to *Finally* Finish Your Writing Project

Near the beginning of my writing career, I attended a writing group in college. A friend encouraged me to go with them when I mentioned I like to write. Keep in mind, I was still very much in the “writing is a hobby stage” at this point while they seemed to want to make a career of it. I went, then continued going, and eventually ran the club myself (as equals with a few people I still talk to daily). We did more than work to make a community, we did our best to make sure e…

Always a Student, Never a Master: The Power of Beginner's Mind

When I wrote my first book, it was an adventure. Not only was it my first major project, it was the moment I realized just how little I knew about the craft of writing. I was two years into my professional writing career when I shifted from short stories to my first book. Sure, I’d written “books” before. But trust me, those will NEVER see the light of day. That already made this one different. I was not writing it for fun or because writing is my passion (though both…

Caring for Your Mental Health as a Writer

One of the most understated things about writing is how hard it can be on your Mental Health. Go ahead, Google “Writing and Mental Health.” I’ll wait. Back already? If you saw the same thing I saw, you’ll see that the entire first page is about journaling and its benefits to mental health. This is true. There’s a reason why therapists suggest people keep journals. The fact is, non-writers do not understand the relationship between a writer and their w…

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