Hollingsworth

O ne of the things new writers are afraid of, (and even I, myself, am victim to this) is this idea that to be a writer or to have any chance whatever of writing professionally, you have to have years and years of "experience".  Photo by  Ilya Ilyukhin  on  Unsplash It applies to all different sorts of writing: blogging, essaying, poetry. There is this idea that no one can be any good until they've been at it for years.  This isn't true.   It is simply a fear that keeps new/young writers from writing their best.  I, myself, have this fear (as irritating as that is to admit). This idea that maybe just because I started blogging last February means that this blog is basically trash. Or that I'm not a very good writer because I've only ever really got a decent amount of the way through ONE book. (Relateable anyone?)  It's a weird, psychological thing.  The truth:  Just because you don't have a lot of experience with somethin...

E veryone knows Cruella de Vil. She is one in the great menagerie of unforgettable villains. Today I decided to give her some appreciation! (I swear I'm not a villain myself...)  Let's dive right in, shall we? 1. Obsession: Good villains always have something driving them. In Cruella's case, puppy skins for a new fur coat. She "worships furs." That's her drive as well as her weakness, and finally it's something other than "revenge"  or "tragic past."  2. Great evil quirks : I've got to admit it, I love evil quirks in villains. If your heroes are going to have quirks, why not give your villains some as well? Cruella carries a cigarette everywhere, and repeatedly taps the ashes into everything from a cup of tea to a cupcake, displaying a quirk as well as contempt, and it worked fabulously.   3. Clever. As fun as stupid villains are (I think this is why we get Jasper and Horace), clever ones have a far better chance of succe...

L ast week I put up a post " Top Habits for Healthy Writers ." This week I thought I'd take it to the other side of the spectrum and discuss what I believe are unhealthy habits for writers. Photo by  Jan Kahánek  on  Unsplash These are some typically 'unhealthy' writing habits. Some are not so big of a deal, others are killers. These are also more concerned with the actual writer than literary style on the page. (I will be doing a post about writing pet peeves that will deal with that). There are countless more bad habits, but here I have listed ten: 1. RELYING ON SPELLCHECK . Spellcheck is one of our amazing modern conveniences. But relying on it too heavily will take that spelling role away from your brain (especially since we know that spellcheck is not always perfectly accurate...) 2. Telling yourself you're NOT GOOD ENOUGH. I can't say how many times this has been stressed. But no matter how many times we see these words, us writers do it an...

O ne thing that contributes heartily to falling out of a writing lifestyle is a lack of developed habits. They might be interests or occasional occupations but not habits, so they don't stick. Here are a few of the top habits I find in typically healthy writers. Photo by  Hope House Press  on  Unsplash ( Disclaimer: This post is in no way trying to 'dis' people who do not have or even disagree with these habits.I try to keep this blog an open, positive place to help encourage writers in whatever form of writing lifestyle they are most comfortable with.  )   1. They READ.   Constantly. In fact, all of my writer friends are also avid readers. I am a wild reader myself (though very far from an excellent writer). Reading helps you to experiment with new narrative voices. To give you a taste of genres outside of your fallback and also shows new ways to present ideas. THIS IS A WRITER'S MOST VALUABLE ASSET. No joke. 2. They AREN'T QUITTERS. Writin...

T oday I am going to discuss two small words that always cause a bit of an uproar in the literary world: Pitfall and Cliffhanger. Readers despise them, and come on...we writers LOVE to write them. Photo Courtesy of  :  http://www.everystockphoto.com/ Even though as readers we (technically speaking) hate these two things, maybe because we hate seeing the characters make mistakes or hate the book leaving you in a state of suspense, they add an AMAZING element to any story. They deserve some admiration. Any other authors agree? Pitfall : We all know what this is, don't we? The main character suddenly takes a downward arc. Maybe something happens externally (like getting an arm chopped off), or they develop some sort of 'moral' issue (ex: becoming a drunkard/consuming sense of revenge, etc..). However, you can't allow your characters to wallow in their pitfall. Consider this: How far are you willing to push your character? Try to push them To.Their.Limits. All...