My Journey through Dandelion Symphony

I recently had the chance to beta read and critique a preview of Dandelion Symphony, a poetry collection by one of my closest friends, Azelyn Klein. It was such an interesting experience going back through poems I helped edit or was there for when they were written or had read a hundred times because ofContinue

My Favourite Tropes

Everyone has reading and writing weaknesses. Things that make them sigh, swoon, faint. The love of them is so strong that it can’t just be passed by, but every chance to indulge in them is taken with vigour and excitement. This adoration is most apparent with genres and writing styles. But it’s just as commonContinue

Reading to Write

I adore reading. I especially love YA and NA fiction. But I enjoy venturing into nonfiction and blogs a fair amount as well. I tend to enjoy the act of reading far more than I enjoy writing, so it’s easy to choose reading during my downtime. However, there are times that I read to helpContinue

My Problem with The Lunar Chronicles

This blog contains spoilers!! So if you haven’t read the entire series and don’t want anything ruined, you might not want to read ahead. I will mark the actual spoilers. There are so many fairytale retellings in existence. And I believe The Lunar Chronicles does an amazing job at combining the stories of Cinderella, SnowContinue

The First Book You Ever Read Challenge

I first saw this challenge going around a few weeks ago, and then I was tagged by the absolutely lovely Azelyn Klein on her blog Word Storm. Challenge rules:         Challenge at least one person.         Share the first book you ever read.         Why did you read it in the first place?         How did it inspire youContinue

Review: The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

“Everyone joins a band in this life. And what you play always affects someone. Sometimes, it affects the world.”—Music This is a theme that runs through Mitch Albom’s most recent work, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto. A band can be anything from a family to a musical group to a bunch of friends, andContinue

Writing Character Descriptions: Emotion

Emotions can be one of the hardest things to convey through the show-not-tell rule sometimes. The show-not-tell rule is describing what a character is feeling, doing, or thinking, without just outright stating it. An example would be writing “her feet landed hard on the pavement, one after another, increasing her speed” instead of “she ran.”Continue

Writing Character Descriptions: Action

Actions can convey so much, and nearly every character will have movement in your writing, whether it’s directly mentioned or not. In many books I’ve read over the last two years, I’ve noticed very little movement described outside the generic ran, jumped, sat,and walked. And I’ve started realising more and more just how much IContinue

Writing Character Descriptions: Appearance

From Harry Potter’s scar to Katniss Everdeen’s braid, from Éowyn of Rohan’s removing her helmet to Klaus Baudelaire’s adjusting his glasses, and from Elizabeth Bennet’s sass to Hazel Lancaster’s increased difficulty to breathe, descriptions in books help understand each and every character, movement, and emotion more and help us to build the film-like pictures inContinue

Seven Ways to Win My Bookish Heart

Everyone has their different things that make them melt. In friendships, in love, and in books. Those moments when eyes meet words and hearts race, when hands touch rough edges and stomachs flutter, when smiles are shared and eyes close. That feeling of unadulterated joy and contentedness just floods over all of your senses andContinue