Tag: Evergreen

Goal-Setting for Authors

Goal-Setting for Authors

As we near the end of the year, many of us are already turning our attention toward goals for next year. (If you’re like me, you started thinking ahead all the way back in September or October!) Whether you have what feels like an overwhelming list of goals, or just a few big goals that you’re trying to prioritize well, this post is all about how to set the right kind of goals as an author–and how to ensure that those goals serve the purpose you need them to serve.

The Purpose of Goals

First, it’s important to define what your purpose is for setting goals. If you’re someone who needs to complete every task on the list, then you want to be very clear on what you can or can’t achieve in a given time-frame so that you’re not causing yourself undue frustration. If you set goals so that you have something to push toward but you don’t Continue reading “Goal-Setting for Authors”

Developing Beauty Standards for Fictional Cultures

Developing Beauty Standards for Fictional Cultures

Beauty standards have been a topic on my “to blog about” list for a long time now, and honestly a topic that has intimidated me, lol. But I reached a point in my worldbuilding book where I had to push past that fear and write about them anyway, so here is some of my advice for developing your fictional culture’s beauty standards (and a sort-of sneak peek at my book)!

(As a side note, I find it amusing that this ended up coming out so soon after the release of the new Uglies adaptation. That was not intentional, but it does seem oddly fitting.)

General Beauty Standards

Before getting into your culture’s specific Continue reading “Developing Beauty Standards for Fictional Cultures”

Story Idea Organization

Story Idea Organization

As we hit the season of big writing challenges and you may be trying to decide what to write next or endeavoring not to be distracted by plot bunnies, it seemed like a good time to refresh an old (messy) post about my process for capturing, organizing, and prioritizing story ideas.

(P.S. Interested in participating in a fall writing challenge but not sure where to start? This post offers some alternatives to NaNoWriMo.)

Idea Receptacles

Inspiration can strike anywhere, so I have notebooks and Continue reading “Story Idea Organization”

How to Choose Your Next Project

How to Choose Your Next Project

If you’re trying to decide what project to work on next, whether for a writing challenge this fall or simply because you’ve finished one project and you’re ready for something new, this post is all about how to simplify that process–both now and in the future. I’ve written on this topic before, but I wanted to put together an updated and expanded guide that better serves you. Note that these tips can also help if you’re choosing what project to work toward publishing or querying, though I recommend also checking out this video from Bethany Meyer if that’s the season you’re in.

Without further ado, let’s get into some tips for developing an effective story prioritization system!

Understand Your Rhythms

As you begin to develop a system for project prioritization, it’s key to know how you work best. This will help Continue reading “How to Choose Your Next Project”

Building Fictional Organizations

Building Fictional Organizations

Corporations, guilds, book clubs, cartels, unions, non-profits, religious sects… The world is full of organized groups, and your created world is probably already no exception (and if it is, I have questions). This post is all about how to take existing groups–and/or create new ones–and ensure that they are as purposeful, dynamic, and impactful on your characters and world as they should be. To help make things more concrete, I’ll be using the calligraphy guilds of Calligraphy Guild and Grantech from Lightning and Short Story Collection vol. 1 as examples throughout. Let’s get into it!

Core Purpose

In order for your fictional organization to hold together, justify its existence, and be distinguished Continue reading “Building Fictional Organizations”