Dear Writer

This week on Dear Writer we tried out an exercise that involved choosing a random object and writing from it's point of view. To hear how it all turned out and whether we thought this exercise was helpful for creativity, listen to the full episode.

This week, we continue our discussion on plotting and give you our guide to outlining your novel, from the idea scatter gun to chapter plans. We also talk about the importance of character and subplots when plotting, and give you some handy tips if you are plotting for the first time.

This week we give you Part 1 of our Plotting 101 guide. We talk about how we came to be plotters, how we generate ideas, and how we turn those ideas into a coherent plot. Finally, we discuss the importance of story structure and how to choose the best one for your novel.

This episode of Dear Writer featured another of our author spotlight interviews, and we were happy to welcome AJ Skelly. AJ Skelly is a YA author based in Ohio, with a passion for all things for all things fantasy, medieval, fairy-tale romance, and (most especially) werewolves. As an avid reader and former English teacher, AJ has always been interested in the written word. She lives with her husband and children, who share her love for books. AJ’s goals are to provide positivity in the YA genre, and inspire young readers through unforgettable characters, leaving them with hope and the feeling of satisfaction in a book well-read. We very much enjoyed our chat with AJ, and as always took something new and fresh away from speaking with another writer.

This week on Dear Writer we tried out an exercise from imagine forest.com, which asked us to write a short paragraph about our scariest memory. The exercise sounded simple, but was fraught with challenges. Listen to the episode to hear our (lengthy) paragraphs and to see how it panned out.

This week, we continue our discussion about Historical Fiction. We talk about diversity and inclusivity in Historical fiction, how to create historical characters, and the importance of tone/language when crafting your novel.

This week, we explore the historical fiction genre. We talk about what attracts us to the genre, and discuss the importance of historical accuracy and research in creating a compelling historical fiction novel.

This week on Dear Writer we welcomed Susan L Markloff on the show to talk about her books and writing journey. We greatly enjoyed talking to Susan about the highs and lows of the road so far, including everything from the success of seeing her book in print, and the challenges of marketing and finding a readership.

This week on Dear Writer we attempted Haiku poetry, looking at both the contemporary and traditional forms. We shared our results and our experiences, discussing whether we thought writing Haikus were a good way to develop creativity. The exercise this week was taken from the following website: https://www.writingforward.com/writing_exercises/poetry-writing-exercises/creative-writing-exercises-haiku

This week, we continue our discussion about the YA genre. We explore the importance of character voice, the issue of preachiness in YA novels, and give some tips on writing good YA stories.