Hi, book friends–welcome to my room! I made a short video to show you guys my writing space and tell you a little bit about how I put together my latest YA fantasy story, Murmur. Hope you enjoy!
Fantasy Writing Prompts: 10 Fantasy Story Ideas
Brains are weird. We get all ready to write, and we even know the kind of story we want (swords! sorcery! fantasy realms!). But the minute we go to hammer something out on our laptops, we get stuck. Ugh! Not to worry–sometimes you just need a little warmup to get your brain on board 🙂 …
Short Story Ideas: 10 Awesome Short Story Prompts
“Ugh, what should I write about?” Do you ever get stuck when facing a blank page? Sometimes, you need a good writing prompt to get the creative juices flowing. You might go back and use some of what you’ve written, or you might just use it as a warmup until you feel more confident or …
Unicorns Abounding! Fabulous Unicorn Shop Finds
Hello, bookish friends! You know, I’m not sure when I first heard about unicorns as a kid, but I do know that I thought they were MAGNIFICENT. (Dragons were also amazing. So were tigers and wolves and Chinese river dolphins, but those were a little more accessible through nature documentaries on TV.) At any rate, …
Book Hashtags for Readers and Writers on Instagram
One of the things I’ve enjoyed the most this year has been discovering book lovers on Instagram. In fact, there was a WHOLE COMMUNITY of readers under the hashtag #bookstagram. I had no idea!! Now it’s a regular part of my daily routine to check out the latest book hashtags and the sumptuously styled photographs …
Instagram Name Ideas for Book Lovers
When I started reaching out to other readers and writers on the internet, I figured I should try Instagram. I honestly just picked it because I like drawing and looking at photos in general. But when I went to set up an account, I realized I needed a good Instagram name idea, and fast! With …
Dragons, ho! Beautiful Dragon Shop Finds
Hello, bookish friends! As you know, I adore writing stories about shapeshifter girls and beautiful crow boys. But sometimes it’s fun to return to the classics, you know? I’ve had a lot of mythical beasts crawling through my reading list lately, too, so I think my eye was already primed to jump on these fantastic …
Behind the Scenes: The Floating Teapot
Wow, would love to see a ‘behind the scenes’! An Instagram follower suggested a behind the scenes look at some of these photo manips I’ve been posting, and I’m happy to share! 🙂 Here’s a quick video of the floating teapot coming together in Photoshop. Hope you like it! P.S. Be sure to follow me …
Book Inspiration: Ancient Aztec Words
With so many magical stories in North America alone, I knew my books had to have some Mexican myths thrown into the mix! While I was weaving the latest danger into Devil’s Den, I stumbled into some really cool Youtube videos where people are speaking Nahuatl (historically known as the Aztec language). In fact, over …
Book Ideas: How Do You Name Characters?
Finn was really cute and I love the name, too! —@lifeofpages_ Yes! I was so happy to see this comment in a reader’s review of Murmur. Good names are so important, don’t you agree? (Also, geez—I can only imagine what it’s like to name a real-life baby. So much brainstorming.) Here’s the low-down on how I …