The Negative Trait Thesaurus

Lessons and Good Habits for Writing (and Living) Well

/ saraletourneau / 17 Comments

Recently my DIY MFA colleague and writing friend Leanne Sowul launched a “Be Well, Write Well” interview series at her DIY MFA column. Each interview explores a writer’s process, habits, routine, and management of their overall well-being. She also tested the questions on herself and shared her answers at her own blog. I liked the overall idea of opening up about how our work and living habits intersect so much that I decided to try it out. (Hope you don’t mind, Leanne!)

So what good wellness habits do I try not to skimp on? What “tools” are essential to my writing process? Does my process change depending on the stage of writing I’m in and/or the time of year? I share these and other answers below, plus a few writerly well-being tips and recommendations for favorite resources on writing and wellness.

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Rock The Vault: Celebrating the Urban and Rural Setting Thesaurus Duo (A Guest Post by Angela Ackerman of Writers Helping Writers)

/ saraletourneau / 20 Comments

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Oh, am I excited for our latest guest! Angela Ackerman is one half of the duo at Writers Helping Writers (her co-blogger is the equally awesome Becca Puglisi). And not only do they run one of my favorite websites dedicated to the craft of writing, but they’re also the authors of the best-selling Thesaurus collection – all of which have become instrumental parts of my writing process. Today, these ladies are releasing two new additions to their collection, and I couldn’t be happier to have Angela tell you more about them. Read on!

As we storytellers sit before the keyboard to craft our magic, we’re usually laser-focused on the two titans of fiction: plot and character. Yet, there’s a third element that impacts almost every aspect of the tale, one we really need to home in on as well: the setting.

The setting is so much more than a painted backdrop, more than a stage for our characters to tromp across during the scene. Used to its full advantage, the setting can characterize the story’s cast, supply mood, steer the plot, provide challenges and conflict, trigger emotions, help us deliver those necessary snippets of backstory… and that’s just scratching the surface. So the question is this: how do we unleash the full power of the setting within our stories? Continue reading →

5 on the 5th: Five Bookish Christmas Gift Ideas for Writers (+ The Creative Blogger Award)

/ saraletourneau / 23 Comments

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On the fifth day of each month, 5 on the 5th shares five of something that I like or recommend to readers. Whether it’s five items that share a common theme, or five reasons why I like the topic at hand, this monthly meme gives us an opportunity to talk about other subjects that aren’t normally discussed here at the blog. 

I still have some catching up to do in the Blog Awards Department. So, for this month’s 5 on the 5th, I’m combining it with *finally* accepting Elizabeth Rawls’ nomination for the Creative Blogger Award. Thank you again, E., and I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to get to this!

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Here are the rules for the Creative Blogger Award:

  1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and post the link of said blog.
  2. Share five facts about yourself to your readers.
  3. Nominate 15 to 20 blogs and notify all nominees via their social media or blogs.

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, I’ve put a “creative” spin on accepting this award. 😉 Instead of five random facts, I’m recommending five books on the craft of writing. And with Christmas and other gift-giving holidays around the corner, there’s no better time to find new reference books for the writer in your life – or for yourself!

Btw, the following books are for all writers. I may do a separate 5 on the 5th in the future specifically on reference / craft books for speculative fiction writers.

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5 on the 5th: Five Awesome Websites for Writers

/ saraletourneau / 22 Comments

5 on the 5th Banner 2

Welcome to the first edition of 5 on the 5th! This is a new monthly meme where, on the fifth day of the month, I’ll share five of something. It could be a group of items (books, writers, tea, websites, etc.) with a common theme, or a a list of five items (again, all sharing a common theme) that doesn’t fall under other post categories at this blog.

To kick things off, I’ll start with Five Awesome Websites for Writers. They’re all blogs I visit regularly, and each has a unique spin on the tips and resources they offer. Most importantly, the content they offer absolutely blows my mind! Their breadth of knowledge, and how well they understand the important aspects and minor details of writing… I don’t know how these ladies do it, and so I want to express my gratitude and admiration – by telling you about them. 🙂

If you’re interested in visiting any of these sites, you can click on the site’s respective logo or any of the article links provided.

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Chronicling The Craft: 50,000 Words

/ saraletourneau / 27 Comments

Meet The Protagonist – A Character Profile

Chapters Completed: 12

Chapters In Progress: 8

Chapters Left to Start: 14

“Chronicling The Craft” is an article series where I share my experience with writing my current work-in-progress (WIP), which is a fantasy novel. Every 5,000 words, I let readers know what I’ve accomplished since the previous article and share advice, discoveries, techniques, etc. Besides the word count in each article title, a “chapter ticker” at the top also tracks my progress as I use the skip-around / “writercopter” method to write the novel. Today’s installment celebrates the book reaching 50,000 words in length.

First of all, YAY! I’ve been looking forward to reaching the 50,000-word milestone for some time – not only because of the purpose I’d planned for this particular article, but because this milestone means I’m roughly halfway finished with my WIP.  😀  So, this Chronicle feels like a true celebration.

Let’s get right to the progress points since my previous Chronicle: Continue reading →