If Walls Could Talk: What to Do When You’re Behind
We’re just past the halfway point in NaNoWriMo. That means participants should be at 25K words. I wish I was remotely close to that. But, alas, I find myself massively behind. November didn’t turn out remotely how I planned. While that’s
If Walls Could Talk: You Need a Writing Community
We are nine days into NaNoWriMo and… I’m already massively behind. November has taken some unexpected turns and I’ve been doing my best to roll through the punches. Hopefully your writing month is going better than mine. Over the years, I’ve tried numerous
If Walls Could Talk: Preparing to Write
With just 13 days left until NaNoWriMo, a lot of people are neck deep into preparations. See, the rules only say you have to write in the month of November. It doesn’t mention everything you have to do to prepare. In
If Walls Could Talk: Why You Should take on National Novel Writing Month
Let’s start with the basics. What is NaNoWriMo? It stands for National Novel Writing Month. Every November, writers across the world gather with their writing groups and attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days. That adds up to 1,667 words
If Walls Could Talk: A Slow but Steady Streak
At the beginning of my writing career, I had the mental stamina to sit at a computer for hours a night and write NaNoWriMo-levels of words every day (1,667 words for those not familiar with it). Granted, looking back, it
If Walls Could Talk: A Whole New World – The Art of World-Building
Buckle up, we’re talking video games this week. One of my favorite things about video games is that they are able to immerse you into their world. You know, that feeling when you’re pulled into the story and they make it
If Walls Could Talk: Finding Clues in All the Wrong Places – Red Herrings
Can I confess something to y’all? I suck at Red Herrings. There’s something about leading a false trail only to reveal the proper path, to drop breadcrumbs for readers to follow, that eludes me as a writer. To me, it’s one of
If Walls Could Talk: Navigating a Research Marathon
Back when I was writing my first book, I was very new to the mystery genre. For those of you who haven't heard the story of that particular project, I went looking to write a 10k story and ended up
If Walls Could Talk: What to do When a Piece Doesn’t Work
When I write these weekly columns, I like to thank my tone is chill and informal. I’m writing to you all as if I’m chatting with friends. I’ve been fortunate that I can write in a fairly relaxed style for
How to Write & Direct a Micro-Budget Short Film
Writing short films has always been a good training ground for film and TV (even more so for directing). It really does train you to be as concise as possible. But the sheer amount of work and money that goes