When Everything You Write Is Shit: Why Young Writers Should Not Give Up

A while back, I posted a link to fanfiction I wrote when I was 14. I’m not going to do it again; I’d like to spare you from further eye-gouging opportunities, especially in the likely scenario that you’ve never read any of my stuff before. I’ve improved, I swear. I think people have this image …

Being a Writer Is Like Being Told To Climb a Cliff With A Spoon

When I say writer, I, of course, mean creative writer, the kind who works with fiction and has tea-parties with make-believe personalities. The cliff is typically the point where you no longer have to make the decision between burger-flipper and writer. Yes, you may earn slightly less as a writer in the long run, but at least …

Writers: Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Fellow writers are some of our worst enemies. I remember way back when I decided I was going to stop writing Watership Down fanfiction, over 13 years ago. I wrote a 150,000 monstrosity that I later had the misfortune pleasure of turning into Jaeth’s Eye. I had not written original fiction for years leading up …