Hyacinth Grey. Indie Author. I write fiction.

Category: Writing

  • Not Doing NaNoWriMo This Year

    I remember my idea for NaNoWriMo 2021, but I don’t know if it will produce a novel in thirty days, so I’ve decided not to do NaNoWriMo this year. Next week, I plan to post a story part.

  • Writing Interrupted: I need to share this

    It would normally be Writing Advice today, but given the fact that WordPress has added a fine new feature, I need to share this with you. No, I won’t wait for Sunflower Saturday. A New Way to Publish Your Blog Posts Simultaneously As Twitter Threads Writing will resume next Writing Wednesday, and in the meantime,…

  • The Writing Process: The Beginning of Forever

    “Forever’s gonna start tonight.” – Bonnie Tyler, Total Eclipse of the Heart Great, now I have that song in my head instead of the words I need for this post. But now that I’m thinking about it, that song could be about the writing process. It really can be quite a roller-coaster. Forever can start…

  • Writing Wednesday – time got away from me

    I meant to have a post about the writing process for you today, but time escaped me, and I didn’t get it written. With this kind of essay-style post, I need to start it before the day I publish it, so that I can leave it for at least a day before I revise it.…

  • The Writing Process – Overview and Ideas

    Writing is a complex process. Many people start writing stories in school. Some keep on writing stories, even after the assignment has been handed in and graded. Some people write until the day they die. I don’t know what makes some of us write all our lives and others only when they must, but the…

  • Genres: Tips for Writing Fantasy

    Fantasy is one of the most fun genres, because it’s not constrained by reality. Anything goes. Really. The imagination’s the limit. I’ve got two tips about writing fantasy. Be consistent and don’t be “explainy.” First things first. Consistency. Is magic allowed in your world? If it is, you have to define it. Who can perform…

  • How to Pick Genres to Write in

    There is a huge variety of genres from which to choose before you sit down to write some fiction. Here’s how to pick them. You will probably hear the suggestion to write in a genre you read a lot. I don’t have a problem with this, but why limit yourself? If you have an idea…

  • Writing Community Insults

    This tweet by @mims_words and the comments are great “resources” if you want to fire off writing insults, but be warned. If you go on the attack with these, expect it right back and so, so much worse. I will never use these on you and request the same courtesy. They are great and I…

  • What Writing Is (and is not)

    Writing is not an arcane activity. You don’t need to be an expert in anything to be able to write. Having good grammar, spelling, and punctuation helps, but as long as you have a story to tell, you can write fiction. You don’t need to take a writing course or follow certain rules. You can…

  • A Couple of Great Reasons to Write Fiction

    Lots of us love to read fiction, but have you considered writing some? Here are two great reasons why you should. The news is often frightening, confusing, and bad. Some people post on blogs or social media, some write physical letters or e-mails, and some, like me, turn their fear and uncertainty into fiction. Here…

  • How to Overcome the Fear of Plotholes in Your Fiction

    Are you afraid of the following: You’ve spent a lot of time crafting a wonderful story, but when you read it over, you find something that doesn’t agree with something else — a plothole. I’m pretty sure it happens to every writer at some point. It’s certainly happened to me. The question isn’t weather writers…

  • 3 Tips for Fiction Writers Struggling with Setting

    Setting is crucial to creating something your Readers will love, and if you struggle with it, then you’re like me. Getting setting right might be easier if stories took place entirely in one location, but they seldom do, so writers have hard work ahead. We have to constantly change the scenery, move in and out…

  • Writing Advice – Point of View

    Pistol: Why, then the world’s mine oyster. Which I with sword will open. William Shakespeare — The Merry Wives of Windsor, act 2, scene 2 There are no rules about POV. That’s right, there really aren’t any. In this post about Starting NaNoWriMo, I said that I was struggling with third person narration in a…

  • Writing Advice – Characters

    Without characters, stories would tell very little. Would you want to pick up a book and find that the whole thing was nothing but a description of a setting, a world, or several planets? Whether you write sci-fi, fantasy, or romance, your story needs a set of characters. Don’t let the magic, technology, or amazing…

  • Writing Advice – Tell a Story

    There’s a lot of writing advice out there. Following some guidelines, such as the ones in my post about dialog attribution might make your writing more pleasant to read, but don’t let writing advice bog you down. Things can be fixed later. There’s no need to wait until your idea is perfect, or until you’ve…

  • The Dark Tide – Part 1

    This is a work of fiction. Die Religion … ist das Opium des Volkes. Karl Marx Everyone had been called to Worship. I stood outside the temple, and waited for the doors to be opened. It was early morning, and very bright, with sunbeams reflecting off the snow that had fallen the night before. I…

  • A Letter to the Pacific Ocean

    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Ocean and humans, Pacific, no more conflict, World without stories. Photo by Gantas Vaiu010diulu0117nas on Pexels.com Dear Pacific Ocean, I’ve been reading a book about you. It’s called Pacific, and it’s written by Simon Winchester. It’s also Earth Day, so I guess I’ve been thinking about you lately. My publisher,…

  • Writing Advice – Dialog Attribution

    You’ve probably heard the phrase “show, don’t tell.” I’d like to show you why I think this is good writing advice when you’re writing dialog. Here are a few sample sentences written solely for this post. “Not again,” she sighed. “My best friend forever doesn’t want to talk to me anymore, and I’m completely and…

  • My Writing Space and a Question for Readers

    I write best when I’m alone. Whether it’s a blog post or a novel, I can write anywhere, as long as nobody else is in the room. In practice, that means my home office, where my computer lives. I don’t need anything special. As long as I have a computer and am not too hot…

  • The Choice – Part 6

    This post is a work of fiction inspired by the Everyday Inspirations writing course from WordPress. The one-word prompt was “choice.” Matthew’s phone rang. Good, his new client would be ready for him. He lifted the receiver, but didn’t speak. “Good morning, Mr. Reid,” his secretary said. “Your nine o’clock has arrived and is in…

  • The Choice – Part 5

    This post is a work of fiction inspired by the Everyday Inspirations writing course from WordPress. The one-word prompt was “choice.” Rita watched Matt walk out of the Starbucks and get into a dark gray car. The engine came on and he roared away. She took a sip of coffee but it tasted awful. Might…

  • The Choice – Part 4

    This post is a work of fiction inspired by the Everyday Inspirations writing course from WordPress. The one-word prompt was “choice.” Rita looked into Matt’s clear blue eyes and wanted to ask a million questions, but didn’t know where to start. “How are you feeling, Rita?” His words were soft, mellow, and yet very clear.…

  • The Choice – Part 3

    This post is a work of fiction inspired by the Everyday Inspirations writing course from WordPress. The one-word prompt was “choice.” Rita asked Matt to meet her at a Starbucks the next morning. He replied almost immediately, confirming that he’d meet her there at 7:00 a.m. She tossed and turned all night long. At five,…

  • The Choice – Part 2

    This post is a work of fiction inspired by the Everyday Inspirations writing course from WordPress. The one-word prompt was “choice.” Rita tried to think who Matt might be. The older guy with sallow skin who would probably drop dead if he didn’t eat some vegetables soon? Or maybe Matt was the thirtysomething black guy…

  • The Choice – Part 1

    This post is a work of fiction inspired by the Everyday Inspirations writing course from WordPress. The one-word prompt was “choice.” What to do? She looked at the clock. It was 9:24 p.m. on a rainy Saturday evening in April. Take a chance, accept his invitation, or pretend his e-mail didn’t exist and go back…

  • What I’ve Learned

    Blogging is a great sport. Reading about writing makes me want to write more. I can rarely resist an upgrade. I should pay attention to things I don’t know about, such as using tags in blog posts, because doing so could bring more people to my website. Trying a suggestion, such as writing a list…

  • Why I Write

    I write because I enjoy writing. I also deeply feel the need to express myself through the written word. Writing helps me to deal with my emotions in a safe and liberating way. Let’s take the current coronavirus pandemic as an example. I don’t want to blog or tweet about how I feel about it.…

  • Why I Write

    I write because I enjoy writing. I also deeply feel the need to express myself through the written word. Writing helps me to deal with my emotions in a safe and liberating way. Let’s take the current coronavirus pandemic as an example. I don’t want to blog or tweet about how I feel about it.…

  • Indie April

    This is the first Indie April for me as a new author. I have heard mixed opinions about self-publishing, and this blog post is an examination of some of them. Is it hard work, or is it just vanity? You may have heard the term “vanity publishing,” meaning that anybody with money can have a…

  • Write about what you know

    Lots of people say to write about what you know. This is good advice, or is it? What is “know” anyway? How much would you need to know about something to be considered knowledgeable on that topic, and who decides this? I probably don’t know a great deal about engineering, but I could learn enough…

  • Genres: Part 2 – Fantasy

    I think that the strength of fantasy is its limitless possibility. You can create places, creatures, and powers that don’t need to be real to be believed. I can do pretty much whatever I want, and I don’t even have to think, is this possible? Anything is possible, and that includes whatever story I want…

  • Genres: Part 1 – Detective

    On Twitter, I was asked why I write in my particular genre. While Wounded Bride is a detective novel, I like to write in many genres. I’ve decided to answer this question in a series of blog posts, because I would like to talk about many genres, and putting them all in one post would…

  • A Lesson Learned about Outlining

    My relationship with outlining has always been a little rocky. I’m a Pantser, so I usually just start writing, often with little or no idea about the story I’m going to tell. When I decided to write science fiction for NaNoWriMo, I did a brief outline because I wanted my plot to stay on track.…

  • After You Revise

    You’ve worked very hard and finished revising your novel. Isn’t it amazing how long it takes? I’ve been working on a fairly substantial book, and have logged about forty-eight hours of revisions. That’s more than a work week. It’s not finished yet. Writing it was fun, and revising it sometimes is, but I find it…

  • The Hardest Part of Writing

    For me, it’s not getting the idea that I find difficult. I don’t struggle with the blank page, nor with the first chapter. Sometimes, I do find the middle of the novel a little bit slow, but if I sit on it for a few hours, I usually figure out how to fix it. Writing…

  • One day in the Garden

    This post isn’t about gardening, or even being outdoors. I didn’t know this two years ago, but people who write without having much in the way of starting ideas are sometimes called Gardeners or Pantsers. (Those who use outlines are often called Architects, Plotters, or Planners.) All I knew was that I wanted to write…