Why Do I Write?

Dear readers,

For a little over a month now, (wow! Has it really been that long?) I've been sharing my thoughts, advice, tips, tricks, and encouragement with you along with my fellow writers. In my author bio and in the project space (aka "Our Writing"), you will find my teeny tiny paragraph of who I am as a writer and the projects I'm working on.

Those are only glimpses or windows of a bigger picture. Only painted by God, that I want to share with you.

News from the Castle

Greetings from Elysian!

Six weeks ago, we had the privilege of adding a couple of interns onto our team, fully knowing that they were not, in any way, committed to becoming a full team member by if they didn’t wish to. Well, I’m happy to introduce you too…..

Why I Want to Write

Hello, everyone. It’s me again, back at you with another writing post. Today is a day of looking into my motivation of my dream, a melancholy sentiment and an optimistic hope.

My Friend (a poem by Thomas J. Corley)

Due to me not getting it together, I am just going to share one of my favorite poems. Enjoy! 

At last I am convinced that now I have a friend,
One to be depended on up to the very end.
He may not be what-you-might-call a beauty to behold,
But in my eyes he’s cherished more than twice his weight in gold.

Three Things I Learned From Reading Harry Potter

Hey, everyone! Bethany here, with a bit of confession.
Before April 20th, 2017, I had never before read the books so extremely hyped that I couldn't help but peek at them. Yup. We're talking about Harry Potter.
I have to say that when I first picked up the book I wasn't expecting the story within to be anything like what I read. I'd been hearing people rave about these books forever, and last time I read a book people raved about I ended up forever haunted by my deep and relentless hatred for it. 90% of the time I find popular books more than cringe-worthy, and believe me when I say that I can't stand it when I read a book that's apparently loved by so many people but turns out to be pure garbage. I just don't understand it.

"Hello, My Name is ____."

Ah, characters. Those wonderfully complex people who dwell inside our beloved stories. Creating characters is one of my favorite things, from developing personalities to creating their individual quirks. Until I find myself tapping my fingers restlessly against my desk, staring at my words and descriptions, wondering what on earth am I supposed to name this character?

Let’s be honest. We’ve all been there. Choosing names for characters is like choosing a name for your child; it takes a lot of debating. I mean, not only does it have to be a name that you like, but it has to fit their personality, and appearance. Sometimes you find yourself with a character that just refuses to accept whatever names you attempt to bestow upon them. It’s frustrating. It’s hard. It’s also something that must be dealt with, at one point or another. That’s why, today, I’m going to be teaching y’all a few tips that I’ve picked up for naming characters.

Do Hard Things Got Me Into College at 15

We can change the world.

The book Do Hard Things has drastically changed my life. From one thing to another, it has influenced almost every past of my existence. I used to be apathetic and had an awful work ethic. I would quit things that I started and never quite put all the effort I could into a project. I was the normal "Teenager". I worked only hard enough to get by.

Living Limitlessly piece by piece

As writers, we have the ability or power to do things to our characters in our stories. And those characters make us cry, laugh, angry, a handful of emotions, some of them singularly, or all at once. Sometimes, we like to throw in our backgrounds to the background of a certain character. I personally have seen this done and they’ve become some of my favorite books. But what about us?

How to Outline Your Novel with Trello

Every so often, I get a novel idea for a story (pun intended), but I always seem to get stuck at the same point: planning. It seems that I have a ton of ideas just floating around in my head, but I can never seem to build a good outline. Today, I'd like to introduce you to an amazing tool that gives you the flexibility you need to plan out your story.

Take It Seriously

“So, what’s your book about?” they asked as we tromped along in the woods with the rest of the group.

Being the awkward introvert I am, absolutely incapable of answering any such question of high probing in less than two hours, I gave up and said, “Oh it’s stupid.”

Redeemable Villain?

Hope y’all had a great Easter!

Today I’m going to talk about...Villains *cue ominous classic villainy music.*

There are so many different types of villains that fall into several different categories. Such as the really evil villain (ya know the one you don’t like at all and never will because he’s just, so evil) one would be Satan, if you want a character then, Voldemort.

Life-Like: Creating Realistic Characters

Hey, guys, it’s Arella again. As we move further into April and cover more of our tips, I’d like to move on to some of mine regarding another very important aspect of your story: realistic characters. It’s always important to remember that your goal in writing is not just to create lovable characters for your readers to adore, it’s to create realistic people-like characters.

I think it’s something that we all find ourselves questioning at some point, and wondering whether or not are characters feel real enough for our readers to truly, deeply connect with them. Today, I’m going to be sharing a few of the tips and strategies I’ve learned to accomplish this.

Afraid to Tell My Story

This is a guest post by a fellow YWW'er, Sara Willoughby

“What does it- I mean to say, how does it affect you day to day?” my friend asked me, referring to my multiple chronic illnesses. I smiled and tried to answer as best I could. The truth was, however, that I was tired of telling my story. Tired of trying to explain. Even now, I’ve rewritten this article several times.

The Power of Words (+blog update)

Here is an update on my writing and some encouragement to those of you just starting out on the journey of writing.

I can assure you it is up and down. You take two steps forward and three steps back. However, this is such joy and fulfillment within it, that you cannot help but fall in love with the way you can form words.

A New Riot

Riot: a violent disturbance of the peace by a crowd.

R. I. O. T.: Righteous Invasion Of Truth

Love Riot: A crowd of Biblical believers living life like God loved

I  grew up listening to the basic Christian music of the 1990’s. Rich Mullins, Keith Greene, and DC Talk just to name a few. If I’m honest, two modern bands that are circulating now in the Christian music world today, I listened to then. Toby Mac, and Michael Tait of the Newsboys. One of DC’s songs, Jesus Freaks is still to this day one of my all time favorites. Why? Is it the words, the amps, the bass, the drums?

Online Tools for Writers

Hello, everybody, it's James again with a fresh dose of tech for writers. Today I'm going to introduce you to some awesome online writing tools. Each one of these tools addresses a particular problem writers have, such as staying focused or organising your thoughts.

You Can't Write a Book in a Day

I had a teacher once who asked us a very important question: “What do you wish you could change?”

Well, I want to change my meager lazy bum status in life, become responsible, and become a published author. To write a book, to become a sensational blogger who actually helps people, to not necessarily become famous but to impact a lot of people.

He then proceeded to ask another question. “What do you plan to do about it today?”

Um… write a book?

Nope. C’mon myself.

You can’t write a book in a day.

How Long Will Your Readers Remember Your Book?

Hello once again (man, I need to think of new greetings here)!

Think about why your favorite childhood movie was your favorite or just one you like now or would watch over again.

I could probably list an immense list of movies from my childhood that I still watch, and would want to. I know we’re writers, but I don’t know, I’m just using movies for today.

Cheat Codes For Writing a Great Story

Hey, everyone! Bethany here. Today I thought I'd write about how you can create a rich, in-depth story without dedicating four decades of hard work to it, and by that I mean I'm going to share with you nine years of experience and give you a few tips on how you can gain that same level of experience in less than a third that time. Therefore onward, and I shall share with you the benefits of sticking to a story like tree sap to your fingers. That stuff never comes off...

Picking Up the Pieces: How to Organize an Unstructured story

Let me tell you something: I have always been one of those people who is much fonder of skipping the outlining process and letting the story take me where it wants to go. My characters take my hands and lead me along, telling me their secrets and pasts along the way. In short? I’m a pantser, which, for those of you who don’t know, is someone who writes without outlining, therefore writing by "the seat of their pants”.

While being a pantser isn’t a bad thing, and has many benefits, there is one problem. When you finish your rough draft, full of lovely twists and turns that you never dreamed of, with characters that have fleshed themselves out, you are more often than not left with a few holes in your plot, character arcs, and overall story structure. A lot of us have been there. That’s why today, I’m going to be telling you how to patch up those holes and make your rewrite go smoothly and relatively pain free.

What Should We Choose To Write About: Reality or Morality?

It's a common misconception in society and the writing circles that either you choose to write a stunning and gritty story about reality, or you write a story with a moral theme that reeks of sunshine and flowers and butterflies. So which do we choose?

The Story Behind My Blog

We are too comfortable. This is the message you constantly hear me teach. What you do not yet know, is how God taught ME this. How God convicted me about this issue.

To quote Tangled, “This is the story of how I Died”.
How I died to self and learned to love people the way God does.

A Letter to Those Discouraged by this World

This was a guest post submitted to us by another young writer who has just recently, been published on The Rebelution. WAY TO GO ELIZA! ~Natalie

Dear Teenager, Ever since reading “Do Hard Things” by Brett and Alex Harris at the age of 13, I wanted to make an impact. I longed to not be a normal teen. I pursued overcoming the typical Christian young adult that was expected of me.

The Novelist's Antagonists (And How to Defeat Them)

In the story of life, there are three antagonists who are fighting against you when you're writing your novel. In order to finish, you need to defeat each one in its turn. So, let's take a look at each one and the best way to defeat it.

Because You Love It

I’m me. I’m a writer such as you may be. And because this month is the famous April Camp Nanowrimo experience as announced in our previous post, I am planning to write a book. A novel. 2 pages a day leading up to my goal of completion. But let me tell you a secret…

I’m not going to publish it.