During my first year in my creative writing master’s program, the realization that all literature has eight common elements: hit me. All classes talk about the elements, in one form or another, sometimes with different names, but always referring to the same thing. It doesn’t matter the genre: fiction, poetry, non-fiction, drama, etc. your writing must use these eight elements to be taken seriously. The eight key elements are a transformational arc, configured time, field of action, persona, voice/style, point of view, conflict/tension, and imaginal patterns. I have struggled to understand these terms and didn’t [...]

I, as well as many other writers, struggle with writer’s block. It is always rearing its ugly head, telling me, “you don’t want to write, do something else instead.” Often, hours go by before I see a breakthrough and get work done. What is writer’s block? It is simply a lack of motivation to sit down and write. I can stare at the blank page for hours at a time – having no idea what to type, or sometimes I’ll get a sentence down, with little idea where to go next. My mind goes blank. My phone [...]

What a time to be living, when all the stores are closing, joblessness is rampant, and no matter where you look, all you see is COVID-19. The news reports show numbers rising, and we’re forced to stay indoors. In this time of uncertainty, many people and I are wondering how to stay motivated; when stress, anxiety, and fear overshadow our life. I know, I have been struggling with this pandemic – not knowing when I can go back to work, or if I even want too. I have made it my mission to work from home, even [...]

“The only way to become a writer is to sit down and write.” (Kingsolver 2018) One of the hardest transitions we as writers must make is building a daily writing routine. We must find opportunities to write in our busy lives, and it often feels like time is working against us, or we prioritize other responsibilities. I work full-time hours as a part-time employee for Disney, and I struggled to find moments to write, then it hit me, there is an endless amount of time, it’s dependent on how I use it. I started arriving [...]