dawn.vogel | February 21, 2022
I recently learned that in 2005, comedian and actor Stephen Fry published a book about writing poetry, something he does as a hobby. Though I write my poetry for publication, I thought it might be delightful to learn about writing poetry from someone I adore so much. So I picked up a copy of the […]
dawn.vogel | February 14, 2022
I’m always looking for new tips on writing, particular writing flash fiction and other short lengths of stories. This article, sharing information from a 1946 article on “short-short stories,” was surprisingly salient more than fifty years later! Some of the tips are still around, albeit worded differently for a more modern audience. But the tips […]
dawn.vogel | February 7, 2022
It’s always interesting to look at the ways in which technology in fiction impacts the stories we tell. This 1986 essay by Ursula K. LeGuin posits the idea that bags, or storage containers in general, are a more significant part of technological advances than most people think, and that by focusing fiction in that direction, […]
dawn.vogel | January 24, 2022
As I mentioned previously, I’m doing a lot of work this year with productivity and scheduling. As part of this, I’ve been tracking where my time goes in fifteen-minute increments throughout the day to see when I’m working on what type of project, and how much time I’m spending on things. One of the things […]
dawn.vogel | January 17, 2022
I’ve started this year with an email course on creativity, followed by a virtual class on setting goals and making plans. Both of these have got me thinking about what I do, why I do it, and what I want out of it. The shortest possible version is: I love to write. However, the more […]
dawn.vogel | January 10, 2022
It’s one thing to tell yourself that you need to write daily (or every other day, or whatever schedule you give yourself) in order to grow as a writer. But it’s another entirely to work on growing your productivity. I’ve been working through some exercises provided by the brilliant Jessie Kwak (author of From Chaos to […]
dawn.vogel | January 3, 2022
As I’ve written more and more stories, I’ve reached a point now where I can draft a story and often see that it’s a flawed story. Sometimes, I’ve grabbed onto something too big for the scope of a short story. Other times, it’s that not much is happening, in spite of having a lot of […]
dawn.vogel | December 27, 2021
I like to share interesting author advice that I come across, and this post about 10 Elementary Tips for Writers from Sherlock Holmes struck me as a neat approach. Because it’s not writing advice from Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s what authors can learn by emulating Sherlock Holmes (definitely with less of the opium and breaking […]
dawn.vogel | December 20, 2021
For the first time in a while, I tried to complete NaNoWriMo this November. If you’re not familiar with this annual event, it involves writing 50,000 words in the month of November. Which, for the record, is sort of a lot. I first tried NaNoWriMo in 2009, and I won … technically, in that I […]
dawn.vogel | December 13, 2021
The holidays are approaching quickly, but if you’re still looking for a gift idea for an author in your life, check out this list! It’s a great mix of practical and whimsical, and covers a range of price points!
