3 Things Workshops Taught Me

I’m taking an Advanced Creative Writing Class and this week and next week we’re workshopping short stories. What that means is we submit short stories and discuss them one at a time in class. People say what they liked, explain what didn’t work, and give suggestions to make it better. We got to sign up for the day of our choosing and, being the crazy person I am, I signed up for the first day. I wanted to get it over with and my story was actually done.

I’ve done workshops like this before and I thought I’d share some lessons I’ve learned about both writing and myself.

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Why People Scare Me

“I’m so proud of you for being social!”
I waved to my flatmates and their two friends as I slipped back into my room. That’s a phrase that I hear from them pretty often. They know that being social can be hard for me and they make it a point to affirm me. Even if I’ve only stepped out of my room for three minutes and barely spoken. My flatmates know how uncomfortable I am in social situations. They respect that. They also push me to grow. They’ll ask me to hang out with them, even if they don’t think I’ll accept. They’ll pull me out of my room occasionally to watch a movie, since I won’t have to talk to people. My flatmates understand something very important about me.
People scare me.

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Fairy Tale Discovery: Twelve by the Mail

Another Saturday, another video. This time, I discover and share a new fairy tale with you all!

Here’s a link to Twelve by the Mail, if you want to read it. It’s a different translation than the one I used, but the story is still the same.

Until next time, word nerds!

How to Write Your Elf

I’ve found that elves are some of the hardest of mythical creatures to write, simply because there are so many variations of them out there. Are they small, mischievous spirits or noble, human-like magicians? You have more creative freedom when writing an elf, but less original material to use as inspiration. Elves have evolved a lot over the years and throughout their literary lives.

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How to Write Your Dragon

Fantasy has always been my favorite genre and that is largely due to the creatures that inhabit the magical worlds. I’m starting this series, “How to Write Your….”, to explore the different creatures I’ve come across and give ideas on how to make them unique.

We’ll start with dragons.

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