How memory works

The human mind is complex and not fully understood. Which, when you think about it, makes it perfect for a plot device.

Who says that you can't suddenly forget or remember something? Who says you can't only remember certain things, like fighting skills, while forgetting the rest of your identity? Who knows if you can suddenly remember an alien abduction after you were sure that you were just sleepwalking at night?

Playing tricks on your characters' memories can be a great way to move your plot forward, but it isn't always realistic (or new). Take a good look at the ways memories are informing your narrative and see if it's the right way to use this well-known trope.

If you're going to be social, be social right

Social media is very accessible. Possibly too accessible.

Kids are using social media before they learn to drive and they're often doing it better than adults.

Despite this, you don't want to underestimate the difference between using social media and using social media professionally.

If you want to be considered a professional, if you want to look official, if you want to have a social media presence that you won't be embarrassed by in a few years, learn about social media. Learn how to do it smartly. Learn how to do it so it reaches your audience.

If you're going to use social media, learn to do it right. There are so many resources out there. Find the one that speaks to you, and then create a social media presence that gets you noticed in the best way.

How amazing is your magic?

Some people believe that magic exists. They believe that magicians are not creating illusions, but are really making objects appear in thin air. They believe in fairies. They believe that miracles are possible if you believe hard enough.

Some people don't believe in magic. Maybe they just know too much science to believe anything that cannot be logically explained.

When you create a fantasy world, you need to decide how much magic is common and who it is common to.

Does everyone know that magic exists? Is everyone's magic the same? Are there still some displays of magic that would amaze anyone despite the common fantasy elements?

When you make up a magical world, you make up all the rules. Set up the level or magic and of common knowledge early so you can use it as effectively as possible throughout your story.

Question first, edit later

Editing is important. It takes a lot of work and attention to do.

Before you dive into that hard work, however, ask yourself one important question: Is this scene required?

For every single scene in your writing, ask yourself if it is moving the story forward. If it brings something new. If it is respecting the pace of your story.

If a scene is not meeting all three of these criteria, then you probably don't need the scene. Delete the scene or save it for another story before taking the time to edit something that is not even required.

There are lots of reasons to kill someone

Mysteries abound. And, if you read them all, you'll find that there are lots of different reasons why someone might want to commit a crime. Money, love, anger, revenge, mental illness, etc. So many reasons to do bad things.

If you're writing a mystery, there are likely going to be many suspects to the crime that happened or the threat that permeates your story. You want every one of those suspects to have a reason that will convince your readers that they could be the villain of your writing.

One thing to remember is that they don't all have to have the same motive.

Even if many characters are accused of killing the same victim, they don't all have to have the same reason. Someone wants an inheritance. Someone was wronged. Someone else wants to take over the business.

There are a lot of reasons to kill. Give every one of your suspects a motivation that is true to them.

Feedback timing

Writing "the end" is great.

Sometimes, you're so happy about what you've written that you just want to get it to the next step as soon as possible. You want to share it so someone else can read it and know how amazing your writing is.

You want to get some feedback from someone who wasn't in your mind the entire time you were writing.

But take a second.

Your story is great in your mind as you've written it, but rereading it might reveal a number of flaws. You might realize that there are huge plot gaps. You might realize that you didn't write it all in the same tense. You might realize that a huge plot point doesn't actually make sense.

You might be proud of writing "the end," but take a pause and read your words again before you move your piece forward for review. Keep your readers for when you need them the most. Don't lose them in a first draft that's still a little messy.

A place for writing

Virginia Woolf wrote about a place of her own. Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, and Walt Whitman have homes that you can tour because they are so intrinsically linked to their writing.

Yet, not all of us can easily find our own space.

Some of us have family and roommates and budgets. Space can be limited.

But you can still carve yourself a space to write. You can still find a space and make it your own.

Maybe that means wearing a pair of headphones that lets everyone know you are not to be interrupted. Maybe it means finding your favourite seat in your local café. Maybe it means having a chair in the house that you only use when you're writing.

You might not be able to buy a cottage in the woods or afford a writer's retreat to find your own space, but you can make a space of your own wherever you are. And then get to writing.