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Not All Heroes Wear Capes (But Some Do)
I was looking for an old list of character names on an hard drive earlier this week, and I came across a folder I thought I’d lost forever when my old computer died. The following is my college admissions essay, which I wrote back in 2009 before I applied to various schools. This essay got… Continue reading
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Rose of Autumn
(I wrote this poem a few years back for an unfinished fantasy story that will likely never see the light of day. It’s about a woman who eventually became a queen,widely revered for her beauty and feared for her skill with an ax and her prickly attitude. I actually like how it came out, so… Continue reading
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Why not both?
I’m sure y’all have seen the meme that has come to be known across the internet as “Why not both?” It looks like this, for the unfamiliar: I think about it often, especially when I see debates over certain topics popping up across the internet, or in everyday life. There seems to be things that… Continue reading
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Unexpected
When I was in 6th grade, my classmates and I participated in a program at a place called Exchange City. Basically, we were to apply for jobs, learn how to interview, and, once our positions were secured, we went on a field trip to a makeshift “city” set up where we were told to run… Continue reading
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Favorite Tropes
Writers are often advised to avoid certain tropes in their writing, but let’s face it… some tropes/cliches are unavoidable. And some are irresistible! Tropes and cliches can be bad, don’t get me wrong. They are dreaded and spurned for a reason. They can break a story and turn a reader away from a book or… Continue reading
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Rena
(Here’s a short story I wrote a few years ago and have always been fond of. Hope you enjoy!) Grayson Hightower did not understand what it meant to be happy. He was not a superfluous man. He was a businessman. Forty-five, living in a posh penthouse overlooking the harbor—and he had yet to spot a… Continue reading
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The Things We Connect With
When you read a book, what are the things you connect with? Are there certain factors that stand out to you more than others? I read mostly YA, but I don’t shy away from any particular genre, and do stray into adult literature on occasion. For me, there are a couple of elements that leap… Continue reading
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Just in Case
I don’t know if there is an official name for something like this, but I have come to realize that I suffer from a syndrome that I refer to as “Just in Case-itis.” This affliction often goes hand-in-hand with a plague of “What if?”s. I am incapable of packing for anything – be it a… Continue reading
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Five Life-Changing Reads
Every avid reader has a favorite book or two… or seventy-six. But some of those notable or obscure titles can be life-changing. So, here’s a list of some of the books that have changed my life – not only as a reader, but as a person! 1.) Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie – Most folks… Continue reading
amreading, amwriting, annie john, author, book recommendations, books, Caribbean literature, fantasy, j.m. barrie, j.r.r. tolkien, jamaica kincaid, leaves of grass, life-changing, life-changing books, literature, peter pan, poetry, reading, the jungle, the lord of the rings, upton sinclair, walt whitman, writing -
Writing Techniques: Self-editing and revising!
Now, the following post is based solely on MY methods. This is what works for me, but might not work for all writers. We are all wired differently, and there is no universal “right” way to do things. Now, with that disclaimer out of the way, I am going to share my personal methods for… Continue reading
