I long for a time where I can be a full-time writer. Anyone else? Instead, I’m what some might label a “Midnight Novelist.” (Well, really more of a “Lunch Break Novelist”—I don’t have the stamina to stay up late after a long day of work.) Or, as I like to call it, a Writer with …
Tag: writing
Lessons from Lemony Snicket: Narrative Voice
As I mentioned in my writing update a few weeks ago, I recently reread Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events as a part of trying to crack the secret of writing a strong, distinct narrative voice for Whitman Court. My aim with Whitman Court was to write the stories with a clever, omniscient Narrator …
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April 2022 Writing Update: Secret Project, SCBWI Conference, and More!
I’ve got a lot of ground to cover with this overdue writing update, so let’s dive right in! There’s a lot going on with my writing projects, plus I attended a regional conference with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) last weekend! Writing Updates: The Queen of Whitman Court: Back in March, …
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Storytelling Tips from Video Games
I love video games, though I’m not a particularly skilled player. My brother and I grew up in the Nintendo DS and Wii era and shared many moments playing together—duking it out in Super Smash Bros. Brawl or Mario Kart.I still feel nostalgic about particular games I played growing up, and during college started to …
How Our Company of Fools Changed My Writing
Fueled by an explosion of inspiration and angst, I wrote Our Company of Fools at the beginning of January 2016. I’d never written a book of that length that quickly. I’d never written a more personally emotional book. I never wrestled so much with a story through the ebbs and flows of editing and revision. …
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Writing Update: December 2021
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Here’s my present to you: a Winter Writing Update! My latest writing update can be summed up in one simple sentence: I’m going all in to the Whitman Court series. While this isn’t necessarily shocking or new, it’s reflective of my state of mind to actually declare the series as …
My 10th Novel Wasn’t What I Expected…
On September 30, 2021, I hit a special milestone. I finished my 10th original novel. “Finished” used very, very loosely—there’s still a lot of editing to come. The funny thing is...I didn’t expect this book to be No. 10. I’ve been waiting to hit this milestone for nearly three years now, and I never would’ve …
August 2021 Writing Update
I’ll admit, it’s weird to reach the start of a new academic semester and NOT have homework to do. And...no sugar coating about it, I don’t miss it. It’s SO GOOD to be done with school. Though earlier this summer I thought I’d start up my monthly schedule writing updates again, I’m just going to …
Lessons from Over a Decade of Writing
I usually mark my birthmonth (August) with a reflective post about personal life. While the season of transition from graduate school into a full-time job certainly merits a robust personal reflection, I’m not quite ready to try and put into words all that I’m thinking and learning right now. Instead, I wanted to take a …
What God is Teaching Me During Grad School
This is not an easy post for me to write. One, because what I’ve been reflecting on and growing in feels super complex to distill down, and two, because it is hard for me to be vulnerable these days. A lot of my growth over the past two years in graduate school relates back to …
By Madelynn Orion 