Tag Archives: motivation

Embracing Failure as the Key to Success

Posted on April 27, 2016 by J. Sevick

Why do you create? Maybe the answer appears easily to you, always ready and waiting somewhere between the steady rhythm of your heart and the tip of your tongue. To express yourself. To have fun. To share your wisdom with … Continue reading →

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How Writing Fanfiction Can Make You a Better Writer

Posted on September 16, 2015 by J. Sevick

A lot of people have talked about the benefits of fanfiction—the lack of gatekeepers to allow beginning writers to dive right in, the built-in audience for support and motivation, the potential for growth and feedback—and all of these are absolutely … Continue reading →

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The Growth Mentality

Posted on March 27, 2015 by J. Sevick

I finished another book!! I am so excited, most of all because this means the first one wasn’t a fluke. This is something I can actually do. I have written books. I know someone out there might be thinking: well, … Continue reading →

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What We Read For

Posted on September 25, 2014 by J. Sevick

As I was reading the other day, I tried to think about what was driving me to keep reading—why was I interested? What was I looking forward to reaching in the story? I realized that what drives a story to … Continue reading →

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How to Develop Themes

Posted on August 5, 2014 by J. Sevick

If you’ve ever taken an English class, you have probably talked a lot about “theme.” Some teachers call it a one-word topic, like “love” or “individuality”; some call it a phrase or message, like “love conquers all” or “crime doesn’t … Continue reading →

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From Idea to Story

Posted on June 14, 2014 by J. Sevick

[No doubt part one of eight million…] When you look at a finished novel—its pacing, its characters, its settings, its twists and turns—and you look at the infant idea cradled in your mind, you might wonder how you can ever … Continue reading →

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Making Your Heroes Proactive

Posted on June 10, 2014 by J. Sevick

I wrote yesterday about how to start developing the motivation for your hero to stop the villain. Often, this is because the villain is doing evil things, and so the hero rises to stop them. However, sometimes your villain isn’t … Continue reading →

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Making Strides

Posted on June 9, 2014 by J. Sevick

The first step for any writer-to-be is to find the idea. Depending on the desired length and complexity of the project at hand, that can be its own epic struggle. But whether it hits you like a lightning bolt or … Continue reading →

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Avoiding the Antihero

Posted on May 31, 2014 by J. Sevick

I wrote last week about the downsides of an “ordinary” protagonist, and about how I wanted to seek out an “extraordinary” protagonist. This means a character with history, with personality, with awareness and a pre-established identity. This sort of character … Continue reading →

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Building the Generic Hero Motivation

Posted on May 29, 2014 by J. Sevick

A story is a character who wants something. It really can be that simple… or that difficult. Depending on the genre, structure, and skill of the author, a character’s motivation must be clear (as in having a definitive end point … Continue reading →

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