The Magical Art of Storytelling

Welcome to my blog, where I write about my life as a full-time author,
writing craft tips, publication announcements, and more!

  • How to Write a Cover Letter for Submitting Short Fiction to Magazines

    A few days ago, I got my first short story acceptance from Clarkesworld Magazine! I’ve been submitting my work to Clarkesworld for almost five years now, and I’ve only received form rejections up until now. At this point, I could probably recite the Clarkesworld form rejection by heart (which would be a very boring party…

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  • How to Get a Novel Traditionally Published

    If you’re not part of the writing community, or if you’re just starting your writing journey, the process of getting a book deal with a traditional publishing house might seem pretty opaque. When I first started writing, I assumed that you could just send your manuscript to a publisher and then, if they liked it,…

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  • One Reason Why I Became a Writer

    Back in high school, when I was agonizing over my future career path, my dad told me to make a list of the things in life that make me happy. Then, split the list into two categories. The first category includes any type of happiness that you can feel instantaneously. Sipping hot chocolate on a…

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  • 5 Story Structures Every Novelist Needs to Know

    In last week’s blog post, I talked about how to incorporate outlining into your novel-writing process, even if you’re a pantser. This week, I’ll be answering a slightly different question: what kind of story structure should you use in your novel outline? The honest answer is that it depends. There are countless shapes a story…

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  • How to Outline Your Novel (Even If You’re a Pantser)

    A lot of writers are surprised when I tell them that I’m a pantser who loves to outline. If you’re not familiar with the terms “pantser” and “plotter,” these are categories for two types of writers. Plotters like to plot out their stories in advance so they know what’s going to happen next, while pantsers…

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  • 3 Underrated POV Ideas to Try in Your Next Story

    In elementary school, I always learned that there are three points of view (POVs)—first person, second person, and third person. Which is true. Kind of. But it’s not the full truth. One of my biggest awakenings as a writer was the realization that POV is more of a spectrum than a set of categories. POV…

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