Livia Blackburne

Logical vs. Intuitive Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 18:47:00 +0000

For the record, I hate the left-brained/right-brained terminology. It’s not scientifically accurate. While there are some brain functions that are legitimately hosted in one hemisphere (language, for example), the pop culture tropes of left brained logic and right brain creativity have been greatly overstated. So I'll refer to these concepts going forward as intuitive vs. logical writing.

When I first started writing, my writing process was quite intuitive. I'd daydream on my way to work about what happens next. Scenes would appear in my head and I’d write them down. It was all very unstructured, free, and fun.

I soon found though, that intuitive writing couldn't get me to the finish line. To get past plot holes and the murky middle, I needed analytical writing techniques like outlining, plot structure, and analyzing other books for their component parts. As I became more experienced as professional writer, I got better deploying these tools, and I think mastering these tools made up much of my growth as a writer. It wasn't that I encountered fewer problems with my drafts as I gained experience, I just better knew the steps I could take to solve them.

Worth noting here: one thing that greatly developed my logical writing skills was working on IP projects like Feather and Flame. Instead of acting like an artist with a song to sing, I became a craftsman constructing a story for my client. Need romance? I know just the right swoony moments to add. Need tension? Here are five ways to raise the stakes.

Lately, though, I’ve found myself relying too much on these logical tools. For example, I was brainstorming a picture book a while back with a coauthor. Armed with a topic, I immediately jumped into generating story ideas. Once I had the story ideas, I built them out using my usual processes. The story ideas were fine, but they didn’t sparkle. Then my coauthor suggested a new story direction, and this one immediately spoke to me. It had heart in the way that the others didn't, and I immediately knew that was the way to go.

The same thing happened recently while brainstorming my adult fantasy. I started out with a few recycled plotlines from shelved manuscripts and dutifully started organizing it into a synopsis. But again, I didn’t feel that spark of excitement. It was only when I reread the shelved manuscript, that I rediscovered the missing element — a concept I had cut out to fit the new world building. I added the concept back in, adapted to fit the new world, and suddenly my muse returned.

These experiences remind me that I can’t ignore the intuitive, emotional part of my writing, especially at the beginning of the creative process. My stories work best when they start with a spark that excites me — an image, a concept, a plot twist, an emotion that sustains me and draws in my readers. Granted, the magic almost always fades halfway through writing, and then you have to muscle your way to the end. But I can’t use my ability to muscle through the doldrums as an excuse to start a project without a spark in the first place.

So how do I stay in touch with that creative, fun side of writing? Dreams. Phone free time. Morning pages. Daydreaming in bed. Reading other books. Changing my surroundings. Freewriting. New experiences. Music. Paying attention to the things I love. Keeping inspiration lists.

I need to make time in my creative and professional life for these practices.

Are you an intuitive or logical writer? At what stages do you tilt one way or the other?

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

How I Prepared for My First Nationally Syndicated Radio Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Wed, 21 May 2025 18:52:00 +0000

You sounded so eloquent on NPR!

The text from an old high school classmate popped up during lunch. My Dreams to Ashes interview had just aired on NPR's Here and Now, and from the texts and emails coming in, I was getting some good insight into which of my friends were NPR fans.

Mostly, I reacted to the congratulatory notes with relief. I'm not a naturally good speaker, and I'd been quite nervous working up to the interview. Luckily, my friend and sometimes publicist Emily Terry from Open Book Publicity worked hard with me to prep. This was the first time I'd prepared systematically for an interview, and it was helpful enough that I'm planning on doing this for all my book publicity here on out. I thought I'd share our process, in case it's useful to other writers.

1. Prepare short answers beforehand

I didn't know what the host Scott Tong was going to ask, but based on previous interviews and the subject matter of the book, I had a pretty good idea of the themes they'd touch upon. Emily suggested that I prepare answers of about 2-3 sentences each for the themes I wanted to hit. Since the book was about the LA Chinatown Massacre, I made sure to prepare a short description of the event itself (although Scott ended up introducing the event for me). I also prepared answers about why I wrote this as a children's book, how I ended up deciding to write it , parallels I saw between the massacre and present day, and what I hoped people would take away from it.

Emily also gave me some ideas for good talking points topics in general:

1. A-ha moments in the process

2. What inspired the book?

3. Anything that tripped you up.

4. Anything that surprised you.

5. Why is the topic relevant to present day?

6. It might help to have an excerpt picked out if they ask you to read.

7. Your research process.

9. Your personal connection to the subject matter.

10. What was easy or hard about the process?

2. If it helps, run the answers by a friend

I sent my notes to Emily, and she made some suggestions for other things I could touch on.

3. Practice the answers, but not too much

I worked my way through the answers while washing dishes at night. But I also made sure not to over-rehearse, so it would still sound natural. I tried to remember to talk slowly and get in the habit of not saying "um" when I needed to think.

4. Listen to other interviews from the outlet (but only if it helps, not if it makes you nervous)

This is self explanatory. It's nice to know what to expect, but not at the expense of nerves!

5. Have your notes in front of you for the interview!

That's the great thing about a radio interview, you have your cheat sheet. I personally like to have bullet points since I find them easier to skim on the fly. During the interview, there will be questions that you don't anticipate, but if you have these prepared points to return to, it frees up your brain space to handle the unexpected questions. And it's funny what one's brain comes up with on the spot. When Scott asked me why there was such anti-Chinese sentiment in the years before the massacre, my mind went straight to a Wicked (which my daughter has been obsessed with for the past few months). I ended up paraphrasing the wizard when he says that the best way to bring people together is a common enemy. I certainly hadn't expected to go that direction!

6. Make sure you're in a quiet spot for the interview. Try to eliminate interruptions.

Here and Now's sound engineers requested that I turn off my HVAC and put my cell on Do Not Disturb. I also disconnected my landline, got rid of anything that rustled, and removed my earrings so they wouldn't bang against the phone. I'd learned the hard way about interruptions when a neighbor started using his leaf blower in the middle of another interview I did with Taiwan's Central News Agency.

7. Post production is your friend

This was a recorded interview, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much better I sounded here than in the recording session. They'd cut out places where I stumbled and also removed some questions that didn't have very interesting answers. Obviously, you can't control how the outlet edits you, but it's comforting to remember that those really polished voices you hear on the news are often the post-edit version, and you'll likely sound better too. (Unless it's a hostile outlet in which case, yikes!)

8. Build rapport and have fun!

This may sound cliche, but the more relaxed you are, the more likely you are to build rapport with your interviewer, and the better it will flow.

Do you give interviews as part of your job? How do you prepare? (And if you're curious about the interview, should be embedded above. Or you can find it at WBUR's site)

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

How to Personalize a Query in 10 Minutes

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 02:34:00 +0000

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted here. But I've been giving a lot of the same writing advice lately, and I recently compiled it in a twitter thread. I'm reprinting it here for later access.

Every so often, I’ll meet a querying writer who’s burnt out because she’s taking hours to personalize her query letters. When I queried for Midnight Thief, I spent a long time perfecting the query itself, but I only spent about 10 minutes personalizing per agent. That’s really all you need do. Indeed, I’d argue it’s all you SHOULD do.

Remember that even the most successful writers get tons of rejections. Every query letter (individually) will have a very small chance bringing in an offer of representation. Don’t sink hours into each one. That’s a how writers end up jaded and bitter.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should shotgun the same letter to every agent in Writer’s Marketplace. Researching agents and personalizing your queries will give you a big leg up as far as getting requests. The trick is to do the right amount of research, and the right amount of personalization.

What’s the right amount? You need to answer two questions. 1) Does the agent represent your genre? 2) Does the agent have a good sales record in your genre.

The definition of “good “ will vary for every writer, and there are resources that discuss the pros and cons of an established agent vs. a young, hungry one. But the point is that you need to know if the agent can sell what you write. The Publisher’s Marketplace genre-specific dealmaker lists are a helpful resource, as well as looking up the agents of authors you admire, or talking with other writers.

And that’s all you need to know. You don’t need to know the name of the agent’s favorite author as a child, or the names and ages of their pets. You don’t need to scroll through their entire social media feed to extract a profile of their working style, or go through their list to see if their recent YA fantasy sales match up in tone and flavor with your own YA Fantasy.

That kind of rabbit hole can eat up hours of your time. Also, you’re unlikely to get much useful information from social media profiles and web pages. If you’re offered representation, you’ll learn much more by talking to the agent’s existing clients than you ever will from a twitter feed.

(Yes, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask to be put in touch with existing clients when you’re offered representation. The agents don’t always oblige, but it’s perfectly fine to ask.)

Also, the only way to truly know if the agent connects with your writing is to send it over to them. When I was querying my current agent Jim McCarthy, I didn’t he’d be interested in high fantasy because all the recent sales I saw were paranomal. Good thing I sent a query anyways.

So, how exactly do you do a ten minute query personalization? You need several things: your generic query (see here for hints on how to write a good generic query), a few useful informational sites, and a blank word document. Back when I was querying, I relied heavily on Publisher’s Marketplace and the blog Literary Rambles, but that was ten years ago. I’m not sure what the kids are using these days. (Edit 2026: Publisher's Marketplace remains a solid source of information. I'd recommend paying for a month of subscription if you can afford it.)

Your generic query will be your entire query except for the opening paragraph that’s tailored to each agent. That includes your pitch, your bio, and your signoff.

Now, we’ll write a separate greeting and intro sentence for each agent. First, pick an agent from your list. Write the saluation: “Dear. Mr./Ms. [Agent name]”

Easy enough. Now look through the informational pages that you’ve conveniently opened in a tab on your browser, and find ONE connection between the agent and your book.

Maybe they recently sold a book in your genre. Maybe they said in an interview that they admire a book similar to yours. Maybe they are requesting your genre on their webpage.

It doesn’t have to be the best connection ever. In fact, it shouldn’t be, because that would take way more time than it’s worth. All you’re trying to demonstrate here is that you’ve done your research. Personalizing beyond this point has vastly diminishing returns.

The best query in the world won’t get you representation. Only your manuscript can do that. Queriesonly functions to get your foot in the door.

(One exception: if you’ve met the agent in person, then it definitely makes sense to jog their memory about your meeting.)

So for my successful query to Jim, I said: “Dear Mr. McCarthy, I noticed on your Publishers Marketplace page that you represent quite a few young adult books with magical elements.”

And left it at that. I couldn’t even say high fantasy because I didn’t see any recent high fantasy sales from him. But my personalization was enough to show him that I’d put in the effort to research.

For more commentary from Jim, as well as my full query, see this blog post.

So you have your personalized salutation and you have your one sentence reason for querying. Now move on to the next agent in your list, rinse and repeat. Once you have done this for all the agents in your querying round, then go through and send all your letters, copying in the personalized intro followed by the generic query.

And then you’re done. You’ve spent one to two hours personalizing queries and another hour or so sending them. Now, go write your next book while you wait. You are a writer, after all.

Questions I'm asking while revising UMBERTOUCHED

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 06:04:00 +0000

I'm editing Umbertouched right now, the sequel to Rosemarked. If the first draft reads like a manuscript written in fifteen minute increments at 3am while breastfeeding, that's because... well, it was. So I'm doing a big overhaul right now with my editors, and I thought I'd share some of the questions guiding my revision.

1.    Does every side character have a goal/personality/?
2.    Could every scene be pushed to be more dramatic, action packed?
3.    Can each character relationship be pushed for more tension?
4.    Is backstory shown rather than told?
5.    Does every development make things harder for the protagonists?
6.    Are any sequences too predictable? Can you change expectations so the reader is more surprised?

What questions guide your revision process?

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Brain Science For Writers Roundup 7/4/16

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 20:48:00 +0000

By Anonymous - http://kykolnik.dreamwidth.org/, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15731071

Featured: Fountain of Youth: The Secret Power of Friends and Family. Beyond the interesting biology, also underscores the importance of social networks.

Featured: Our collective memory, like individual memory, is shockingly fallible

Can you trust your gut when public speaking?

Maths helps ‘locked-in’ pair show awareness for first time

Here's a really simple trick that could help you enjoy more lucid dreams

We are most vulnerable to temptation when it feels like we're in the middle of something

You Don't Know as Much as You Think: False Expertise

People who have experienced more adversity show more compassion

Flashing Lights and Sounds Turn Rats Into Gamblers

These 50 overweight women kept a week-long "fat stigma" diary

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Short Powerful Vignettes (Analyzing The Winner's Crime)

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 21:02:00 +0000

I recently read The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski. So good!

One thing I really liked about Rutkoski's writing is how she layers together small scenes that offer bits of insight into the characters.

For example, this passage from Winner's Crime. A short 3 paragraph scene.

Kestrel’s father inspected the puppy. He gripped the scruff of its neck and held it stock-still. He lifted the surprisingly big paws. He held the muzzle and peeled back the pink-and-black lips to see the teeth.
“That’s a good dog,” he said finally. “You’ll have to train her.”
No, Kestrel decided. She didn’t.

The scene doesn't really advance the plot, but it's a really telling moment that reveals something about Kestrel's relationship with her father. I like how Rutkoski didn't feel any need to pad the scene with anything extra. There's nothing about the father coming into the room, seeing the puppy, leaving the room afterwards. It's just got the key conversation. It enough conveys what it needs to, and it trusts the reader to fill in the blanks.

There are many of scenes like this in the series. They're not all as short as the one I quoted, but they're short, powerful vignettes, that when taken together create a really layered feel for the characters and relationships. It's a neat way to structure a story. There are certainly long scenes that move the plot along, but there are also many short scenes with the extraneous details removed, leaving just the meat and emotion of the moment.

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Brain Science For Writers Roundup 6/20/16

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 20:35:00 +0000

By Wayne Short - Edited version of File:Boxing080905.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=617997

Featured: The Limits of Fight-or-Flight Training

Featured: Why We Snap: From Road Rage to Barroom Brawls

Students who believe they have more "free will" do better academically

The Strain of Always Being on Call

By age 8, children already recognise the greater moral seriousness and consequences of criminal acts compared with mere mischief

Is It Your Turn to Speak? Watch My Eyes

What's it like to be an autistic person at work?

Why Preteen Friendships Are Fleeting

Making a Memory of Murder

Why Boredom Is Anything but Boring

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Setting up Surprises (Analyzing The Wrath and the Dawn)

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 20:59:00 +0000

I read The Wrath and the Dawn, a retelling of a thousand and one nights by Renee Ahdieh, and loved the lush, romantic story. I also admired how Ahdieh set up expectations several times and then surprised the reader by going the the opposite direction.

(Major spoilers to follow.)

Example One:

Background: The Caliph of Khorasan takes a bride every night and kills her the next morning. The main character Shazi volunteers to be his bride, with the ulterior motive of exacting revenge on the Caliph for murdering her best friend. She stays alive by her wits, and the two start to fall in love. However, the Caliph's cousin Jalal eventually learns of Shazi's deception.

Setup: The cousin comes into the Caliph's room and hands him the incriminating evidence, begging the Caliph to give Shazi a chance to defend herself, since Jalal has also grown fond of her. However, the Caliph doesn't respond. He simply stares at the evidence and storms out of the room. He takes out a dagger and confronts Shazi.

The surprise: The Caliph kneels down at Shazi's feet, hands her the knife, and gives her permission to kill him for what he did to her friend.

I love this. The Caliph's actions would have been dramatic to begin with, but the setup scene with beforehand, with Jalal begging for mercy on Shazi's behalf, makes us expect a fight. This makes the Caliph's actions even more powerful.

Example Two:

Setup: Shazi's friend and first love Tariq finally attacks the Caliph's Palace in an attempt to rescue her. He doesn't know know that she's fallen in love with the Caliph and befriended his cousin Jalal. Shazi takes herfriend to the stables to help him escape, though she secretly plans to stay. As they're in the stables readying the horses, they're discovered by the Jalal. Tensions flare, and it looks like a fight will break out.

The surprise: Just as we expect Jalal to take Shazi back into the Palace, he instead asks Tariq to take Shazi away to safety.

Now your turn, readers. Read any books where the author set up some nice surprises?

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Brain Science for Writers 3/3/16

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 02:08:00 +0000

The articles in this week's edition are from early last year, actually. But still interesting!

Top Pick: How Typing Is Destroying Your Memory

Simple Jury Persuasion: “I will give you this car for $9,000.” Framing offers in terms of what the other party is gaining increases their chance of acceptance.

Motivated to Fail: When Flunking Becomes an Ambition

Unsupervised Habits Reign in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Hit the Gym after Studying to Boost Recall

How to Combat Distrust of Science

Breaking the Silence: How I Conquered Selective Mutism

There Are Only Six Basic Book Plots, According to Computers (via Passive Guy)

Momnesia: Does Pregnancy Really Change The Brain?

Winning SCRABBLE and the Nature of Expertise

Brainstorming Does Not Work

How to Be a Better Spouse

Radicalisation: A mental health issue, not a religious one

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Redesigned Lesson Plan Covers

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 01:29:00 +0000

Self publishing is a continual learning curve. I recently decided I wasn't happy with the cover for my Creative Writing Workshop for middle and high school students. It wasn't really standing out in thumbnail view.

So I tweaked it to give it bolder colors and more contrast. What do you think?

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Brain Science For Writers 2/18/16

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Thu, 18 Feb 2016 23:34:00 +0000

Top Pick: People low in agreeableness ("jerks") are particularly adept at selling their creative ideas

Top Pick: The Creativity Bias against Women

Cynicism May Cost You. Having a distrustful attitude might limit your earning power

What kinds of actions do people think of as most stupid?

Giving Up Is the Enemy of Creativity. HT Passive Guy

What stops people raising the alarm when a friend heads down the dark path to violent extremism?

Are religious people really more prejudiced than non-believers?

Woman who has never felt pain experiences it for the first time

Men Are Attracted to Nonconformist Women

NeuroTribes: How autism has been badly misunderstood

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Thoughts on Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 01:18:00 +0000

In Marissa Meyer's Winter, the cyborg heroine Cinder and her allies make a a daring plan to sneak onto the moon and overthrow the evil Queen Levana. Unsurprisingly, their plan goes awry very early on.

This got me thinking about plans. When characters make them, how should you reveal to your readers, and how well should things turn out? So you have several possibilities.

1. The reader knows what the characters are planning, but the plan goes wrong and things go in an unexpected direction.

This happens quite often, and provides a good amount of tension.

2. The characters make a plan, but the reader doesn't know it. Then, the reader finds out the plan as they watch its successful implementation.

This is a fun option as well, and usually involves some kind of clever plan.

3. The characters make a plan. The reader knows what it is, and everything goes off without a hitch.

Is this approach ever a good idea? Does this just take away any element of surprise? What do you think?

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Brain Science for Writers Roundup 2/4/2016

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 01:12:00 +0000

By Jty33 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Top Pick: Why resurgence of therapy that unearths ‘lost’ memories is risky

Top Pick: The Unfair Truth About How Creative People Really Succeed (via Passive Guy)

Ten minutes of uninterrupted eye contact causes hallucinations and other important things . This is actually another roundup of articles.

What do people think God is actually like?

Who Are You Wearing?: Does Competition Affect How Women View Luxury?

Social Class Differences in Mental Health: Do Parenting Style and Friendship Play a Role?

Hardwired for Stories (via Passive Guy)

Q&A: Why we Need to Forget

Your Favorite Candidate Speaks Simplistically. That's OK. For Now.

Did sexual equality fuel the evolution of human cooperation?

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Quick thoughts on nonlinear structure and punctuation comedy. (Analyzing WOOL by Hugh Howey)

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 00:26:00 +0000

I'm really enjoying WOOL by Hugh Howey right now, and wanted to jot down two quick notes.

First, some sections of make use of nonlinear structure. The second section, for example, starts out with the main character in a jail cell, and then goes back several days to explain how she got there.

It made me start thinking about the types of stories that benefit from this type of backwards structure. My best thought is: this works well when it's not obvious how the character got to the later scene from the earlier scene. The bigger the disconnect, the more intriguing the hook. What do you think? Are there any other factors that determine whether to use this structure?

That's the first thought, I also wanted to highlight this amusing passage. It's from an underwater diving scene where the POV character is diving and her eccentric friend Solo is communicating with her via intercom. There's a running joke that Solo's voice is too loud over the intercom.

“YOU OKAY?” Solo asked, his voice startling her again.

“I’m fine,” she said. She held her chin down against her chest, leaving the contact open. “I’ll check in if I need you. The volume is a little high down here. Scares the hell out of me.”

She released the contact and turned to see how her lifeline was doing. All along the ceiling, her overflow bubbles danced in the glow of her flashlight like tiny jewels—

“OKAY. GOTCHA.”

“Goddammit,” she muttered, wishing she could reach inside her helmet to adjust the thing or to dig a finger in her ear. It felt like his voice was still lodged in there, tickling her.

I really like the exchange I bolded up above. The juxtaposition of the poetic underwater description interrupted by the ALL CAPS response. It's a great use of punctuation (the em-dash) and capitalization for comedic effect. And also a good example of how the main character's internal dialogue interacts with external happenings.

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

My Income Distribution for 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 01:21:00 +0000

I'm getting my finances together from last year, and thought I'd post some stats on my writing income for 2015, as I did for 2014. No specific numbers, but some trends.

Here is my writing income distribution for 2015:

91% of my income last year was from my traditionally published YA. This included the second half of my advance from Daughter of Dusk and also my first royalties from Midnight Thief (yay!). The next highest income source was speaking and teaching fees (5%). That was a new category for me this year and something that I'd like to investigate more in the future. After suffering from some book event burnout at the end of last summer, I think I'm going have to be more discerning about appearances, especially if they don't pay an honorarium. Self pub income was about 3.5% of my income. I didn't put out anything new this year, so these are all sales of books I had up before.

And here's how 2015 compares to 2014.

Self pub income was slightly lower, which makes sense since I didn't release anything new. The increase in traditional publisher income is mostly due to Midnight Thief starting to earn royalties. It's nice to see the total slightly higher than before, though as for the actual number, let's just say I'm glad Mr. Blackburne has a steady job. We like to say that he married me for my potential millions, and I married him for his guaranteed thousands ;-)

2016 should be an interesting year. I'm drafting two books right now on spec -- one in the Midnight Thief universe and one unrelated YA fantasy. So depending on how I end up publishing them, next year's chart might look quite different.

So writers, any financial thoughts/goals for 2016?

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Save 28% on My Creative Writing Lesson Plans!

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 22:26:00 +0000

I'm having a sale from January 20-21 at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Use the coupon code START16 to save 28% across the board!

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Game Changing, Action Packed Inciting Incidents

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 22:57:00 +0000

I recently finished the very enjoyable Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, and wanted to jot down a quick note about the inciting incidents .

Almost every novel has an inciting incident -- the event that gets the story started. I found the ones in this series particularly engaging, and I think it's because they have several things going for them.

1. They're game changers. Well, this is kind of the definition of an inciting incident, but the incidents in these three books really shake things up. Actually, all three involve moving the character to a new physical location, which contributes to the sense of change, I think. In addition, all of these incidents involve changes in character relationships as well as character goals.

2. They're action packed scenes. Not that every story needs this, but it sure is exciting.

3. They have a large cast of characters. Again creates the sense of excitement.

So readers, what do you think? Any good inciting incidents come to mind?

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Story Writing Workshop

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 21:40:00 +0000

This past July, I ran a week long creative writing camp for middle and high school students. We had a ton of fun, and the students wrote some great stories! After the camp, I revised my materials and expanded on them for other teachers to use. They are now available on Teachers Pay Teachers.

GET THE ENTIRE BUNDLE AND SAVE OVER 20%! Or check out individual lessons below. (Lesson one is free)

Lesson One: Introduction to Storytelling (Free download)
Lesson Two: Freewriting and Idea Generation
Lesson Three: Building Strong Characters
Lesson Four: Plot
Lesson Five: Setting and Description
Lesson Six: Revision
Lesson Seven: Book Cover Design

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

My Favorite Reads from 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 21:42:00 +0000

Okay, it's a bit late this year, but better late than never! I've been reading a lot more nonfiction as well, so I'm doing two lists this year: my top 3 nonfiction, and my top 5 fiction. These aren't necessarily books that were published in 2015. I just happened to read them in 2015. They are in no particular order except for my favorites from each category.

Nonfiction

Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls are Not for Sale, an Activist Finds Her Calling and Heals Herself
by Rachel Lloyd

This was a hard read, but a really important one for understanding the underage sexual exploitation of American girls. Rachel Lloyd does a good job of explaining the psychological factors and methods behind why a teenage girl would enter “the life” in the first place, why she’d stay on the streets despite abusive pimps and violent johns, even return to the streets after getting out. Lloyd also explores the stigma against “teen prostitutes" that makes them easy targets for abuse. A lot of the psychology extends to abusive relationships in general, and Lloyd offers many insights there. A must read for any responsible citizen without thorough knowledge of sex trafficking or domestic violence.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
by Laura Hillenbrand

An incredibly inspiring read. Laura Hillenbrand is a truly gifted storyteller, and I loved how she wove together Zamperini's life story with the bigger picture backdrop of the war, choosing just the right details to bring the story and characters to life (I might have to go back and analyze her use of detail for use in my own writing). And what a story, from his mischief filled younger days, to the Olympics, to the darker days of the war, and then the unimaginable darkness of the POW camps and abuses there. There were many sections that were hard to read, but the story is ultimately one of resilience, grace, and hope.

And my favorite non-fiction I read this year was...

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
by Barbara Demick

I've been reading some great narrative nonfiction lately: Unbroken from earlier this year, and now Nothing to Envy. In both books, I love how the author weaves personal narratives with background information about the historical and social context. Nothing to Envy was a fascinating and heartbreaking journey into a totalitarian state. Demick tells the story of several North Korean defectors: a doctor, a housewife, a young school teacher, an elite college student. We follow their journeys when things go from bad to worse as the economy collapses, and see the different factors that made them decide to take the risk and leave, as well as the social and psychological challenges they faced as they tried to integrate into South Korea. Highly recommended.

Fiction

To Say Nothing of the Dog (Oxford Time Travel #2)
by Connie Willis

The term genre bender was invented for this book. Loved this one so much. It's part time travel sic fi, part comedy of errors, part victorian novel, part treatise on philosophy of history, part mystery novel, and so much fun. Probably the cleverest piece of fiction I've read since HPMor (even though they are completely different ). You can tell that Connie Willis loves history, and she managed to pack all kinds of interesting tidbits into a hilariously silly story. Definitely checking out her other stuff.

Marcelo in the Real World
by Francisco X. Stork

It's been a long time since I've finished a book and sat there in the dazed realization that I've read something amazing. This is an ambitious and beautiful book, weaving together tough subjects in an honest, heartwarming story.

I fell in love very quickly with the main character Marcelo. I can't speak to how accurate a representation of an autistic person he is, but as his own character, he was very well drawn. He has a hard time with social interaction and the cultural norms of the "real world," and I loved how seeing things through his eyes made *me* see the world in a wholly different way.

I was also incredibly impressed by the issues Stork tackles in his book -- religion, good and evil, professional ethics, suffering... There's no black or white here, and the depth and sophistication with which Stork addresses these questions was commendable.

The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy #1)

Compulsively readable and romantic YA fantasy. I finished this book in a little less than 24 hours, which is rare for me these days, sneaking in chapters between various other obligations. The story is deliciously tense, as Rutkoski draws out the slow burn forbidden romance -- the daughter of a general in an imperialistic empire, and a slave committed to winning back independence for his homeland. Fans of Daughter of Smoke and Bone and The Lunar Chronicles should pick this up.

An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1)
by Sabaa Tahir

This reads less like a debut novel and more like a masterclass in storytelling. I was blown away by the tension from the very first scene, the web of opposing agendas, loyalties, and conflicts between the characters, the rich worldbuilding and weaving of myth and history throughout, and the overarching theme of triumph over inner darkness. The writing is beautiful as well, reminiscent of Megan Whalen Turner, and had me running to my goodreads account to write down my favorite turns of phrase.

I was trying to think of comparative titles for this, and even though it's a different subgenre, The Hunger Games comes closest to mind. The books share the same high stakes tension and sadistic totalitarian world. The book also reminded me of Legend by Marie Lu and The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski because of its dual perpective male/female narrators from opposing factions. Definitely check it out if you're fans of any of these books.

And my favorite fiction book of 2015...

The Scorpio Races
by Maggie Stiefvater

The bloodthirsty sea horses of The Scorpio Races have magic that seeps through the skin of the riders if they come into contact, and I think that's an apt description for the book as well. There's magic in these pages-- from the vivid descriptions of horse racing, to Thisby's sea air and the delicious tension between Puck and Sean. Stiefvater's prose is beautiful and vivid, and everything is so amazingly real. The book is slower paced than a lot of YA fantasy reads, but I still found myself sucked into the story. And the romance...Oh, I love my slow burn romances. This one was almost nonexistent for the first half, but oh does it ever pay off.
adults as well as teens.

So readers, have you read these books? What were your favorites this year?

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Building Reader Empathy for an Unlikeable Character (Analyzing Fairest by Marissa Meyer)

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 01:21:00 +0000

I recently finished Fairest by Marissa Meyer, and it blew me away. I already knew Meyer could write wildly entertaining tales with likeable protagonists (Cinder, Scarlet, Cress). With Fairest Meyer proved herself just as adept at slipping into the mind of a sociopath.

For those unfamiliar with the series, Fairest is a companion novel to the Lunar Chronicles that tells the backstory of the villain Queen Levana. Levana is evil: a rapist and a murderer several times over. Yet, as I was reading the book, I felt that I was able to, if not completely sympathize with her, still understand Levana enough to empathize with her.

So, I got to wondering: How did Meyer make us empathize with an evil character? Here’s what I came up with.

1. Pain. I think pain is one of the most effective ways of getting a reader to empathize with a character. Young Levana grows up lonely, unloved by her parents and abused by her cruel older sister, and ostrasized because of a disfiguring childhood injury. It's hard not to feel bad for what she's gone through.

2. Need for love. Because of her lonely upbringing, Levana craves love, and the majority of her evil deeds stem from this deepseated universal need.

3. Gradual progression. Like the proverbial frog in a boiling pot of water, Levana’s evil schemes don’t come fully formed. Instead, they develop gradually. A passing thought turns into a wisp of a plan, into something better thought out. If she had simply come out a decided to kill the child who was the rival to her throne, we would have recoiled. But it's a progression. First we see her pride at being the acting regent for the child for 12 years, and then her gradual realization that she’s a good queen, and then the wish that she wouldn’t have to give up her throne when the child came of age. The earliest steps in this progression are thoughts anyone might have, and yet it leads somewhere quite frightening.

4. Consequences and self awareness. Without going into detailed spoilers, Levana doesn’t come out unscathed in her final crime. It hurts her deeply, and she’s filled with self loathing even as she knows she’s passed the point of no return. This feeds the reader's sense of justice served.

Now, dear readers, your turn. Have you read any books where the author made you empathize with an unlikeable character?

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Brain Science for Writers 12/2/2015

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 01:04:00 +0000

"Secretary Clinton Participates in G8 Foreign Ministers Meeting Press Conference (4481662959)" by U.S. Department of State from United States - Secretary Clinton Participates in G8 Foreign Ministers Meeting Press Conference
Uploaded by Elitre. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Featured: Women Candidates Face Implicit Bias Hurdle. I think this is one area where more woman leaders in fiction could help.

Featured: Why do people find some nonsense words like "finglam" funnier than others like "sersice"

Harry Potter in the fMRI Machine

Will your genetic defense for that violent crime backfire?

The Dark Side of Creativity. Via Passive Guy.

People Pick Familiar Foods Over Favorites

The surprising value of viewing traumatic experiences

Where did the ‘gay lisp’ stereotype come from?

Careful – a long-running rivalry can make you reckless

Being true to yourself may protect against the harmful effects of loneliness

Is evil a disease? ISIS and the neuroscience of brutality. It's a really big leap between some of the experiments mentioned here and the issue of evil. Still, the article raises interesting questions

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Establishing a Strong Relationship With an Offscreen Character (Analyzing Shadow and Bone)

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 20:57:00 +0000

I've been going back and forth a lot about this blog lately. As you've most likely noticed, I haven't been able to post many original craft posts, and even the Brain Science roundup posts have been haphazard. Nowadays, paid work takes priority over blogging.

A month ago I decided to close this blog down, and had settled on that decision for about 24 hours before I made a 180 degree turn and decided to make a conscious effort to write more craft posts. Why? Because I'm the one who learns the most from writing these-- taking the time to analyze books I admire and figuring out why I admire them.

So, here's the TLDR. I'm going to make an effort to blog more, but to make this feasible, the posts will be less polished than before. I used to spend a lot of time editing blog posts, but now I'm just going to focus on getting the ideas down. Hopefully, people will still find them useful.

On to the book of the day. I'm two books into The Grisha series and enjoying it immensely. (Moderate spoilers for Shadow and Bone). One thing that struck me, was the relationship between Alina and her childhood friend Mal. Mal plays a very large role in later parts of the story, and in order to make the developments believable, the reader must be convinced that Alina and Mal are very close. The tricky part though? Mal's off screen, in another part of the country, for much of the first half of the book.

So how does Bardugo establish this convincingly strong emotional relationship between Alina and Mal when he's not even around?

1. A prologue highlighting their formative years growing up together. They were orphans who grow up as playmates in the Duke's Palace.

2. A first chapter highlighting the strength of their current relationship and shared experiences. In the first chapter, the two are still very protective of each other. When Mal almost dies in encounter with dark beasts, he tells Alina that he'll, "see her in the meadow." This refers to a shared special experience between the two of them.

3. Alina is always thinking about Mal. Even if he's not personally present, he's always on her mind. Every time she sees something new in the Grisha Palace, she wonders what Mal would think. When she puts on nice clothes, she wonders what his reaction would be. She's constantly trying to send letters to him and find out how he's doing.

4. A significant plot development hinging on the strength of their relationship. Alina has trouble controlling her newfound Grisha powers. Her breakthrough finally comes when she realizes she's been subconsciouslly suppressing her powers because she feared becoming a Grisha would take her permanently away from Mal.

Because of all these and other factors, by the time Mal come back into the story, the reader is emotionally prepared for the role he plays.

What do you think, readers? Any other examples of offscreen characters that carry emotional weight?

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Brain Science for Writers 11/19/2015

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 01:11:00 +0000

By Paulr (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

Featured Post: Social psychology textbooks ignore all modern criticisms of Milgram's "obedience experiments." A heartening critique of some depressing classic studies.

Featured Post: 'Many of the alleged rules of writing are actually superstitions'

The five-point plan to help Paris survivors recover from attacks.

Why We Are Attracted to Deviant Personalities. Interesting, but see the caveat about self reported data.

Do you make choices as to whom you leave waiting in the crosswalk?

It Was Inevitable: Someone Taught a Neural Network To Talk With Romance Novels. via Passive Guy

Being Sarcastic May Make You More Creative

How to spot the warning signs and prevent mass shootings

Subliminal religious prompts might not make people nicer after all

Our shifting motivations: The inherent pleasure of a task is more important to us once we get started

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Brain Science for Writers 10/7/15

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 20:46:00 +0000

Blausen.com staff. "Blausen gallery 2014". Wikiversity Journal of Medicine. DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 20018762. - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Top Pick: "A tumor stole every memory I had. This is what happened when it all came back." Absolutely fascinating.

Top Pick: Learning to Make a Stone Age Axe Gives Clues to How the Brain Evolved

Lie Detection is a Team Sport

Small Distractions Can Have Big Consequences. A study from an old labmate of mine!

Women and fragrances: Scents and sensitivity

Why Honest People Do Dishonest Things

The Last Two Digits of a Price Signal Your Desperation to Sell. Or is it that simpler numbers are less confusing to process, and give people more mental energy to drive a hard bargain?

Psychologists study burglars' expertise

Men and boys with older sisters are less competitive

Google searches for ‘n-word’ associated with black mortality

7 easy ways to reduce the pain you’re feeling

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.

Brain Science for Writers Roundup 9/30/15

noreply@blogger.com (Livia Blackburne) — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 18:27:00 +0000

Top Pick: Morals, Not Memories, Define Who We Are

Top Pick: Why Do Narcissists Lose Popularity Over Time?

Mental Models

Paralysed man uses mind control to walk again

A Short History of the Rise, Fall and Rise of Subliminal Messaging

Ask students about religion, and they’ll tell you they drink less

How Children Make Sense of Impossible Events in Fiction

People Are More Likely to Cheat at the End

This article has been perfectly formatted for maximum reading comprehension (via Passive Guy)

Why Nobody Intervened in the July 4 Metro Murder

Hope you enjoyed this post! To get regular updates from this blog, use the subscription options on the sidebar.