Warrior Women - Empowering Women, Writers, and Dreamers

"For Sale: baby shoes, never worn." -Ernest Hemingway. Six words, one sentence. These heartbreaking words are the shortest story known to man, written on a bet that he could make people cry with a short flash fiction story only six words long. Here are some wonderful examples of flash fiction . Flash fiction is a short story that can range from 5-1,500 words. It is more than just a novel condensed and abbreviated into a few short pages. It still needs to offer character and plot development despite its extreme brevity. Since the story is short, you need to make sure that each sentence peels back another layer of movement that wasn't visible at first. Every sentence needs to be purposeful and tell a story. It is an excellent exercise to do when you are stuck with your novel writing and have hit a roadblock. When you just need to step away from a moment to get the creative juices flowing. This was my first attempt at flash fiction, and man is it difficult, but really fun to...

 There are several different ways to write, depending on the perspective and point of view (POV) you want to portray. There's 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person. 1st person is the I/we perspective, 2nd person is you perspective, while 3rd person is he/she/it/they perspective. Very rarely is the 2nd person viewpoint used, since it is so difficult to write, with the reader actually being the character. 1st person and 3rd person, however, are both used quite frequently. So, which is better to use? That really depends on the viewpoint you want to pursue. 1st person is more intimate, allowing you to get directly into your character's head. Popular examples of this are The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, and The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. 1st person POV can raise the emotional stakes, and be conversational. However, it can be subjective and have an unreliable narrator, since you are j...

I came across an old college research paper on the study of heroes, conflict, and Disney mentors. Attached is the final product, as well as the humorous inspiration for this serious research paper; that at the root of every hero's life is a parental figure that has passed on, leaving them alone to struggle and grow. Enjoy! Studio C, "Disney Plans Hero's Death." Click here to view .

For those days when you are discouraged and need some encouragement to keep going, continue writing, and persevere to create your work of art. "Writers don't play enough like dancers. Dancers enjoy their art, we can enjoy our as well." -Brother Allen "Writers see the world through eyes of compassion. People do crazy things for a reason, because they are broken, and writers understand the hidden stories." -Brother Allen "Sneak around the inner critic, the "police state" in your mind." -Brother Allen "Write for one reason, to entertain, or stimulate the intellect." -Brother Allen "Story answers the question. 'and then?' Plot answers the question, 'why?'" -Brother Allen "Being a writer is a title you have to earn every day; by writing." -Brother Allen Let's embrace who we are, and recapture the joy we used to feel in our passions, by doing something that we love every day! :)

Hey folks! Hope y'all are having a lovely summer! Rule number 8 for a successful writer's life is to: 8. "Learn the craft." As with most things in life, it is never a "flood of inspiration," that gets us to the level that we want to be at. It takes hard work and sacrifice. It takes a 1,000 hours to become a master at a sport or instrument, it is going to take the same amount of time to become a master at writing. So, start that practice now :) Be a craftsman in your own right and use the tools in your toolbox of writing, such as: point of view, conflict, dialogue, diction, scenery, time, backstory, etc. Writing is a special form of art, as you transform words into images in people's minds and convey emotion that was not there before. Reading changes people. Become a master of your own craft of writing and set out to change others for the better. 9. "Give honestly." Give art for others; it is not about you, it is a labor of love for other people...

May the fourth be with you! :) Rule number 6 for a successful writer's life is to: 6. "Read, read, read." It is important to always be reading, both rereading classics that you love, and, exploring new things. It is important to read books in the period of time you want to write about. That way you can immerse yourself in the time period and culture. Then you can better understand, and then write about, the styles and the issues of that time or genre. It is also key to read contemporary authors, and to keep up on modern issues. Then, as well as writing about internal, eternal struggles, we can better incorporate modern issues in our writing to make it relevant to readers now. 7. "Accept criticism." It may seem like a no-brainer so we can improve, but it is easier said than done. We need to separate our writing from the worth of our soul. We need to remember that the critiques are on the writing, NOT on you as an individual. Accepting criticism is the only way to...

Rule number 4 for a successful writer's life is to: 4. "Be nerdy." It is okay to be openly passionate about things that you love! We don't have to be robots who all love the exact same thing. If we did, the world would be a very boring and dreary place. One of my favorite authors, John Green, once said, "Nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff.... Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can't-control-yourself love it. When people call people nerds, mostly what they're saying is 'you like stuff.' Which is not a good insult at all. Like, 'you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness.'" It is good, and healthy to be excited about things. Love things and love what you write about. Write what you are passionate about and don't apologize for it. 5. "Pay close attention to the world around you." Brother Allen, my creative writing professor at BYU-I, ...

I apologize that I have been AWOL for so long. Had preparations for the holidays, there was a nasty flu bug that wiped one out for several weeks straight, had some health issues, and visited family over Christmas break. But, better late than never, Happy New Year and all that jazz, I am back! :) Today, let's talk about a writer's life. If you walk in any bookstore  or peruse the shelves at the library, you'll very quickly notice that most of the authors are older and mostly in their 40's-60's, with established lives and careers. You don't really see any younger, success authors out there in their 20's and 30's, those who are barely out of college or starting a family, or living on their own. Why is that? What happened to authors like, Mary Shelley who wrote Frankenstein when she was 17, or Helen Keller who wrote The Story of My Life at 22, or Charles Dickens who published his first novel of the Pickwick Papers when he was 24, or Ralph Waldo Emerson wh...

I recently finished an excellent book that was recommended to me by a friend, called "Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear," by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of, "Eat, Pray, Love." In the book she talks a lot about how fear is a crippling demon that keeps us from becoming our best selves and achieving our dreams. Fear can keep us from a lot in our lives, and manifests itself in many different ways. It can keep us from writing, or creating art, or going after the dream job, try out for a competition, asking for a promotion, making a new friend, or taking a chance on a relationship. Basically, your fear is something that is always going to be a part of you.  Elizabeth Gilbert says, “Basically, your fear is like a mall cop who thinks he’s a Navy SEAL: He hasn’t slept in days, he’s all hopped up on Red Bull, and he’s liable to shoot at his own shadow in an absurd effort to keep everyone 'safe'.”  The thing we can do is to learn to live with the fear of rejecti...

I am obsessed with reading and being able to immerse myself in different worlds. My current favorite contemporary authors are John Green and Brandon Sanderson, with Louisa May Alcott and Jane Austen forever holding a spot in my heart for authors from a different century. If given the choice between reading, or going out to do an activity, I will hands down always choose to sit curled up on the couch reading a good book, with some eggnog or apple juice, and a comfy blanket. The few things that can pull me away from my current book are ballroom dancing, and my wonderful husband, whom I have been married to for over a year. Along with reading, I absolutely love writing. Ever since I was little, I would imagine myself in the worlds that I was reading about and I would find such happiness, adventure, and fulfillment from that; a chance to escape and be whatever I wanted to be. I wanted to give that joy and thrill to others; to give them the chance to immerse themselves in other worlds and h...