Bethany Henry: Writing & Wellness

Today we’re talking about including diversity in our writing! Which is a huge (and hugely important) topic so be on the lookout to linked resources for further reading along the way. We’ll be talking about why including diverse characters in our writing is important, why it may be hard, some common pitfalls, and 5 steps to help along the way. There could probably be a hundred steps but for today we’ll focus on 5 🙂 There are many types of diversity, including (but not limited to) : race, class, culture, religion, disability, age, body type, sex and gender, and sexual orientation. We’ll touch on many of these but please know these are all important even if not explicitly mentioned. And (as always!) if you feel like I’ve left something out or you have something to add, please share in the comments. A bit about me: I’m not particularly diverse myself- I’m a white, straight, middle class girl from New England. There are many other voices who have more experience on this issue than myself a...

Certain stories are passed down from generation to generation: they are read to children at bedtime, assigned to classrooms, and selected at book clubs. These stories become favorites, cultural touchstones, and classics for various reasons. Maybe it’s the characters, the scenery, the groundbreaking ideology, or the plot. Something resonates with the readers and makes the story powerful. And not only do these stories get read and reread, but they are also retold! Retellings of these classic stories is a giant genre despite taking a hundred different forms. These retellings can be fun, powerful, and  tricky . Today we’re going to look at how to we can write these stories well. Why Retellings Are Fun I love retellings of classic stories, particularly Shakespearian though I’ve enjoyed a few Austin adaptions recently as well. And of course fairy tales are always fun. Okay, okay, so I love them all 🙂 And I’m not the only one who has a soft spot for retellings! There are several reasons ...

Descriptions are a vital piece of writing. We are storytellers, after all, and that means we need to show our readers what’s going on, pull them into the world we’ve created, and evoke emotions and connection. Description is a large part of how we do that. Despite being vital, it’s not actually something all writers (including myself!) are naturally very good at.  Like many things, improving our description-writing game can take some work. Which is why we’re here today, so hold on tight because we’re going to cover a lot of ground! This guide will go over why description writing can be hard, 10 techniques for writing good descriptions, 3 pitfalls to avoid, how to describe characters, and a few practice prompts. Writing Good Descriptions: Why It’s Hard If writing descriptions is easy for you, pay no mind. (In fact, please let me know your secrets!) But for the rest of us, you’re not alone. Sometimes writing descriptions- even really simple ones- can feel extremely difficult. Everyon...