Bethany Henry: Writing & Wellness

There’s this idea of the suffering artist. Of all the work that needs to be done, the sleepless nights, and the sacrifices. The miserable, miserable work work work that it takes to succeed. This is a myth. Don’t get me wrong- there is certainly something to be said for hard work. For perseverance and not giving up. For paying our bills, being responsible, and showing up to put our butts in the chair every day. But sometimes… even often, dare I say? Sometimes it can be fun. It’s  supposed  to be fun. In her wonderful book The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron talks about our inner artists as a child that just needs to be nurtured and set free. Play can be valuable and magical. It allows us to see the world with wonder and to unlock our creativity and the art within. Because there  is  art within us, great stories and dreams and brilliance! But sometimes we bury ourselves and our art under work. Maybe we stop ourselves from making art because we’re too busy making ...

I hope you’ve had the giddy and almost magical experience of reading a book that makes you literally laugh out loud. Finding humor in our fiction is a wonderful thing! However, often this is easier said than done. Telling ourselves to “write funny” doesn’t usually work and when a joke falls flat or the humor feels forced, well, that doesn’t do our writing any favors. Today we’re going to look at different types of humor in writing, some common pitfalls, and 5 strategies for including humor in our own writing. Writing Humor Well Types of Humor There are several different ways a story can be funny! Recognizing what types of humor fit into to our stories and personal writing style can help us lean towards our strengths. Here are are a few different types of humor with examples- if you think of others feel free to comment below! Absurdism The comic absurd style is filled with random ridiculousness. Maybe you will go to smell a flower and find it is actually an alligator, maybe the sky is f...

Kids can be lovely but do you know what isn’t lovely? When we see children in books or movies and they’re just… eh. Writing children in fiction is a tricky thing to do well. And when it’s not done well it can be distracting to the reader and ultimately hurt the story. Thankfully, we’re brave and bold writers who are always up for a challenge! Writing child characters is totally doable. Today we’re going to look at 3 aspects of writing child characters in our fiction as well as some common pitfalls to look out for. Writing Children In Fiction 1. Know Our Audience Are we writing a book for children, teens, or adults? This will shape how we portray the children in our stories. While a book for teens or adults may strive to portray child characters in a fairly realistic light, a story for children will often portray child characters as the main character and will likely include more wish fulfillment aspects, such as the child being royalty, a spy who can travel independently through the to...

The start of the school year is here and with it we have a few crisp fall-weather weeks just bristling with potential. Which means it’s time to pull out all our notebooks and evaluate where we want that potential to take us! I’ve talked about setting goals a decent amount before because it’s one of the simplest ways to increase our ability to make our dreams a reality. Goals can be as basic or as complex as we want them to be and we can adjust them as needed which is pretty convenient! There have been numerous studies showing the effectiveness of goal setting even when used casually. Even something as simple as saying a goal out loud, writing it down, or telling a friend can help increase self-confidence and motivation. There’s no right or wrong way to set goals, really- we each have to find out what works best for us in the season of life we find ourselves in. But here are a few strategies to get us started! Setting Great Goals Brainstorming and Dreaming One of the most ...

Many of my favorite characters aren’t the hero of the story at all- I love Gimli and Legolas over Frodo, Robin over Batman, and Donkey over Shrek. Just because they aren’t in the main character role doesn’t mean they are any less important, memorable, or amazing! A sidekick is a character that is a partner to the hero in some way. Today we’re looking at four reasons why these characters are important as well as five steps for writing our own spectacular sidekicks. As always, your mileage may vary but hopefully this will get us thinking and writing! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below. The Importance of Sidekicks The sidekick character fills several important roles in a story: 1. Entertainment Stories are often meant to be entertaining and a sidekick can be a big part of that! They are often used to add humor to a situation. 2. Different Perspectives A sidekick can be a great way to explore and show different sides of an issue instead of just showing the hero’s p...

I’m still working through Julia Cameron’s excellent book The Artist’s Way and have gathered together a few of my favorite quotes and thoughts to share.  Now I’ll admit I don’t do every exercise in the book or work through it as consistently as it was probably intended. And you know what? That’s okay! If I waited until I “had enough time” to do this properly, I would probably never read it. I’m reading it through at my own pace and taking what I can from it and it’s been good for me. Here are some highlights from the first half of the book. Enjoy! 🙂 The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron “Progress, not perfection, is what we are asking of ourselves.” “Leap and the net will appear.” “It’s impossible to get better and look good at the same time.” “Do not let your self doubt turn into self sabotage.” “Setting skepticism aside, even briefly, can make for very interesting explorations.”

This week I’m thrilled to be a guest over at The Novel Smithy where I’m talking about  writing non-romantic relationships in our stories . I think it’s super important to recognize that romance isn’t a requirement for stories and that there are many different forms that love and life can take. So hop on over to  The Novel Smithy  and check out my post! Happy reading and writing to you! 🙂 Originally published June 24, 2022 on Bethany-Henry. com.

Today I am thrilled to have Lewis Jorstad here to share with us about foreshadowing in our stories! Lewis is an author, editor, and the founder of  The Novel Smithy , which is chock full off excellent resources for writers. You should check it out! But first: foreshadowing. Take it away, Lewis! Fantastic Foreshadowing One of the best parts of being a writer is setting up interesting surprises throughout our novels. Not only are these surprises fun for us (who doesn’t love dangling a carrot for others to follow), but they’re also a blast for our readers. A great surprise completely shifts a reader’s understanding of our stories, creating a lasting impression that will stick with them long after our books reaches its end. However, on their own, surprises aren’t always enough. To reliably trigger these intense emotions, you want readers to have some sense that your big reveal is coming. By planting hints and clues throughout your novel, you give perceptive readers the satisfaction of ...