Bethany Henry: Writing & Wellness

Last month we spent some time discussing worldbuilding, specifically how  having an overall theme can tie our worldbuilding concepts together  and looking at how  including specific details can provide depth. Today we’re looking at worldbuilding a bit more as we focus on religion and belief systems. We’ll go over the importance of belief systems, strategies for including them in our worldbuilding, and common pitfalls to watch out for. But first: What is a belief system? A belief system is defined as “a set of principles or tenets which together form the basis of a religion, philosophy, or moral code.” Sound simple enough? Basically, it’s whatever point of view a person is coming from and how they see the world. Beyond any individual’s personal beliefs, most cultures contain several established religions or widespread systems of philosophy. These include beliefs and stories surrounding the start of life/creation, concepts of good and evil, and how people understa...

Recently my daughter, completely unprompted, ranked her top 10 favorite words to share with us. Her list included a few made up words and has now been expanded to include a more words she “really likes the sound of,” including “peanut butter” and “pickle.” What words do you like the sound of? When was the last time you thought about some of your favorite words? Because words are amazing! They can inspire and evoke and they can be straight-up fun to say. Here’s a collection of a few words to get you started! Next step is to try to see how many we can use in conversation 😉 18 Words for Word-Nerds Definitions sourced from dictionary.com  where you can also find crossword puzzles and other word related fun! Wonky: Not exactly straight or balanced, off-kilter Wabi-sabi: A Japanese aesthetic concept that finds beauty and serenity in objects, landscapes, designs, etc., that are simple, imperfect, and impermanent. Zenith: A highest point or state; culmination. Vermilion: A brilliant scarl...

Our worldbuilding is the setting and atmosphere of our stories. As writers, we don’t want to overlook this critical component of making our stories the strongest they can be! But what makes worldbuilding great? And how do we *do* that? Today we’ll walk through two aspects of worldbuilding: Theme and Details. Theme and Details in Worldbuilding Theme A theme in worldbuilding refers to the big picture concept that pulls everything together. There will be lots of different pieces involved in our world but they all should fit into one unified whole, otherwise the story will feel disjointed or unfinished and leave the reader confused. The goal is to create a setting that is cohesive and where its parts work together: suddenly all the different pieces are more than the sum of their parts and we’ve created something  more. Themed worldbuilding results in powerful settings that interest and resonate with readers and can add to the story’s tone and plot. Aspects of Theme to Consider: How thi...

Today we’re looking at 8 practical ways we can be intentional about improving as writers. With a new year starting it’s the perfect time to think about how we want to be learning and growing! We don’t need to tackle all 8 strategies at once! But building some of these practices into our schedules and regular routines can definitely lead to growth as writers. Some of us may have left our formal school years behind us but that doesn’t mean we can’t be improving our craft! There is always more to learn 🙂 8 Ways to Improve as Writers 1. Read Widely and Well “Read, read, read. Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window. William Faulkner We can’t be writers without being readers as well. We’ll all have our favorite genres we gravitate towards, but we should also stretch ourselves by r...