#130: Pen Names and Shame

Your letter sounds like you've almost talked yourself into believing you're ashamed of what you want to write, just because you've had the idea of using a pen name for it.

#129: Overthinking Themes

Today is the fifth Tuesday of the month, which means that my answer to this heartfelt letter is available exclusively to my Patreon patrons.

#128: Writing for Money, Writing for Joy

Dear Story Nurse, I've been working hard the last year on putting my work out there: shopping a fully edited novel round to agents, pitching and submitting short fiction/game writing and putting some stuff up for free. While I've had a good response when I have a direct audience (i.e. with my alpha readers, free …

#127: The Ethics of Turning Fanfic into Original Fiction

It's extremely common for writers to read or watch something and feel inspired to create an original story. You just had an intermediate step.

#126: The Five Key Ingredients of Plot

Hi, Story Nurse! I’ve created a great cast of characters that I have fleshed out and given a great amount of detail and attention to. While I haven’t fleshed it out completely, I’ve also come up with a world and different species and cultures in it. The problem is, I don’t have a plot. I …

#125: Developing a Secondary Character Within First-Person POV

This question came from the priority request queue for my Patreon patrons. Thanks for your support, letter writer! Dear Story Nurse, I'm doing the pre-work/planning/worldbuilding for a novel I'm super excited about. I've already written one of the scenes that first showed up in my head and gave me the idea for this story, because I …

#124: Breaking the Fantasy Mold

Hello Story Nurse, I've been writing fantasy for as long as I can remember. I love creating characters, I love building world, and I love the feeling of actually sitting down to write. But when it comes to actually coming up with a plot, I struggle. I typically come up with a plot about 30K …

#123: Writer’s Mind, Beginner’s Mind

Hello Story Nurse,I want to write a novel. But I'm stuck. I have previously published non-fiction work in thesis, publication, monograph and script format. To me this kind of writing is, if not easy, intuitive. Pitching what I'm writing to the right audience is my particular strength. I've written for experts in my field and …

#122: When All the Writing Advice Is Wrong (for You)

Try new things and keep track of how well they work. Don't worry about whether your process looks like any other writer's process.

#121: Researching by Interviewing Experts

It's perfectly fine to consult an expert as long as you pay them for their time and expertise.