ShaelinWrites — Person Summaries
AI-powered summaries of 49 videos about ShaelinWrites.
49 summaries
How to Write a Short Story | Writing Tips
Short stories succeed when they zero in on a single emotional and character-focused “crux”—the deep revelation about a character—rather than trying...
A tour of my FANTASY WORLDBUILDING BIBLE✨how I worldbuild in OneNote📓
A long-running fantasy project is easier to manage when worldbuilding notes live in a structured “bible” rather than scattered documents. Using...
The Secret to a Well Paced Plot (and it's ridiculously easy) | Writing Tips
A reliable way to fix uneven pacing is to treat chapters as a repeatable pacing unit—not as a reader “break” defined by convenience or a target word...
How to Avoid Melodrama In Your Writing | Writing Tips
Melodrama in writing shows up when emotions feel unearned—too intense for the story’s actual stakes, context, or craft—so the moment stops landing...
How to Structure a Short Story | template for advanced or beginner writers!
Short stories can be structured like a basic argumentative essay: a clear “thesis” about the story’s concept arrives early, scenes build evidence...
How to Write a Strong Novel Opening | Writing Tips
A strong novel opening is less about delivering background and more about making an immediate, specific promise: keep readers engaged with something...
Specificity and Concrete Language | how to write vividly
Good writing gets vivid by replacing vague, abstract language with concrete, sensory detail—especially by drilling down on nouns until they name...
6-ARC STORY STRUCTURE (character driven + pantser friendly) | with template 📝
A character- and relationship-driven plot structure built from six compact “arcs” is designed to keep discovery writers moving without forcing rigid...
What The Writing Community Doesn't Understand About Writing Craft
Online writing culture has made many aspiring writers treat craft like an “answer bank” instead of a problem-solving practice—leaving them anxious,...
HOW TO MAKE WRITING FUN | let’s talk about healing your writing process & ✨creative joy✨
Writing becomes miserable when it’s treated like a job—word-count targets, rigid schedules, and deadlines turn a lifelong passion into pressure....
How to Structure a Novel (With No Outline or Plot Structure!)
Discovery writers don’t need a full plot outline to produce a well-paced, well-structured novel. The practical path is to treat structure as...
Psychic Distance | How to Control Point of View
Psychic distance is the measure of how closely a narrative’s viewpoint sits with a character’s inner experience—and controlling it is key to keeping...
How to Use Symbolism | Writing Tips
Symbolism works best when it earns its meaning through story action—objects and places gain significance only when they change alongside characters...
How to Write a Novel Without an Outline | Writing Tips
Discovery writing doesn’t have to mean chaos. The core claim is that skipping a full outline can produce a cleaner, more character-driven draft—if...
Why I Discovery Write | 9 Ways It's Made My Writing Better!
Discovery writing—writing without a detailed outline—has helped ShaelinWrites produce stronger drafts by making problems and character shifts easier...
Why I Stopped Outlining My Novels + My Pantsing Process
Panting a novel—writing without a fixed outline—has become ShaelinWrites’ preferred method because it produces stronger scene work and better...
Why You Have No Motivation to Write (And How to Fix It)
Low motivation to write is often treated like a personal character flaw, but the more useful lens is that it’s usually a symptom of mismatched...
I Wrote Every Day and This is What I Learned
Writing every day can sharply reduce the friction of starting—and it can boost immersion, mood, and momentum—but the benefits fade after roughly...
How to Line Edit a Short Story! | Line Editing Your Work #2
Line editing sessions focus less on “fixing” writers and more on tightening language—compressing phrasing, sharpening imagery, and reducing confusion...
6 Misconceptions I Had About Writing Craft
Writing craft improves faster when writers stop treating “realism,” “personality,” or “maximum emotion” as automatic guarantees of quality. In a...
Dealing with Creative Slumps, Writer's Block, and Low Motivation
Creative slumps and low motivation are normal for writers—and the fastest way to get unstuck is to stop hunting for a single “fix” and instead...
HOW TO BECOME A CONFIDENT WRITER | overcome insecurity & actually enjoy writing!
Confidence in writing doesn’t come from avoiding critique—it comes from changing how feedback, difficulty, and self-talk are interpreted. The core...
14 Revision Tips! | How to Edit Your Novel
Revision is framed as an essential, non-punitive stage of novel-making: messy early edits are normal, and the fastest path through overwhelm is to...
LINGUISTIC ECOSYSTEMS🌿 writing technique to improve voice, atmosphere, theme, & more!
“Linguistic ecosystems” are a writing technique for building consistent atmosphere, character voice, and thematic cohesion through tightly matched...
How Writing Short Stories Made Me a Better Writer
Writing short stories doesn’t just build skills for future novels—it forces a writer to practice compression, rapid character work, and late-stage...
Writing Tips for Discovery Writers! | Organization, story movement, etc.
Discovery writing doesn’t have to mean chaos or worse drafts. The core message is that pantsing can produce strong results when a writer builds...
My SUCCESSFUL Query Letter (example + tips)
A query letter that leads with a vivid, story-specific pitch—and then backs it up with clean market and credential details—can land representation,...
Everything You Need to Know About Writing Workshops
Writing workshops are a structured way to trade drafts and get feedback through group discussion—often more valuable than one-on-one notes because...
the types of writers + how to find your perfect process! ☑️ WRITING PROCESS QUIZ
Writing process isn’t a single identity—it's a set of tendencies that shift by project. The core takeaway is that writers can be mapped across...
EMOTIONAL STAKES: How to Make Readers Care About Your Story
Emotional stakes are what make readers care: they’re the emotional pain, shame, guilt, or loss a character risks when they pursue a goal. External...
I wrote a fantasy book and I hate it...so now what? | An honest writing chat
A fantasy manuscript finished over the summer left its author with an unusual outcome: not pride, not excitement—just relief that it was over. The...
THE MOST COMMON SHORT STORY MISTAKES + how to stand out! (from a litmag slush reader)
Short stories get rejected in slush piles most often for structural and craft problems that make readers feel lost, unmoved, or...
Should You Do NaNoWriMo?
NaNoWriMo is worth doing only if the monthlong push fits both a writer’s temperament and their current life constraints—especially around stress,...
My Current Writing Struggles | First Drafts, Insecurities, & Disappointment
A new novel’s early drafting phase is colliding with an expectation of “perfect” momentum—and that mismatch is driving a wave of insecurity....
ANNOTATE A SHORT STORY WITH ME! (Los Angeles by Ling Ma) | Anatomy of a Short Story #1
“Los Angeles” by Ling Ma uses an absurd premise—an abuse survivor living with her “100 ex-boyfriends”—to make the aftermath of domestic violence feel...
Why I'm Writing a Book that No One Will Ever Read | Personal Projects & Not Publishing Your Work
A shift from publication anxiety to private freedom is driving a new kind of writing project: ShaelinWrites is drafting a fantasy novel she never...
How to Condense Your Novel (I cut 16k words with this...)
Cutting 16,000 words from a novel that had already gone through roughly a dozen drafts is less about finding one “big” problem and more about...
Poetry vs Purple Prose, Writing Career Plans, & Revision Process | Writing Q&A
Revision starts with diagnosing what the draft actually needs, not with chasing a universal checklist. The first step is to ask, “What do I feel my...
A Chat About Confidence and Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome shows up as a fast, decisive internal verdict: after a writer achieves something—like getting published or sending work out for...
TONAL REALISM: types of logic in fiction & creating reality through tone
Tonal realism reframes “what makes a story believable” as a tone-driven problem: the emotional attitude of a narrative determines what kinds of logic...
MY REVISION PROCESS | first draft to ready for publication
Revision works best when it’s treated as a flexible system built around the specific problems in a draft—not a fixed sequence of “X drafts” or a...
15 Questions to Ask When Revising Your Book
Revisions get easier when they’re guided by targeted questions—not vague hopes that “something will feel better.” The core takeaway is that strong...
As I Write #26: My Experience Writing a TV Pilot [Literary Adaptation]
A first attempt at writing a cute, conflict-light web series collapsed under the basic demands of story structure—no tension, goals, stakes, or...
Writing Q&A 💬 writing "bad" queer characters, being on submission, writing litfic vs fantasy, etc.
Editing “Honey Vinegar” forced a careful juggling act: the story runs on two interlocked tracks—a tangible, physical plot unfolding in a town and a...
a week in my life as an MFA student 🖋️WRITING VLOG
An MFA student’s first semester runs on a tight, three-course schedule—workshop, teaching skills, and an undergrad elective—while a major funding...
all my writing projects🌛litfic, horror, historical, fantasy & magical realism🌜| 2025 WRITING UPDATE
A major 2025 pivot in ShaelinWrites’ writing life is that one long-gestating novel—previously far from publishable—has been pushed into...
absurdist fiction + why is no one talking about this incredible sapphic novel? | Recent Reads #63
A string of recent reads leans hard into tonal weirdness and emotional precision—yet several books stumble on structure, leaving big conflicts...
Recent Reads #52 | Complicated queerness + supporting Palestinian authors
A standout theme across these recent reads is complicated queerness—messy, lived-in, and often funny—paired with writing that treats identity as...
I'm obsessed with this book about a queer mountain lion + small press books | recent reads 64
A queer mountain lion narrates “Open Throat” in blunt, punctuation-free fragments—an animal voice that feels uncannily accurate even as it flirts...