Meagan Spooner
Absolutely brilliant. This is the sci fi I’ve been waiting for! Action, romance, twists and turns–this book has it all!

Beth Revis, New York Times best-selling author of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Meagan Spooner
2017-11-06T11:42:38-05:00

Beth Revis, New York Times best-selling author of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Absolutely brilliant. This is the sci fi I’ve been waiting for! Action, romance, twists and turns–this book has it all!
"A literally breathtaking archaeological expedition. Spooner and Kaufman prove once again that no one does high-stakes adventure shenanigans like they do."

E. K. Johnston, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Star Wars: Ahsoka

Meagan Spooner
2017-11-06T11:44:34-05:00

E. K. Johnston, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Star Wars: Ahsoka

"A literally breathtaking archaeological expedition. Spooner and Kaufman prove once again that no one does high-stakes adventure shenanigans like they do."
One of the most intense, thrilling, and achingly beautiful stories I’ve ever read. Kaufman and Spooner will break your heart with skilled aplomb, and you’ll thank them for it. Absolutely incredible! If I have to, I will come to your house and shove this book into your hands!

Marie Lu, New York Times best-selling author of the Legend trilogy

Meagan Spooner
2017-11-06T11:48:19-05:00

Marie Lu, New York Times best-selling author of the Legend trilogy

One of the most intense, thrilling, and achingly beautiful stories I’ve ever read. Kaufman and Spooner will break your heart with skilled aplomb, and you’ll thank them for it. Absolutely incredible! If I have to, I will come to your house and shove this book into your hands!
With rich, complex characters and a dynamic—and dangerous—new world, THESE BROKEN STARS completely transported me.

Jodi Meadows, author of the Incarnate series

Meagan Spooner
2017-11-06T12:09:41-05:00

Jodi Meadows, author of the Incarnate series

With rich, complex characters and a dynamic—and dangerous—new world, THESE BROKEN STARS completely transported me.
Intense and absorbing, Skylark transported me to a world of magic and danger unlike anything I’ve read before. I loved Lark, and was riveted by her journey of survival and self-discovery. Dark, original, and beautiful, this is a novel you don’t want to miss.

Veronica Rossi, author of UNDER THE NEVER SKY

Meagan Spooner
2017-11-06T12:13:28-05:00

Veronica Rossi, author of UNDER THE NEVER SKY

Intense and absorbing, Skylark transported me to a world of magic and danger unlike anything I’ve read before. I loved Lark, and was riveted by her journey of survival and self-discovery. Dark, original, and beautiful, this is a novel you don’t want to miss.
Skylark's rich narrative and plucky heroine will transport you into a mesmerizing and horrifying world.

New York Times bestselling author Carrie Jones

Meagan Spooner
2017-11-27T09:17:02-05:00

New York Times bestselling author Carrie Jones

Skylark's rich narrative and plucky heroine will transport you into a mesmerizing and horrifying world.
With its blend of dystopian, steampunk, and generally fantastical elements, Spooner's follow up is even stronger and more gripping as the debut and is sure to ensnare further loyal readers.

Booklist (Starred Review)

Meagan Spooner
2017-11-27T10:01:57-05:00

Booklist (Starred Review)

With its blend of dystopian, steampunk, and generally fantastical elements, Spooner's follow up is even stronger and more gripping as the debut and is sure to ensnare further loyal readers.
This intriguing dystopian adventure's depiction of the stand this strong female protagonist takes against the horrors of her world is fast-paced, compelling, and un-put-downable.

VOYA

Meagan Spooner
2017-11-27T10:05:07-05:00

VOYA

This intriguing dystopian adventure's depiction of the stand this strong female protagonist takes against the horrors of her world is fast-paced, compelling, and un-put-downable.
Once again, the worldbuilding is superb, the characters fully fleshed out and intriguing, the battles riveting, and the edge-of-the seat suspense compelling. Teens looking for a well-written dystopian adventure with steampunk elements in the magical machines created by the Architects will enjoy spending time with Lark and her companions.

VOYA Magazine, starred review

Meagan Spooner
2017-11-27T10:27:43-05:00

VOYA Magazine, starred review

Once again, the worldbuilding is superb, the characters fully fleshed out and intriguing, the battles riveting, and the edge-of-the seat suspense compelling. Teens looking for a well-written dystopian adventure with steampunk elements in the magical machines created by the Architects will enjoy spending time with Lark and her companions.
An extremely entertaining tale of past, present and future leaving the question: where does humanity stand when the best laid plans backfire?

Children's Literature

Meagan Spooner
2017-11-27T10:29:04-05:00

Children's Literature

An extremely entertaining tale of past, present and future leaving the question: where does humanity stand when the best laid plans backfire?
A haunting and romantic exploration of love and what sacrifices come with freedom.


Marie Lu

Meagan Spooner
2017-11-27T15:17:04-05:00

Marie Lu

A haunting and romantic exploration of love and what sacrifices come with freedom.
Amazing. That one word describes the whole book.

VOYA

Meagan Spooner
2017-11-27T15:18:24-05:00

VOYA

Amazing. That one word describes the whole book.
Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner prove they are two living goddesses of writing, creating two compelling worlds with high stakes and gripping emotions.

Sarah Rees Brennan, New York Times bestselling author of the Demon's Lexicon trilogy and the Lynburn Legacy series

Meagan Spooner
2020-08-11T09:05:59-05:00

Sarah Rees Brennan, New York Times bestselling author of the Demon's Lexicon trilogy and the Lynburn Legacy series

Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner prove they are two living goddesses of writing, creating two compelling worlds with high stakes and gripping emotions.
0
0
Meagan Spooner

Wisdomous Wednesday: Pursue Your Weaknesses

Wisdomous Wednesday is a weekly series of posts with advice about writing ranging from craft to navigation through the publishing world. If you have some wisdomous thoughts you’d like to share here, don’t hesitate to contact me. I love advice from other writers!

Knowing your weaknesses as a writer is pretty important. But I think it’s just as important not to get caught up in what you know (or believe) to be your flaws. I think a lot of writers (and I am WAY guilty of this myself) tend to avoid writing things they’re not good at, or have no experience with. I know I catch myself taking convoluted paths through stories to avoid writing things I know I’m not good at writing–or worse, avoid writing stories I otherwise love because there’s an aspect to them that I don’t think I can handle.

Maybe in some ways it’s smart to play to your strengths and avoid the things you’re less skilled at. But I find it a pretty limiting way to write, so here’s my two cents for this week:

Pursue Your Weaknesses

Instead of avoiding the things you feel are weaknesses or flaws in your writing abilities, seek them out. Write stories that force you to explore the aspects of writing that make you uncomfortable or less confident. If, for example, you have an aversion to writing action scenes, go somewhere in your plot that you cannot get out of again without some serious action. If you have trouble incorporating more than one or two senses in your description, deprive your character of his or her sight for a chapter (blindfolds!) and see what happens when you HAVE to rely on the descriptions you’re less familiar with.

Basketball players, for example, don’t avoid the parts of their game that they suck at. If a player can’t make free throws, he stands there all night sinking basket after basket until he can do it consistently. An actor who stumbles over a particular monologue goes home and rehearses it in front of a mirror until she can recite it in her sleep. Why should writing be any different?

You can even find ideas from your weaknesses. If you’ve written yourself into a corner and don’t know where to go next, try thinking about some of the things you tend to avoid as a writer. Chances are, you haven’t done it much in your manuscript so far. It could be a cool change of pace from what you’ve already done if, for example, you’re not so good at writing dialogue, and you switch up the pacing to have a back-and-forth between your characters.

I’ve even gone so far as to get an idea for a whole novel in a quest to overcome a weakness. I’ve struggled with writing main characters who are passive within their stories–instead of driving events, events happen TO them. In trying to imagine the most kick-ass, proactive character I could think of, I came up with the idea of a retelling of Beauty and the Beast in which Beauty doesn’t go docilely into captivity because she has to, she picks up a crossbow and goes off to hunt down the Beast for hurting her father.

It’s all about adding tools to your kit, weapons to your arsenal. A devastating three-pointer, a deadly action scene–it’s all about practicing it, and not shying away from what scares us. Yeah, the first time we do it, we’ll probably miss. In fact, we’ll probably miss by an embarrassing margin. That’s why we practice at the hoop over the garage, in stories we can always revise before they ever see the light of day. Do it enough, though, and eventually it’ll be nothing but net every time.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

4 Responses to “Wisdomous Wednesday: Pursue Your Weaknesses”

  1. Michelle says:

    Great advice! I know I struggle with the more mundane scenes. Action? No problem. But having to write a scene where nothing much happens? I still struggle with it. Your post here has encouraged me to keep trying. ‘Cause we all need those slow scenes to balance out the action in the rest of the novel. 🙂

  2. Sarah says:

    I’m a bit rubbish at description. As a result I have ‘invisible characters in empty white rooms’. I know too much is bad, but some description would probably be helpful.

    Thank you for the reminder that there’s no substitute for practice 🙂

  3. “Pursue your weakness.” I like that. Knowing our weakness(es) will make us strong. Thank you for these words!

  4. jeff says:

    Amen… perfect post.

    I need to “show” more, thx for the reminder!

Leave a Reply