Grace E. Robinson's Blog, page 2

Of Moss and Stones that Roll

You’ve probably heard the old phrase “a rolling stone gathers no moss.” There’s no proof of exactly who coined the term or when, but it likely originated as a Latin phrase and it’s been well-known in English-speaking areas for several hundred years now.  The basic meaning of the phrase is two-fold. A somewhat negative spin […]

Deeper Meanings in Fantasy Stories

Finding a deeper meaning in a sci-fi adventure or a magical fairy tale is often easy, or even obvious – and that’s not a bad thing. There’s much we can learn about real life from these tales of complete fiction.  Fantasy classics like Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia teach us about […]

Inspiration from Nature

I’ve always been inspired by nature. Even if a nature scene doesn’t feature in what I’m writing on any given day, I still find my mind both calmed and awakened by a garden full of flowers, a shady path in a forest, a line of majestic mountains.  Earlier in May of this year, I was […]

Story Prompts and Inspiration

Story ideas can come from anywhere. A photo, a song, a snatch of overheard conversation, a stroll through a garden, someone else’s book cover—the smallest thing can often prompt the germ of an idea.  I don’t usually use story prompts—at least, not the type of story prompt that’s an actual premise. Nothing against that sort […]

Research Tips for Your Story Writing

So we all know about doing research for a non-fiction book, or for any sort of accurate historical fiction tale, right? But what about other types of storytelling? Basically, anything besides memoir/autobiography or fiction-loosely-based-on-your-personal-experiences requires research. Yes, even the highly fictional genres like science fiction and fantasy.  Why Research?  Details matter when it comes to […]

How to Wish Writers a Happy New Year

It’s that time of the year again, when everything is a clean slate. It’s the time when we think about the past, plan for the future, and hopefully don’t get the side-eye from our neighbors for still having our Christmas decorations up in January.  It’s still cool to greet people with “Happy New Year!”, for […]

Christmas Books

Christmas is my favorite holiday, and I have numerous favorite Christmas books, just like I have a list of favorite Christmas movies (White Christmas and The Muppet Christmas Carol are two that I have to see every year). I wrote a post a few years ago about some of my favorite Christmas books. This post […]

The Journey of a Book

I wrote a post a few months ago about part of my growth and journey as a writer, and how part of that process was letting a book project sit for over a decade. Over ten years ago, I was inspired by the Finnish folktale epic The Kalevala, my favorite fantasy stories, and all things […]

Quotes for Writing and Creativity

For this month’s blog post, here are some quotes about writing and creativity. Enjoy!

What is Creative Writing?

What is creative writing? Writing creatively, you might say. Or, creative writing is the opposite of writing factual stuff, like an instruction manual or a textbook. Well, yes, but what does this mean?  I’m teaching a creative writing class this semester at my local homeschooling co-op. For fifty minutes once a week, I’m teaching 11-15 […]