Alex Laybourne's Blog, page 6

P is for Plans – #AtoZChallenge Day 16

Today is the day to talk about planning. Oddly enough, I wrote this post in advance because I know the coming days are going to be hectic. I was half tempted to write a post about being a plotter or a pantser, but I figured there are more than enough blog posts about it out […]

O is for Obstacles – #AtoZChallenge Day 15

As a writer, there are many things that will get in our way, hinder our progress. Obstacles are found in all walks of life, and it is up to us, as individual to learn how we can best get past them. Everybody is unique, so there will not be one universal answer for how to […]

N is for Nightmares – #AtoZChallenge with Brother Jack

I used to have terrible nightmares. I would wake, screaming, reaching out for comfort. But there was nothing there. There was no comfort. There were only monsters, lurking in the dark. After a time, they would become my blanket, the security I needed. My nightmares never left me, they become a part of me. I […]

M is for Madness on the #AtoZChallenge

As a writer, I don’t think that there is any subject that is quite so fascinating and character / storyline producing as the concept of madness. Madness can come in many forms, from straight-jacketed crazy eyed, padded room dwelling lunatics, to the internal madness that comes too much stress. Sadness can induce a certain element […]

L is for Luck – Day 12 of the #AtoZChallenge

There is one fundamental part of being a successful writer that has nothing to do with who we are, or how well we have honed our skills. Luck always has, and always will play a part in our personal developments. Now, I am of course talking about success in the more generalized and broad scope […]

K is for Killing your Darlings #AtoZChallenge Day 11

It is day 11 in the A to Z Challenge and I am ready to get a little dark on your all this fine Monday morning. It was Stephen King, who (quoted William Faulkner when he) said that you must ‘kill your darlings’. It is a statement that certainly rings true for horror. How often, when […]

Knowing When to Walk Away

Yesterday was a big day for me. I had a nice chat with a friend. The first time we have spoken in a month, and it felt great to bounce around my writing thoughts with her. The conversation also helped me realize something that I have actually known for some time, but refused to admit […]

J is for Juvenile Fiction on Day 10 of the #AtoZChallenge

R L Stine was a writer that I read a lot when I was growing up. The Goosebumps books, and then later Fear Street series. They were staples of my childhood reading before I moved on to the more adult authors. The impact of the Goosebumps books stayed with me, and while I will not […]

I is for Insatiable in Day 9 of the #AtoZChallenge

I suppose it is only natural that I am so strongly inclined to make every post in this challenge about writing in some way. After all, I am a writer. I am also starting to realize that this could be a mild character flaw, especially for a challenge such as this, because the last two […]

H is for Highway to Hell #AtoZChallenge Day 8 and with it comes a #CoverReveal

I sat behind my machine for a long time today try to think of a post to write that had something to do with the letter ‘H’. Now I am going to put it down to the long and heavy week I’ve had at work, because it just hit be like a slap to the […]