Fiction

Why you should read bad books and watch bad films

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If you want to write well, you’re told the best way to do this is to read good books and practice, practice, practice. What you’re not told to do is read the worst books ever written, but that is exactly what you should be doing.

Bad films are also good, especially if you enjoy writing screenplays or even filming and editing your own shorts. Why? Why am I telling you to waste your time on creations that should never have existed in the first place?

Because then you know exactly what NOT to do, which is arguably just as valuable as knowing what you should do. Continue reading →

Why do I study biology instead of a writing degree?

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Yup. This post is a day late. I’ve yet to purchase either time turner or Tardis, so such is my life.

Speaking of my life, what am I doing with it? I love stories above all else. I love to read and analyse and find patterns in plots and letters. People complain when we watch films together “Sonora, stop meta-watching”. So why am I not doing a literature degree? Or a creative writing degree? Or something “artsy”?

Well, here’s my rambling answer to that. If you’re currently trying to decide what to do with your life (i.e. what university degree to choose, or university versus all the million other things out there), then maybe my story will help you think about it. Continue reading →

Writing Prompt #13

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Happy 2019!

My year started wonderfully with friends, champagne, and games. These included Pass the Parcel, a very British party game which seems to me like an excuse to throw things at family members (I promise I do actually enjoy it).

Of course, now it’s time for me to dive head first into revision in order to pass my exams, starting with evolutionary biology–timed-essay style–on the 14th. But before that, here’s a writing prompt!

Name of the game: Fire Starter. Continue reading →

Writing Prompt #11

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It’s December! NaNoWriMo is over, there are Christmas trees and fairy lights everywhere, and I feel very festive. Unfortunately for me, the festiveness also comes with a million end-of-term deadlines. Yay.

For a break, I did this Christmassy writing prompt and managed to rope in several people to do it with me. The results were hilarious. So, join in and then see what we wrote! Continue reading →

NaNoWriMo Week 3: The Cliffs of Insanity

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“Look! He’s right on top of us!” There was a pause. “I wonder if he’s using the same wind we are using…”

“Whoever he is, he’s too late. See–the Cliffs of Insanity!!” -Princess Bride (the film)

I’ve found the cliffs. They are tall and awful and there’s no way around them.

It all started last Thursday. I had a deadline for a project write-up about a behavioural study I did with aposematic stick insects. I left it about a day too late and worked so so hard to get it written in time for the Wednesday night deadline. So Thursday, I obviously felt great because I’d finished it in time, but I also just didn’t want to write. Every day since then it’s been an incredible struggle to go anywhere near anything at all that involves words. The worst part is I know I can do it–it’s not that difficult to just carry on and push through. A couple days behind is fine. Except that my whole brain is screaming “I don’t want to!” at me.

Have you also found yourself at the base of the cliffs? If so, hi. Welcome to week 3. Let’s just try to get through this as best we can. We are past the halfway point after all! Here’s my care-pack/box-of-toys for you: Continue reading →

My Favourite Spooky Books

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Happy day-after-Halloween, day-before-Dios de Los Muertos, and 1st day of NaNoWriMo!

As two of these events are traditionally spooky, let’s think about spooky books! Also, my NaNoWriMo story this year will probably have heavy vibes of all the books I’m about to mention, so I think this works nicely as today’s blog post. Disclaimer: I’m not a big reader of horror, so these books are not that–they’re just ‘spooky’ and play around with ideas of death/supernatural creatures/witches. You’ll also notice that there’s not much author/book variety here, so join in and please list your favourite ‘spooky’ books and why they’re worth reading in the comments! Continue reading →

Writing Prompt #7

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October. Colourful trees, pumpkins, the return of thick blankets and that annoying sound the radiator makes at 3am. Three weeks into my second year at uni and goodness is it hard to fit writing into my full workload. But here I am, doing writing prompt #7.

Whatever pile of revision or deadlines or life obligations are eating away at your soul, just step away for a moment. Take a deep breath. Set a timer for 10 minutes and just write. Lose yourself in another world. When you’ve finished, your work will still be waiting, but you’ll be stronger and ready to conquer it. Continue reading →

My Current Writing Projects

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Update on My Current Writing Projects - Two novels and this blog https://sonorahillsauthor.com/

Early cover sketches

So it’s October, and I’m still slogging on, trying to keep up work on my writing. I thought I’d give an update on where I am at the moment and where I hope to go. This includes an entirely new novel, B Like You, which up until this spring, I was planning to keep hidden under my bed. But then I read it, and I liked it. I liked it a lot. So I decided to try and make it into something presentable. So here we go, my current projects: Continue reading →

Writing Prompt #6

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September is nearly over, autumn is in full swing, and let’s not forget November is only a month away–you know what that means. NaNoWriMo is coming!! Yes, it’s still ages away, but the time will pass before we know it, so why not start limbering up with writing prompts?! Or, if you’re just here to join in and have fun, that works too!

Today’s game: Double Up

Fusion of Snap Shot and Fire Starter!! Use both the sentence and the image to spark an idea for a flash piece. Continue reading →