Posts in the craft
the craft. judgment free writing.
the craft. judgment free writing.

With my voracious intake of social media, I can’t remember where I saw it, but someone was talking about how writers can’t be judgmental because of their need to write fully realized characters. This struck me because I’ve learned that I can be very judgmental as a person, which I’m working on, and I surely don’t want to be that way in my writing. There are certain attributes that make great writers. Most are curious, observant, readers, etc. I’m now adding non-judgmental to the list. Or as close as we can get to it, because who am I kidding? I’ll never be all the way there. 

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the craftAshley M. Colemanwriting craft, writing career, fiction writingComment
the craft. what to keep and what to throw away.
the craft. what to keep and what to throw away.

You may know by now that I’m a big fan of revision. Worlds open up in your writing process when you stop getting analysis paralysis before you even put a word on the page and learn how to let the first draft of something be shitty. Excuse my French. But if you can convince yourself to start writing, whatever way it comes out, you’re already 50% of the way to actually completing something. I can’t tell you how many times I completely rearrange these newsletters and if I had more time, I would probably revise them three or four more times before sending them because I know they could still be better. But you have got to get going at some point. 

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the craftAshley M. Colemanediting, revision, books, publishingComment
the craft. always be observing.
the craft. always be observing.

There is an age-old concept in sales, the ABCs, always be closing. It’s all about having multiple irons in the fire. Knowing that you should always be pitching, selling, and ultimately closing deals because sales is a numbers game. Thankfully, we’re not in sales. You can take a deep breath. However, as writers, what I feel is just as valuable, is the idea that you should always be observing. 

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the craft, processAshley M. Colemanwriting, writing craft, observationComment
the craft. journal entries for your characters.
the craft. journal entries for your characters.

To know me is to know that I’ve been slightly obsessed with the show Swagger lately. It had been on my list of things to watch after hearing such rave reviews about it and unfortunately learning recently that it will not be renewed for a third season. Once I finish a show I like, I’m down a rabbit hole of who the actors are and creators. I’m often looking for additional content. In that, I stumbled upon a recording of an X (formerly Twitter) Spaces where Reggie Bythewood, the show’s creator, talked about how he’d written journal entries at the start of creating the characters of Jace and Crystal. 

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the craftAshley M. Colemanwriting rhythm, writing craft, character developmentComment
the craft. the five Ws of a story, fiction edition.
the craft. the five Ws of a story, fiction edition.

This past weekend, we hosted our “What’s In a Story?” Masterclass led by Jina DuVernay and it’s such a great question to ask. While the class focused on the anatomy of a short story, I think it’s important to ask ourselves this when we’re telling any type of story, long or short, written medium or audial. There are elements to storytelling that cannot be denied, no matter which way you slice it. 

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the craftAshley M. Colemanwriting, storytelling, writing adviceComment
the craft. where does your story really start?
the craft. where does your story really start?

Your story might start at about chapter three. Hear me out. I have the privilege of meeting with a group of amazing writers on the monthly basis to read each other’s work and give feedback. This started out as my First Ten Pages class that I taught last fall and most of the participants decided to “keep the party going” so to speak. We’ve been going strong since then. 

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the craftAshley M. Colemanwriting, writing craftComment
the craft. what are the rules?
the craft. what are the rules?

I remember opening up The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton a few years back. Originally, my book was set to publish through Simon & Schuster’s imprint 37 Ink. They dissolved for a minute before my book release so I was absorbed into S&S but Dawnie’s book was released before mine. In support of an imprint mate at the time, I grabbed the book. When I opened it and it had this structure of a documentary, I thought to myself, who knew this was possible? 

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the craftAshley M. Colemanwriting, writing advice, writing rulesComment
the craft. getting back to what you know.
the craft. getting back to what you know.

I hate pitching. I think I’ve shared that openly on numerous platforms. Of course, I’ve worked long enough to know it’s not always personal. There are budgets, timing, staff writers, all the reasons why a pitch may be rejected that are no indictment on your skill as a writer. But one thing that I’ve always done is created my own door when it felt like others weren’t opening. 

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journalism, the craftAshley M. Colemanwriting, pitchingComment
the craft. contorting ourselves into spaces.
the craft. contorting ourselves into spaces.

I’m not sure it was the best idea for my first retreat experience to be all Black women because I don’t know that I can open myself up to anything less than the standard Amanda Johnston, founder of Torch Literary Arts, created for us. For half of the cohort, it was our first retreat experience. The other half warned that the loving, supportive environment present was not necessarily a requirement for others.

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the craftAshley M. Colemanwriting, writing craft, writing career, residencies, writing retreatsComment
the craft. the identity of a writer | beliefs & influences.
the craft. the identity of a writer | beliefs & influences.

You are a writer. Is it hard for you to own that? It’s true—whether you are published or not, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned professional. Every writer starts somewhere, and every writer has a special journey ahead of them. Your writing journey doesn’t have to follow a specific course for you to believe that your adventure is valid. Have you allowed yourself to imagine all the places that writing could take you? Writing is a journey of self-discovery, after all.

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the craftGuest Writerwriting, tools for creative courage and resilience, GG Renee, Black writersComment
the craft. everything is a writing sample.
the craft. everything is a writing sample.

Fellowships and writing programs can be a great jumpstart to the career you’re looking for in writing. It’s not the only way, but it’s something a lot of us pursue as a way to build our networks, grow as writers, and decorate our bios. My whole publishing journey started with a fellowship rejection, honestly. And yet, still, I write the applications, the bios and artist statements in hopes to get access to those same things as a published author. 

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the craftAshley M. Colemanwriting, writing fellowships, black authorComment
the craft. to have written.
the craft. to have written.

I was asked recently what keeps me showing up to the page. Essentially, a question on my discipline with writing, because, honey, there are so many things I’m writing all the time. But the truth of it is, writing is actually one of my favorite things to do. Well, I should say that carefully because sometimes it’s hard as hell. But I think the above sentiment brings it together pretty well. I love to have written. 

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the craftAshley M. Colemanwriting, dorothy parker, black author, Black writersComment
the craft. writing for our lives.
the craft. writing for our lives.

While making up stories, and following our curiosity can make for a great career in fiction, journalism or freelancing. I’d also dare to say that within the work of it all, writing is also cathartic. And I will be the first to raise my hand to say that the gift of putting feelings, observations, and experiences into written words has likely saved my life on multiple occasions. 

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the craftAshley M. Colemanwriting, Black authors, authors of colorComment
the craft. read like a writer vol. 86.
the craft. read like a writer vol. 86.

I’d not anticipated another read like a writer this quickly, however, here we are. I guess that’s what happens when you stumble across such immense talent in your writerly travels. This month, I had the pleasure of reading Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown for a conversation on her launch in Long Beach at Belcanto Books. Although I had to read rather quickly, there were some awesome things that stuck out to me that I’d like to highlight to a group of writers. 

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the craftAshley M. Colemanbooks, black candle women, diane marie brownComment
the craft. challenging yourself.
the craft. challenging yourself.

I have been in the wonderful land of revision for the last few months trying to tie up two different manuscripts. And one thing that has been boggling my mind has been how to describe mundane things in new and exciting ways. I promise you, I have taken offense every time I wrote that someone smiled. It’s like enough with the smiling already. What is it that they’re feeling for real? I’ve also been struggling to describe people’s physical motions which are important to any story. Did they furrow their brows? Click their tongue? Lean their head into their hands? What are they doing with themselves while this scene is happening?

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the craftAshley M. Colemanrevision, writing, black writers, writers of color, writing advice
the craft. read like a writer vol. 75
the craft. read like a writer vol. 75

So, I feel like this should just be a series because reading books brings so much to mind when it comes to craft. It’s a skillset to read for enjoyment, yes, but also to be able to dissect the craft of it in the process and bring it back to your own pages to implement. I realize not everyone who reads can assess exactly what the takeaways should be for their own work and so, when the inspiration strikes, I’ll share it. 

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the craftAshley M. ColemanAna Reyes, The House in the Pines, writing, writing craftComment
the craft. the five senses.
the craft. the five senses.

I think as writers, specifically living in the 21st century, we are competing with so much more than our predecessors. I mean, there is social media, one hundred million streaming services, video games, and the list goes on. The attention span of someone reading a feature length article or a book, for that matter, has waned significantly. So, I think it’s almost more important now than ever, to ensure that we are finding captivating ways to tell our stories. 

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the craftAshley M. Colemanbooks, writing, writing descriptionComment