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Welcome to Ally's Blog
Here you can find all the thoughts bouncing around in Ally's head as well as skills and techniques she has learned from her studies at Taylor University. Check out the categories or search for things that you might be struggling with in your writing.
The Creation Series: Assembling Your Cast of Side Characters
No novel would be complete without some important side characters to help your protagonist move the plot forward.
Ally MacDonald
Feb 13, 20237 min read
How to Know Your Writing Limits and Avoid Creative Burnout
Creative burnout is something that all people struggle with in their lives. Learn to achieve your 2023 writing goals without burnout.
Ally MacDonald
Jan 16, 20235 min read
Writing Prompt Wednesday #14: Josephine Seodern, Dragon Slayer
You are kidnapped by a knight who demands your assistance in slaying the city’s most dangerous dragon. To save your kingdom, you must...
Ally MacDonald
Dec 14, 20228 min read
The Creation Series: Developing a Convincing Antagonist
Without further ado, here are some tips for helping you develop a villain that your readers love to hate.
Ally MacDonald
Dec 7, 20225 min read
Writing Prompt Wednesday #13: The Story of Life and Death
A goddess of life kidnaps the god of death to be her new husband, meaning that 6 months of the year things are normal but the other half...
Ally MacDonald
Nov 30, 20226 min read
Writing Prompt Wednesday #12: My English Teacher from the Other Side
A person drops by the grave of a long-gone famous author to read the notes people left for them and sees that some of them...
Ally MacDonald
Nov 16, 20229 min read
How to Survive National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
November is National Novel Writing Month. All writers are challenged to write 50,000 words of their current work in progress.
Ally MacDonald
Nov 9, 20224 min read
Writing Prompt Wednesday #11: Bringing Back the Creature with Nine Tails
You can taste lies. One day you're comforting your best friend after a tough breakup and almost vomit at the foul taste the words bring...
Ally MacDonald
Nov 2, 20226 min read
The Creation Series: Discovering Your Story's Protagonist
I want to talk about how to create a protagonist for your story. Out of all the characters in your story, this is the most important one.
Ally MacDonald
Oct 26, 20225 min read
Writing Prompt Wednesday #10: The First and Last Time I Live Alone
You wake up one morning to the smell of home-cooked breakfast. You go into the kitchen and find the table full of your favorite food...
Ally MacDonald
Oct 19, 20225 min read
The Creation Series: Creating Characters Your Story Needs
Since we have talked about the three types of worlds and how to build your own, now it is time to populate that world with characters. It...
Ally MacDonald
Oct 12, 20228 min read
Writing Prompt Wednesday #9: The Ghost in the Attic
The final entries describe seeing a ghost in great detail: hair color, eye color. clothes. The description of the ghost matches you exactly.
Ally MacDonald
Oct 5, 20226 min read
Writing Prompt Wednesday #8: Meet My Ghost Tutor
Rumor has it that your school is haunted by a highschooler around your age. While you stay after school to catch up on a subject...
Ally MacDonald
Sep 28, 20228 min read
The Creation Series: Making Your World Believable
While you don't have to explain every little nitpicking detail, your readers should be able to easily visualize your world and its people.
Ally MacDonald
Sep 26, 20226 min read
Writing Prompt Wednesday #7: I Discovered I Could Break the Law
You are born in a world where on the eighteenth birthday, people gain the ability to shapeshift but are also legally required to get a...
Ally MacDonald
Sep 21, 20227 min read
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