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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
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
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
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
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
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
The Creation Series: How to Make Your Novel World
In this first installment, I will cover everything your need to know to build a world for your characters.
Ally MacDonald
Sep 19, 20226 min read
Five Ways to Get Writing Knowledge and Know It's Factual
As we talked about a few weeks ago, it is important to feel comfortable in your writing skills before letting someone review your writing...
Ally MacDonald
Sep 12, 20224 min read
Eight Main Narrative Conflicts (with examples) for Your Novel
There must be a conflict working against your protagonist for the story to have momentum and build to the resolution.
Ally MacDonald
Aug 29, 20225 min read
Do You Need Writing Knowledge? What to Know Before Writing
There's an age-old adage that you are never too young to be a writer. However, it is completely normal to feel like you don't know enough.
Ally MacDonald
Aug 22, 20226 min read
Three-Act Structure vs. Seven-Point Structure: Which is Better?
If you've been in the writing world for any period of time, you probably know that the three-act structure is a way to plot your novel.
Ally MacDonald
Aug 15, 20229 min read
Where to Find Writing Inspiration and Get Creative
As mentioned in my previous post, The Three Types of Writers, it can be difficult for writers to find inspiration, especially if they are...
Ally MacDonald
Aug 8, 20225 min read
Why You Should Be a Writer: Ally Mac's Writing Journey
I follow the subreddit r/writingadvice on Reddit, and Redditor u/Paxwin_25 recently asked if writing just to write was worth it.
Ally MacDonald
Jul 25, 20223 min read
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