The following post is from Purposeful Prose’s own guest writer, Chartres Royal. We are so excited to continue collaborating with them as they share their creative essays and research with us. This piece is Christmas-centered, and though many of the winter holidays have passed, we remain inspired by their stories and by stories we’ve yet to tell. I hope that you all have fun with this exercise!   "There'll be scary ghost stories, And tales of the glories, Of Christmases long,

Many writers have written to me with similar blocks lately. They have a wealth of ideas in their heads, they might have an idea of a character or place that they want to write in. However, something is preventing them from setting writing utensil to paper or fingers to keys. It sounds like a standard block that any standard writing advice can solve, but this assumes the writer to be a monolith.  A writer could, for example, recall . Like any other person, a writer’s identity

Dear Purposeful Prose,  When I’m writing a scene, I’ve noticed that the emotional impact sometimes comes across as either disingenuous or somehow stilted. I try to make sure that every moment between characters feels earned, I try to show emotions through action rather than spell it out. I feel as though I’m not doing enough to make my story feel real.  Without knowing it, I feel as though you’ve spelled out two different problems. First, you want a story that feels genuine a