The Scrawler Tapes: A (horror) Writing Craft Blog

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The Craft Files

Finding and Making Motivation (Plus, a Workshop Check-in)

This post took a long time to write. With a day job, in the tug-of-war over the writing I do during the rest of my day, my current book has won every time. 800 words a day is a lot! I’m keeping up with it and I’m really proud of myself. The book is taking shape, and I’m on track with my word count!!! But, this post has fallen by the wayside a bit, womp womp. I have had people ask me how I work up the motivation to write 700-800 words a day, and instead of writing probably 400…

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The Archivist Abroad

In the Field: StokerCon 2026 Retrospective

I attended StokerCon, the annual convention of the Horror Writers’ Association, for the first time this past weekend. I remembered that I’m the loudest shy person you’ll meet, and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who didn’t comment on my awkwardness as I waited beside them, looking for an opportunity to introduce myself. It was a lovely weekend, busy and exhausting but also fun and incredibly productive. I met soooo many wonderful people and made new writer friends. I got the opportunity to tell two of my favorite authors, James Tynion IV and Caitlin Starling, how much I love their work…

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The Archivist Abroad

Archivist in the Wild: June-July Panels & Readings

You can find me at quite a few events over the next couple of months. Stokercon 2026 First, I’ll be in Pittsburg at StokerCon! Some details are still forthcoming, but I’ll update this post when I know places and times. (Consider subscribing to get updates!) I am reading Thursday at 2pm alongside Jacques Mersereau and Kathleen Palm. We’ll be in the Fayette room. I’ll also be participating in an amazing panel on “Nonbinary Authors in Horror” with Eric LaRocca, Saratoga Schaefer, and Rook Riley on Saturday at 3pm in Somerset! It will also be available to virtual attendees, so you…

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The Craft Files

Basics, Volume I: Voice

Voice is a tricky concept to define for a writer, and one that I struggled to understand early on. Worse, I couldn’t figure out how to actually spend time developing my voice as a writer. Today, I’m breaking down the basics by defining the concept of “voice” and providing some examples, resources, and even a few exercises. My goal for this post is to suggest ways that you can understand the voice you already have and learn ways to identify its elements and deliberately change it to suit your purposes. Defining “Voice” I love Sonya Huber’s definition of voice, both…

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The Craft Files

Fieldwork: How I Prep For a Workshop

I love a good writing workshop. The deep-dive seminars, the writing exercises, the conversation and feedback with and from other writers interested in similar things… I’ve got another workshop coming up this May: The Author’s Journey intensive novel/la workshop with Crystal Lake Publishing. It is primarily aimed at genre writers, with the intention of getting you to the finish line on a novel or novella in just three months. For this workshop, I’m going to work on a medieval horror-fantasy novel I have already started and I’m really excited about. I only have four chapters written, but I’m not entirely…

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External Footage: Guests

Guest post: This Is A First Draft Title And I Am OK With That

The most important thing to remember about a first draft is that you should never, ever worry about it being good enough. The purpose of a first draft is to exist. That’s it. It is the initial, rough manifestation of your idea, and expecting it to be any more of that is going to cause pain down the line. A first draft does not have to be perfect, nor should you expect it to be. It does not need to be clean. It does not need to even be fully formed. It is just that first attempt to get something…

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The Craft Files

Intellectual Scaffolding: Not-Writing, “Productivity” and Rest

Today I want to talk about one of the foundational concepts that powers my writing work: intellectual scaffolding. It is the support structure that surrounds your writing work—the ideas, beliefs, politics, inspiration, and values that inform the writing. It is something that always exists around our creative labors, whether we think about it or not. I find value in cultivating my scaffolding, and in so doing I have thought a great deal about productivity and mental rest. You might have seen me talk briefly about it in P.M. Raymond’s newsletter, but I’d like to do a deeper dive. It can…

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The Craft Files

How to Use This Blog: “Your Mileage May Vary” and Serving the Story

Hello. Welcome. Thank you for opening this post and contributing to the algorithm that will hopefully bring more eyeballs to this page. What the hell are we doing here? At least once a week I (admittedly) fantasize about the craft talk I would give or the guest post I would write if I were ever asked. And since those asks are not immediately forthcoming (unless something is brewing I don’t know about), I finally thought that maybe I should just go ahead and put pen to paper. That, and the analog/found footage horror theming is scratching an itch that otherwise…

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