This is a wonderful opportunity for discussion because I really struggled with agency throughout my first 3 books (still do in early drafts!) until the concept finally clicked.

And hey, maybe I still have no idea what I'm talking about, but here are some thoughts –– thread.

https://twitter.com/SerraSwift/status/1230179696295346176

For me, personally, the problem was: I always assumed my characters could only do *so much* before it broke characterisation.

I mean, I write YA, so often it doesn’t make sense for the MC to take control of every situation, especially if there are more qualified adults around.

So, with the new year just around the corner, you've decided to finally write that book, huh? Here’s what you’ll need to know!

1) It’s going to be hard. Harder than you think. But that’s okay. Hard is normal.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying, or a demon. Trust me, if it was easy, most of us wouldn’t be on this hell site complaining about it every day and OMG I just realised Twitter is the circle of hell Dante reserved for writers.

I was asked today how I manage to write novels while working full time, and since work is a little quiet today (oh the irony), I thought I'd share the answer with you guys: small, achievable goals.

A thread. So here's a secret about me: my daily word goal is 200 words. No, that's not a typo. I meant to say 200. A tiny, why-even-bother number.