Show, Don't Tell (And Other Advice That Sounds Easier Than It Is)
“Show, don’t tell” may be some of the most repeated—and most frustrating—writing advice out there. Through practical before-and-after examples, we’re breaking down how to create immersive scenes your readers can experience alongside your characters, without turning every sentence into purple prose.
Your First Draft Is Allowed to Suck
A first draft is not a failed final draft. Let’s talk about perfectionism, placeholder prose, realistic drafting goals, and why your earliest attempt doesn’t need to be beautiful—it just needs to exist.
"Clean" vs. "Closed Door": Why the Language We Use Matters
We're fully aware that the "clean" vs. "closed door" conversation has been a rather heated one over the past few years. So, let's just get it out in the open: Hawthorn & Aster doesn't subscribe to the usage of the word "clean" to describe romance or any genre. In fact, we find it pretty harmful. Here's why—and what we say instead.
Dialogue Tags, Action Beats & Gesture Banks: A Prose Toolkit for Fiction Writers
What are dialogue tags, action beats, and gesture banks? And why do they matter for your prose? This masterclass breaks down filler words, filter words, and repetitive gestures so you can stop leaning on the same shrug and bitten lip, and start building a reusable prose toolkit that grows with every manuscript.
Writing with Inclusivity in mind:A Masterclass(from the perspective of a sensitivity reader)
Reading gave me a home when I was young. It made me feel less alone at a time when I needed it most—and that's exactly why writing inclusively matters. In this masterclass, we're diving into the power of the shared human experience, how to write outside your own lived experience without tokenizing or demoralizing the people you're representing, and why the world of publishing desperately needs more diverse voices—not more people speaking over them.