About 4 years ago, I was googling writing things and ran across a lovely lady who didn’t try to blow wind in my sail about the perils and pleasures of writing. At the time, writing about writing wasn’t as common as now, and I didn’t know any local writers, and Lord, I was a prideful creature. After trying to figure out novel writing on my own for about 3 years, which subsequently whittled down my hubris to a mere stub, I went searching on the internet for a guide.

Her name is Holly Lisle, and I started with her blog. A dim light began illuminating my manuscript. I tried a small plot course. Hallelujah, planning starting making sense. I bought a novel-writing course on a payment plan, How to Think Sideways, and my writing life changed forever.

The book that I’d been writing bits and pieces of for almost three years, fell to bits, but I knew why, and I did better with the next try. I still pop back to certain lessons when my brain is goo and my stories feel like gooier goo. She’s written over 30 books, so I feel safe in her instructing hands, and she is so good at explaining how and why she does what she does. There are very few strategies that don’t work for me.

Above is a list of Holly’s books, excluding nonfiction. Click on the image to see up close!

I’m writing this because, when I take a course from her, I learn more than I did in my college creative writing course! (Perspective: It was an introductory creative writing course a thousand years ago, but still. I was surprised.)

It was my first venture investing in learning without a certificate or degree as an end result, and I was so pleased.

All this to say, when I received an email, explaining that there is a Holly Lisle patreon page, I was so happy! Here she is still giving to me continually, and finally I can give something back to her on a regular basis! I don’t have a lot, but she wasn’t asking for a lot. I wish I could hug her and tell her in person how she’s affected my life, but since that could be creepy, I put my conviction in a monthly donation.

I’m not asking you to do so (unless you love her, too); I just wanted to share my excitement! If you want to know more about Holly, I’ll leave some links below.

Holly’s Website: https://hollyswritingclasses.com/

Holly’s Blog: https://hollyswritingclasses.com/blog/

Holly’s Writing Courses: https://hollyswritingclasses.com/shop/

Holly’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hollylisle/posts

Sharing the knowledge, people. Just sharing the knowledge.