He got up and sat on the edge of the bedstead with his back to the window. “It’s better not to sleep at all,” he decided. There was a cold damp draught from the window, however; without getting up he drew the blanket over him and wrapped himself in it. He was not thinking of anything and did not want to think. But one image rose after another, incoherent scraps of thought without beginning or end passed through his mind. He sank into drowsiness. Perhaps the cold, or the dampness, or the dark, or the wind that howled under the window and tossed the trees roused a sort of persistent craving for the fantastic. He kept dwelling on images of flowers, he fancied a charming flower garden, a bright, warm, almost hot day, a holiday—Trinity day. A fine, sumptuous country cottage in the English taste overgrown with fragrant flowers, with flower beds going round the house; the porch, wreathed in climbers, was surrounded with beds of roses. A light, cool staircase, carpeted with rich rugs, was decorated with rare plants in china pots. He noticed particularly in the windows nosegays of tender, white, heavily fragrant narcissus bending over their bright, green, thick long stalks. He was reluctant to move away from them, but he went up the stairs and came into a large, high drawing-room and again everywhere—at the windows, the doors on to the balcony, and on the balcony itself—were flowers. The floors were strewn with freshly-cut fragrant hay, the windows were open, a fresh, cool, light air came into the room. The birds were chirruping under the window, and in the middle of the room, on a table covered with a white satin shroud, stood a coffin. The coffin was covered with white silk and edged with a thick white frill; wreaths of flowers surrounded it on all sides. Among the flowers lay a girl in a white muslin dress, with her arms crossed and pressed on her bosom, as though carved out of marble. But her loose fair hair was wet; there was a wreath of roses on her head. The stern and already rigid profile of her face looked as though chiselled of marble too, and the smile on her pale lips was full of an immense unchildish misery and sorrowful appeal. Svidrigaïlov knew that girl; there was no holy image, no burning candle beside the coffin; no sound of prayers: the girl had drowned herself. She was only fourteen, but her heart was broken. And she had destroyed herself, crushed by an insult that had appalled and amazed that childish soul, had smirched that angel purity with unmerited disgrace and torn from her a last scream of despair, unheeded and brutally disregarded, on a dark night in the cold and wet while the wind howled

The Blog

  • 20 Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block image of tag icon

    It stares you down in the form of an empty word doc and a blinking cursor. Its existence is hotly debated. It is any storyteller’s biggest fear: the dreaded Writer’s Block (and see my updated post on Writers Block). However, have no fear! I’ve racked my brain for fail-safe strategies to conquer Writer’s Block, tactics […]

     Read More
  • 41 Best YA Literary Agents image of tag icon

    Why do so many writers thank their agents first in the acknowledgements? Because the agent is pretty much the most important person in a writer’s life. Countless people work behind the scenes to bring each author’s budding vision for a story to its fruition, from friends and family to the publishing house’s distribution, but none […]

     Read More
  • The Only Character Name Generator You’ll Ever Need image of tag icon

      Having trouble coming up for a name for your character? Look no further! This random character name generator is just the tool you need. A good writer knows that word choice can make or break a story, and character names are no exception. The names you choose resonate with readers on both a conscious and subconscious […]

     Read More
  • 50 Creative Writing Ideas to Combat Writer’s Block image of tag icon

    A lack of creative writing ideas often leads to a writer’s worst fear: writer’s block. It’s so easy to fall into its clutches, spending hours at your laptop (or notebook or typewriter) writing sentence after sentence only to cross every one out. Or even worse—to sit an an empty page and write nothing at all. […]

     Read More
  • The Best Writing Prompts on Tumblr image of tag icon

    Tumblr is a blog site that is good for more than just hipster photos and crying over your favorite pop culture icons. It’s also a community for writers of all genres to collaborate and share ideas.  Tumblr is a great resource for writing prompts. Writing prompts on Tumblr take a number of forms, with each […]

     Read More
  • How to Create Brilliant Book Titles (With Examples) image of tag icon

    A good book title can mean the difference between a bestseller and a lifeless shelf-dweller.   If you don’t believe me, look up First Hundred Million by editor E. Haldeman-Julius. He explains that changing just the book title can rocket a book from selling 6,000 copies a year to 50,000 copies a year.  In this post I’m going to give […]

     Read More
  • Write the Perfect Ending: 6 Ways to Satisfy Readers image of tag icon

    You’ve been dreaming about this moment since the beginning. It’s what you’ve been working towards this whole time, and now you’re finally ready to wrap it all up and create that perfect ending to your story. So how are you going to do it? Consider this your brainstorming session. Learn from these examples how to end a story, and […]

     Read More
  • How to Create Secondary Characters image of tag icon

    Nobody goes through life without some help, and the same goes for your main characters. It’s nearly impossible for a story or novel to be complete without a few secondary characters to support and put a spotlight on your lead. What would Holmes be without Watson? Or Alice in Wonderland without the Cheshire Cat? Or the Merchant […]

     Read More
  • 10 Career Mistakes Writers Must Avoid image of tag icon

    This writing advice would have saved me a lot of broken drafts and a lot of failed expectations. After you read this, pick your favorite 3 or 4 points and tape them to the wall above your writing desk. Remind yourself of this writing advice often enough, and you’ll have a much better chance of success. 1. […]

     Read More