Playing Dungeons & Dragons isn’t a distraction from writing — it’s storytelling practice in disguise. From character agency to dialogue and pacing, D&D trains the narrative instincts writers rely on, every single day.
Tag: caroline Hardaker author
2025: What happened?
It’s that time of year again, when we all start looking back, wondering what we spent most of the year doing, and what we might take with us into the next. 2025 has been a strange year for me. In many ways, it’s been much harder than I thought it would be. Balancing work with…
How to overcome Writer’s Block
Struggling with writer’s block? Learn simple, effective ways to reignite your creativity, ease perfectionism, and start writing again—without pressure or guilt.
I’m a poet in the metaverse…
So far, 2025 has been quite a poetic year. Featured in a few books here and there (most recently last month, in the Midnight Treasury of Macabre and Weird Poems), my last commission was for an author who’s not only an inspiration to me, but also a friend. A couple of years ago, I read…
Dissecting my first draft: BINDING THE CUCKOO, by Gabriela Houston
When we think of novels, we imagine shining covers on bookshop shelves. Libraries, stacked full of stories. Or the much-loved tomes on your bedside table. But how did what started as a single park in an author’s head turn into a physical thing that’s shared, discussed, loved? In this series, I’m peeling back the layers…
What is postmodernism in literature? A writer’s guide
If you’re a literature student, writer, or curious reader wondering ‘what is postmodernism in literature?’, this post is for you. Postmodernism can feel slippery — a tangle of paradoxes, experiments, and self-aware games. But it’s also rich terrain for a writer: fertile ground for pushing boundaries, interrogating meaning, and playing with form. While I’m not…
An ode to the characters you haven’t met yet
Dedicated to the characters we create who haven’t made their way to the world quite yet.
What is whump in fiction? Why we crave hurt, comfort, and quiet pain in stories
What is whump in fiction and fanfiction? Discover the emotional power of hurt/comfort stories, why we love watching characters suffer and heal, and how whump helps us process pain and vulnerability.
How poetry taught me to write better fiction
Whether it’s the sweep of a stanza or the careful construction of a scene, there’s a curious intimacy in the act of writing. For years, I was a poet first. My early writing life was laced with line breaks, metaphor, and breath. And much of my prose still is! Though I now straddle the worlds…
Why I write the strange, the quiet, and the beautiful
There’s a particular moment, just before the sun rises above the houses at the end of our street, when the light turns the treetops copper. The shadows stretch, the birds awaken, and for a breath or two, the world feels both ancient and oddly delicate. Like something could slip through a crack in the sky…
Caroline Hardaker Author 