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THE SECRET TO SUCCESSFULLY WRITING HUMOR
You know you're a nerd when you get to the point of analyzing humor. 😁 In my defense, Dr. "O" started it. He was my Introduction to...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Apr 10, 20203 min read
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THE THINGS WE FEEL COMPELLED TO SAY
I recently joined a Facebook group that was formed in response to an invitation from my church's president to fast on Good Friday for...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Apr 9, 20203 min read
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LICKING BATTERIES
My bedroom is in the basement of the house where my roommates and I live. This morning, while I was still half asleep, I kept hearing a...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Apr 8, 20203 min read
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CONTEXT ADDS A LOT
Yesterday was a big day. It was the second day of my church's semiannual general conference (held virtually, of course). One of the most...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Apr 6, 20204 min read
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THE ART OF THE PLOT TWIST
I spent a good hour yesterday struggling to figure out how to attach my new bike rack to my car (while the directions kept blowing away),...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Apr 2, 20203 min read
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WRITING ABOUT RECOVERY
*Trigger warning: trauma and abuse.* I didn't mean to go AWOL for the last few days. To make a very long story short, I'm still very much...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Mar 30, 20203 min read
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LET THEM HAVE FUN
It probably says something about me that the only board game I own is Villainous. In this game, each player is a Disney villain trying to...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Mar 25, 20202 min read
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HOW TO FIND THE SHARD OF GLASS
In yesterday's email, we talked about the shard of glass and why it's important to a character's development. For some characters, this...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Mar 24, 20203 min read
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NOW *THAT'S* FLIMSY
Today I broke down and bought the 2019 version of Aladdin on DVD. I've wanted it for a long time and finally decided to go for it....
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Mar 23, 20203 min read
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CHARACTER QUIRKS ARE ONE THING, BUT ...
Those of you who know me personally also know that I love Studio C. It's a family-friendly sketch-comedy show available on BYUtv and...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Mar 20, 20203 min read
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A LESSON FROM IRISH HISTORY FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY
A photo I took in the Dingle area of Ireland while on study abroad. That's not snow; it's a low cloud over the mountain. Recently, I...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Mar 17, 20202 min read
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ARE YOU SURE THIS IS ENGLISH?
One of my favorites from the photos I took during my internship in Oxford, UK While I was training to be a teacher, I had to complete a...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Mar 16, 20202 min read
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AN OFFBEAT WRITING TOOL
Remember how we discussed roleplaying games (RPGs) in the last post? Most of them, if you recall, require dice rolls to see whether...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Mar 13, 20204 min read
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THINK LIKE A GAMEMASTER
Have you ever played a tabletop roleplaying game (RPG)? Think Dungeons and Dragons or something similar. If you haven't, here are the...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Mar 11, 20203 min read
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OH, YOU WANT CAKE, DO YOU? *EVIL CHUCKLE*
I had one of the weirdest arguments of my life today . . . with a plastic container. After lunch, I wanted a piece of the leftover cake...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Mar 6, 20202 min read
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THE MOOSE ON THE TABLE
My brother-in-law, "B," is a project manager for a company that designs hospital software. Lately, he's had to travel to Canada (I want...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Mar 3, 20202 min read
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HONORING LEAP DAY EARLY
I had a hard time getting up this morning. Yesterday was particularly rough, I woke up in the middle of a nightmare that left my heart...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Feb 29, 20203 min read
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DO *NOT* DO THIS IN YOUR DIALOGUE. EVER.
This weekend, a friend and I went out for dinner. During the conversation, the subject of musicals came up. I mentioned that I love the...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Feb 24, 20203 min read
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EMBRACE THE WEIRD
The summer I turned seventeen, I went with my mom and oldest brother (whom I'll call "T") to St. Petersburg, Russia, to visit our...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Feb 18, 20202 min read
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PRESIDENTS ARE COMPLICATED
In the United States, today is Presidents' Day. Depending on whom you ask, it's a holiday that commemorates the birth and legacy of...
Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Feb 17, 20203 min read
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