Rachel Sandell

I'm a writer and copy editor with 6+ years of experience working with a wide variety of material, from newsletters and social media copy to scientific journals and technical reports.

Creative Writing Blog

Rachel Sandell •

My Very Specific (And Not at All Weird) Music Taste Helped Me Write a Trilogy

I can’t be the only one who imagines entire original scenes while listening to epic music, right? I’m sure that I’m not. But just in case, here’s a writing tip/trick that’s worked extraordinarily well for me: listen to music. Dance around. Imagine things.


Whole stories can come out of scenes imagined from song lyrics or even just instrumentals. Whether it’s Olivia Roderigo or the Piano Guys (and yes, both are on my Spotify playlist), there’s always something to glean from how your brain inter...
Rachel Sandell •

How to Create a Cohesive Short Story Collection: Orange World by Karen Russell

It’s official: Karen Russell is now one of my favorite authors. Her collection of strange yet visceral tales in Orange World stuck with me after I closed the book and far beyond that. Part of the reason that her stories stick in the mind could be attributed to 1) the strangeness of the tales (for example, a couple of young con artist women find themselves in a lodge full of ghosts), and 2) the theme and color that tie all these stories together. 


Many of the stories in Orange World center aro...
Rachel Sandell •

4 Hours in a Coffee Shop

My friend and I hop on a Zoom call every week, chat about life updates, and then write together. Our joint writing sessions last about an hour or two before we go our separate ways for the day. Meeting with her is a fun and helpful way to remain accountable for my writing goals and makes writing feel less alone (the craft can be solitary—but it doesn’t have to be).


We got to talking during one of our sessions about how she used to meet with a friend in a coffee shop and write for a larger chu...
Rachel Sandell •

Creating a Chilling Conversationalist Tone: “Tired Angel” by Jonathan Carroll

Why, oh why did I decide to read this short story alone at night? Of all Carroll’s frightening and thought-provoking stories in The Panic Hand, “Tired Angel” is the worst story to read when you hear a bump in the night. And that makes it my favorite story in this collection.


TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions/descriptions of stalking, harassment, and suicide.


For such a short read, “Tired Angel” leaves an impressive impact on a reader through the clever use of first-person narration. Our POV charac...
Rachel Sandell •

Creating a Sacred Writing Spot

Last year, I purchased a very comfortable chair. This is a special chair. I decided that this was to become my writing throne.


As writers, we sometimes tell ourselves lies. “If only I had more time, then I’d write.” “If I had a better idea, then I’d write.” “Once the inspiration comes back to me, then I’ll write.”


For me, it was: “If I had a comfy spot to write, then I would.” As far as excuses go, it’s fairly weak. But none of the chairs I owned had the right amount of back/neck support,...
Rachel Sandell •

When a Novelist Writes a Short Story

I spent the first ten years or so of my writing journey writing one thing and one thing only: novels.


Every time I started a new story, I fell completely into it and had to keep world building and character building until I didn’t have just one book—I had a trilogy. Then a series. Then separate series started merging together, and next thing I know, everything is connected.


It was a good time, and I couldn’t imagine writing anything shorter. I didn’t really have an interest in short stori...
Rachel Sandell •

Moving Is Bad Enough Without a Whole Library to Lug

So, I recently moved. I did everything I could to help it go smoothly, which meant that the #1 thing on my checklist was—box the books.


Over the years, I’ve collected an irrational amount of books (it’s not hoarding—it’s collecting; I’m not a greedy Gus—I’m a librarian). Fantasy adventure and science fiction decorated my shelves to a ridiculous degree. Old classics slept on top of my shelves. A pile of almost-but-not-quite-my-favorites sat beside the bookcases and stuffed under my bed.


I k...
Rachel Sandell •

Why You Should Write Yourself into a Corner

When you first start writing your idea, you may not have a clue how the story will go. If you’re like me, and you like to leave some room for mistakes and tangents in your first drafts that an outline doesn’t necessarily cover, then I’ve got some good news: not planning out every detail of your story can actually be a good thing.


I’m going to preface this by saying that everyone writes differently. If you’re familiar with NaNoWriMo (or, more relevant to this month, Camp NaNoWriMo), you’ve pro...
Rachel Sandell •

How to Go from Two Characters Standing in a Room Talking to a Conflict-Driven Scene: The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu

Wow, this is the first time I’ve ever done an analysis on manga instead of a book. Bear with me! ❤(ˆ‿ˆԅ) While this may seem super nerdy (probably because it is), this’ll be an analysis, just like any other book talk – with the added bonus that I get to talk about one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite stories: The Promised Neverland.


I also feel like I should give a warning for spoilers, not just for the manga we’ll be analyzing today, but also for the anime adaptation. If you hav...
Rachel Sandell •

Interview with Mike Gosalia, Editor-in-Chief of The Tomahawk Creek Review

This week, we have a very special guest! The brand-new literary journal, The Tomahawk Creek Review, is open to submissions for its first summer issue, and the editor-in-chief, Mike Gosalia, stopped by for a chat. Mike is a fellow writer and friend, so I’m super excited to have him on the blog this week.

Rachel Sandell: Thank you so much for stopping by, Mike! It’s so excited that The Tomahawk Creek Review is open to its first round of submissions. But you aren’t just an editor; you’re a writer...
Rachel Sandell •

The Word Bank Timer: My Favorite Poetry Prompt Exercise

During the past few years, I’ve been working on poetry. I used to write poems when I was younger, but younger me wrote a lot of . . . less than stellar pieces of literature (I’m being kind to my past self, as my old poetry was an amalgamation of forced rhymes and stale imagery – but what else can you expect from a twelve-year-old?). 


I got a little bit better at understanding poetry when I enrolled in a beginner’s class in college, but I never truly understood how writing poems could help me...
Rachel Sandell •

7 Superb Superhero Novels to Herald Heroism

I was introduced to the superhero genre by watching MCU movies. Weirdly enough, it never really occurred to me that I could get superhero stories from novels too until I stumbled upon a few of those books in my local library.


I want to highlight seven of my favorite superhero books because they deserve so much love, and even though a few of these are pretty popular, they could always use more appreciation. Others on this list are less popular but no less stellar. And as I become less and less...
Rachel Sandell •

The Power of Juxtaposition: Beauty and Revulsion in A.S. Byatt’s “The Thing in the Forest”

Considering that I’m a writer who is heavily inspired by fairy tales, magic, and anything fantastical, it’s kind of amazing that I’d never read anything by A.S. Byatt before beginning my MFA program. That first year, my mentor introduced me to so many great authors (who, though popular and well-established, were new to me), most of which I fell absolutely in love with. And no one merges literary fiction with the dangerously magical tone of fairy tales quite like A.S. Byatt.


It’s hard to put i...
Rachel Sandell •

Rejoicing in Rejection: Why I’m Happy to Get Rejection Letters

After what felt like an eternity (but was, in reality, 118 days), I got an email notification on my phone telling me that the literary journal I had my eye on finally got back to me.


I wasn’t nervous before. In fact, I thought I was ready for whatever the answer was about my short story — a story that I was proud of, that I’d gotten compliments on from my writing critique group, and that I still feel confident about, even now. But the second I saw that notification, I felt like I’d never sha...
Rachel Sandell •

I Graduated RWW!

Well, I finally did it. I completed my MFA in Creative Writing from the Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University!


It’s weird to think that I’ve been in the higher education atmosphere for . . . eight years? After having some sort of school structure/routine for that long, it feels odd to suddenly be completely done now. My three years of RWW reached a bitter-sweet end this summer. As of July 31st, I am officially a Master!


And what a journey to get there. I applied to PLU fo...
Rachel Sandell •

My 7 Favorite Books Read During 2021

So, I’ve had a yearly tradition of looking back on the previous year and listing my favorite books that I devoured. Well, it’s March and I haven’t done that yet. Life has been…busy. (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻


But I’m back on that yearly tradition, three months after I should have been! That’s not so bad. Plus, I really, really wanted to talk about these books. Some are new to me, stories that I read for the first time and absolutely loved. Some are rereads that I wanted to list anyway, just to give them ex...
Rachel Sandell •

Unpacking CMOS: Possessives

Originally published on The Scribe Source blog on Dec. 10, 2020.


Many aspects of the English language are tricky to navigate for one reason or another. Possessives—word forms that show ownership or relationship— are no different. But what are the current rules for forming a possessive?


Once again, The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) knows exactly where to begin. Using our editors’ favorite go-to guide, let’s dive into the particularities of possessives!


Let’s begin with the basics: singu...
Rachel Sandell •

Unpacking CMOS: Commas

Originally published on The Scribe Source blog on June 23, 2020.


Few aspects of grammar are as confusing as the comma. What does it do? Where does it go? As with most grammatical conundrums, The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) has all the answers. Let’s see what CMOS has to say about the ever-elusive subject of the comma.


According to CMOS, the comma signals a break in the structure of a sentence, a slight pause, or a logical tool used to clarify meaning. Depending on the context of the sen...
Rachel Sandell •

Unpacking CMOS: Dialogue

Originally published on The Scribe Source blog on Sept. 22, 2020.


Whether you’re creating character dialogue or quoting nonfiction, writing speech can be a difficult job to tackle. Should you use double or single quotes? Do you need a comma? Where do you put the ending punctuation?


Luckily, The Chicago Manual of Style is here to help. From the many types of discourse to faltering speech, the CMOS is your go-to guide for written conversation.


Let’s start with the basics. There are three...
Rachel Sandell •

Achievable New Year’s Writing Resolutions

Well, bookwyrms, it’s another new year again! I know the last few have been particularly trying, but, at the risk of jinxing it, I remain cautiously optimistic about 2022. And that’s because I’ve learned how to make stronger new year’s resolutions that, while they won’t necessarily make the world less crazy, do help me become less crazy.


A while back, I attended an online lecture by Brandon Sanderson, during which he made a harsh but true claim: it won’t do you any good to make yourself promi...
Rachel Sandell •

Interview with Sydney Elliott, Managing Editor of Fireweed: Poetry of Oregon

This week, we’ve got a very special guest! The editor of the newly-relaunched poetry journal, Fireweed: Poetry of Oregon, Sydney Elliott, is here to talk about her experience as a writer and editor and what the Fireweed team is up to!


Rachel Sandell: Thank you for stopping by, Sydney! Fireweed: Poetry of Oregon just went live with its newest 2021 issue, so it’s an exciting time. But Fireweed has been around for a long time. What’s the story behind the older issues and the magazine’s revival?...
Rachel Sandell •

Filling Your World with Characters: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

I didn’t start reading John Irving until I was assigned the book by one of my mentors through the Rainier Writing Workshop. So, this author, as well as his style, was new to me. It took me a while to put my finger on what exactly drew me in and kept me reading.


Irving’s writing style leaves a lot of room for subtly, in my opinion. Even the dialogue represents the character Owen Meany as someone almost larger than life; his dialogue is written in all caps and reads not as him constantly yellin...
Rachel Sandell •

Writing Terribly: The First Draft Struggle

Here’s something that most of us can agree on: first drafts are terrible.


Here’s something that not a lot of people internalize: first drafts are supposed to be terrible.


Unless you’re a super genius, getting it right on the first try is nigh impossible. I think that deep down, we’re all aware that first drafts are just the first try, the rough draft, and it’s supposed to be more fun than cohesive. Rationally and logically, that’s obvious. We’re not going to get the story right on the firs...
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