A lot of things get referred to as “the tools of the writing trade.” When writers use that phrase, they’re usually talking about one of two things: either things to put words on paper or pixels (pen/pencil, paper, typewriter, computer, word processing/organizing programs, etc.), or else writing
Read more →It’s once again time for an open mike day! Talk about what you’re doing, continue discussion you started earlier, ask questions, complain… whatever.
Read more →I thought the nonsense about “weak verbs” in fiction died some time during the pandemic. Apparently, I was wrong; somebody helpfully forwarded a list of “weak verbs you should never use in your writing” recently. Which inspired this post. The first problem with talking about “weak verbs”
Read more →Probably the third or fourth thing I get asked by would-be writers—after “Where do you get your ideas?”, “Are you working on the next book? When will it be finished?”, and “I have this great idea; how about you write it and we split the money?”—is “How
Read more →The character-driven story currently seems to be most people’s Platonic Ideal for fiction, especially when compared to the plot-driven story…and those are the only two options most writing advice and/or classes present to writers. It’s taken for granted that one of these things–characterization or plot–must inevitably take
Read more →Whether you’re struggling through a first draft, revising a completed manuscript, or composing a query letter, one of the more useful things you (or your prospective agent/editor) should probably know is what is at stake for the characters in your story. But what, exactly, does that mean?
Read more →One of the first things a lot of writers get told is to “think about your audience” or “imagine your ideal reader.” This is one of those balancing-act bits of advice. I personally think there are more down sides than up sides, but either way, the fact
Read more →It is open mike week! I just got back from a long vacation with my sister and friends, so I am catching up and getting back into routines. What are all of you up to? Or what do you want to complain about? Or hear about?
Read more →Finishing your first novel is a matter of lather, rinse, and repeat—you write a bunch of pages, pause to think and make up more, or do some suddenly-necessary research, or reassure yourself that you really did put that necessary information in some prior chapter, and then you
Read more →Once you’ve gotten started on your novel, you might think that all you have to do is repeat the process, writing a bit every day (or every Saturday morning, if that’s all the time you have), or lurching forward in huge chunks with gaps of a week
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