Craft-of-Writing Series
Below, you’ll find all of the series on the craft (and life) of writing I’ve posted over the years, ordered by category. To view the posts in a certain topic, click on the series title, and you’ll be taken to a new window/tab linking to all the posts in that series.
Preparing to Write/General Writing Tips:
How do you become a writer? Where do story ideas come from? How do you cultivate creativity, imagination, and inspiration? These and other questions are explored for those who are thinking about starting a journey in fiction writing—or who just need a reminder of why you started writing in the first place.
Take a master class from the best-selling fiction authors of all time . . . by learning how to read critically and analyze published works to learn the craft and techniques that master storytellers both in and out of your genre use to create compelling stories that stand the test of time.
Never use adverbs. Always show instead of tell. You have to be active on social media. Read as many craft books as you can. Sound familiar? You’ve probably heard these and more taught as “rules” of writing. More often than not, though they’re myths. And I’m here to debunk them.
My Writing Tools (Software, Hardware, and Post-it Notes)
Since I’ve written far too many pieces of posts that include bits about my writing process and the tools I use, the easiest thing for me to do instead of trying to do one long (long) post about it is to link to where I’ve covered this topic previously.
National Novel Writing Month (NaNo) Prep
Preparing to write a manuscript in a month can be a daunting prospect—especially if you aren’t prepared. So let’s get prepped!
This is the year you’ve promised yourself that you’re finally going to get around to writing that novel. So let’s get ready, let’s get set, and let’s write.
Set aside a completed manuscript to create objectivity. Don’t think; just write. Make lists. Here’s a list of the top-ten tips that have helped me the most as a professional author.
WRITE: An Inspirational Acrostic
Craft of Fiction Writing
Beginnings, Middles, and Endings
Characters:
Bad Guys: The Villains and Antagonists We Love to Hate
With help from two books I picked up—The Power of the Dark Side
(Pamela Jaye Smith) and Bullies, Bastards & Bitches (Jessica Page Morrell)—we’ll analyze the bad-guy characters in our writing and reading. And for those of you who aren’t writers, we’ll be looking at the antagonists in books and movies for examples.
When you write, do you collect photos of “your characters”—actors, models, singers, athletes, etc.—so you can better describe them? Do you need to have a photo of a person before you can start writing about your characters? Have you ever seen an actor or a photo of a person who inspired you to write a story? Then you might be a visually oriented writer—and Character Casting may be a great tool for your writing toolbox!
Plotting, Subplots, and Structuring/Outlining Your Novel
“Say What?”—A Series About Dialogue
The Writer’s Life
Networking / Writing Conferences
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