Category: discovery draft
-
Friday’s Findings
I made some big headway this week as I plan my story for National Novel Writing Month 2021. I have my protagonist sketched out. I have my plot summarized for each scene. If it were November 1st, I’d be all set. This year I’m taking a month from my regular writing projects to write a…
-
One Way to Get Ideas for Writing Stories
Potential spoilers: If you haven’t watched Love and Monsters and plan to, you should know the following post has some potential spoilers. Are you looking for an idea for writing your next short story or novel? Are you coming up with nada? Well, look out. The following is just one way to generate an idea…
-
Start The Scene With Action And Dialogue
Okay, this is a long post. Just warning you. This good news is you can just read the highlights in bold to get the gist for each section. This post is for reference as you may want to experiment with the writing exercise I’ve fleshed out in the following paragraphs. In the previous post, I…
-
Friday’s Findings: A Fiction writing Experiment in Layering
I’ve been experimenting with layering as a way to develop a scene. One aspect of layering I find helpful is how it can focus on the dialogue and action. I believe those two fiction elements are where a writer should begin when writing a scene draft. Here’s how I’ve been doing it: I make a…
-
How I Write My Scenes
“How do I write this story?” Take a deep breath. Writing a novel or short story starts with writing one word. Then one sentence. Then one paragraph. Then one scene. Stop right there. Let’s focus on the scene in fiction writing. Scenes are the basic building blocks of the fiction process, but how do I…
-
Writing Style Outcasts: Telling
Geez, “telling” gets treated like like the weird kid at school, but it’s an important tool in the writing and editing process. Stop harassing it! You’ve all heard, “Show don’t tell.” The thing is, the writer is suppose to use both. Usually, I use telling at the beginning of the scene. If the reader needs…
-
Friday’s Findings
Semicolons. I think of them as the yellow on a traffic stoplight. But I admit it. I love using the semicolon. When I write a rough draft, I indulge my semicolon addiction, but when I self-edit, I have to rewrite most of the sentences where I use them. They are like spice; I use them…
-
Friday's Findings
I always think of my first draft as a lump of clay I’ve been working on for only a few minutes. It’s wet and soggy and unpainted, but I know it’s unfinished and the best is yet to come. Why Your First Draft Isn’t Crap Stop Killing Your Creative Genius How a Career Can Reveal…
-
Infographic Tuesday: Why I’m Not Getting Any Writing Done
It’s not too late to evaluate what goals you have for your writing in 2020. Here’s a humorous infographic from Rick Chillot to help motivate you when your creativity is running dry.
Andrew M. Friday 