Category: fiction writing
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The Intimidating Draft
“Drafts. Nothing is more intimidating than a blank page. Writing in drafts helps to diffuse some of that pressure. My rough draft has one goal; to write “The End.” I have the next 200-300 drafts to make it good.” -Max Brooks Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-and-gray-checkered-textile-6474345/
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Friday’s Findings: A Dollop of Delusion
“Your first book is brutal, and for that reason I really think it has to be a labor of love. Only love and a dollop of delusional hope will get you through that misery. Let the cynicism come later.” –Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters Friday’s Findings: Photo by NEOSiAM 2024+: https://www.pexels.com/photo/tilt-lens-photography-of-white-flowers-673535/
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Friday’s Findings: The Recipe for Interiority
There’s this new term I’ve come across in the fiction craft world: interiority. I had never heard of it until last year when I took Mary Kole’s online class called Crafting Dynamic Characters. Great class. As far as using it as a writing craft term, I don’t know who coined interiority, but Kole built her…
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Writing Garbage
“When you’re stuck, and sure you’ve written absolute garbage, force yourself to finish and THEN decide to fix or scrap it – or you will never know if you can.” – Jodi Picoult Photo by Anna Shvets: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-white-and-green-shirt-holding-yellow-plastic-bag-3746342/
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Friday’s Findings: The Moon Is Shining
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” -Anton Chekhov Friday’s Findings: Photo by Martin Schneider: https://www.pexels.com/photo/moon-shining-through-silhouette-of-trees-11597986/
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Some Books on Writing Craft
A book on fiction writing is ideal because you’re getting a course in writing at your fingertips. You can read or listen to the book at your own convenience. And best of all, you don’t have to take a final. Unless finishing your story is the final. Anyway, here are some books on the writing…
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Friday’s Findings: The Exact Detail
“In all genres, I wait in ambush for the exact, perfect, telling detail, the thing that makes the scene or line come alive.” —Lauren Groff Friday’s Findings: Photo by veeterzy: https://www.pexels.com/photo/road-between-pine-trees-39811/
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Friday’s Findings: You’re Allowed to Steal
“In any art you’re allowed to steal anything if you can make it better.” – James Baldwin’s Advice on Writing. Austin Kleon talks about this in detail in his book, Steal Like an Artist. “If we’re free from the burden of trying to be completely original, we can stop trying to make something out of nothing, and…
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Friday’s Findings: A Writer’s Notebook
“Always carry a notebook. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever.” -Will Self Writing Blog Highlights: Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-spiral-notebook-beside-orange-pencil-544115/
Andrew M. Friday 