Category: fiction writing
-
Can Save the Cat and the Snowflake Method be Used Together? Simultaneously?
I’ve taken most of the summer off from writing blog posts to concentrate on my writing projects. Now summer vacations are over, and school is back in session, I’ve decided to get back into posting. Right click to enlarge. To see step-by-step instructions on using this graphic, click here. A thought occurred to me: as…
-
Friday’s Findings: Wildcat
I recently saw the movie Wildcat, which was directed by Ethan Hawke. Wildcat told the story of Flannery O’Connor who navigated her writing career as she dealt with lupus. I could identify with O’Connor who had to endure the obstacle of her stories being misinterpreted. Everyone wants a story to be pretty. O’Connor wrote dark…
-
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/
-
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: Fiction University: Throw Rocks at Your Characters…
-
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…
-
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/
-
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: The Best Writing Advice from Successful Authors (jennamoreci.com) Human-Centered Book Marketing With Dan Blank | The Creative Penn Avoid, Persevere, Endure, Fight: 4 Goals for Unforgettable Opening Scenes | Jane Friedman How to Improve Your…
-
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…
-
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: Antagonistic Obstacles – Does Your Story Really Need Them? (beemgee.com) Self-Publishing Steps You Might Not Know About (jennamoreci.com) Facing Fears In Writing And Life With Rachael Herron (thecreativepenn.com)…
