Category: fiction writing
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Friday’s Findings
I’m reading James Scott Bell’s The Art of War for Writers. I’m not even finished, but I’ve already collected a bunch of writing tips and exercises to apply to my own WIPs. Here’s one–and it’s useful for the upcoming NaNoWriMo: “Say you want to describe someone’s wild hair. Write for five minutes without stopping. Describe…
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NaNoWriMo 2021: It’s Not Too Late
On the morning of October 31, 2008, I lay in bed listening to NPR. I don’t know what show was on or who was talking, but the subject was National Novel Writing Month. Write 50,000 words in one month? Impossible. It started the next day. For some reason, I decided to go for it. I…
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She Narrowed Her Eyes: Emotions into Body Language
One thing I look for when writing a characters emotions is body language. How does anger translate in a person’s expression, posture and movement? How does shock? How should a writer transcribe what their characters feel into tangible body language? Let’s break it down. First, I want to thank author K. M. Weiland for introducing…
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Friday’s Findings
From last Monday: I’m on “staycation” this week. As far as my writing, here are some things I promise myself to do with my extra time this week: For NaNoWriMo next month, I promise to do practice writing sprints every day. I will work on my current WIPs. Also for NaNo, I will further develop…
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Friday’s Findings
I enjoy a writing group I joined on Facebook. It’s a small group, only 20 or so, and it’s focused on supporting each other during this year’s NaNoWriMo. For a while, I’ve always thought being a part of a small group on social media is a great way for people to support each other. Whether…
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Story Structure: Harmon’s Plot Embryo
I’ve already talked about Harmon’s Plot Embryo. It’s the most visited page on my blog. Just to review, here are the story structures I’ve posted about recently: 3-Act Structure 7-Point Structure Hero’s Journey Freytag’s Pyramid Snowflake Method Harmon’s Embryo
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Story Structure: The Snowflake Method
This is my favorite. Read more about Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Method here. Photo by Egor Kamelev from Pexels
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Story Structure: Freytag’s Pyramid
Read more about this story structure here. Photo by Castorly Stock from Pexels
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Story Structure: Hero’s Journey
This is a classic. Here’s a beautiful graphic from StoryboardThat. Photo by Klaus Nielsen from Pexels
