Category: fiction writing
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Test Your Novel’s Potential
“Is my novel idea worth pursuing?” How can you know you will fall in love with your novel without spending hours of writing, stringing together thousands of words, and creating dozens of scenes before realizing it doesn’t work? Try this: Jessica Brody, author of Save the Cat Writes a Novel, recommends just writing the single…
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Some books on writing craft
The Happy Writer by Marissa Meyer is a warm, encouraging guide that helps writers rediscover joy in the creative process by balancing productivity with self-compassion. Through practical advice and personal insights, Meyer reminds authors that success comes not just from word counts, but from cultivating happiness in their writing life. I’ve read two different fiction…
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Friday’s Findings: Your Novel’s Word Count Breakdown
Have you ever asked yourself, “Is my middle too saggy?” Of course, I’m talking about the first draft of your novel. I have several novels in the first draft stage, and I plan to revise them over the next couple of years, Lord willing. Here’s the thing: before I start rewriting them, I want to…
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Friday’s Findings: Tension
What is tension in fiction? It is the anticipation, the dread, of unknown events or other elements in a story that compel a reader to keep going. Ask this question for each of your characters: What are you afraid of losing the most? The answers should give you an ample supply of tension, conflict, and…
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Friday’s Findings: Two Kinds of Writers
Friday’s Findings Photo by Nicky Manosalva
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Friday’s Findings: Ways to Start a Writing Session
In my last blog posting, I talked about using copy work to get started for a writing session. The concept goes like this: for five minutes, copy word-for-word, a few paragraphs of your favorite author or novel. Then start your actual work-in-progress (WIP). It made me realize copy work is just one way to warm…
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Friday’s Findings: Starting a Writing Session
Use This Simple Technique to Get in the Mood for Your Writing Session A few years ago, I wrote about different ways to practice writing exercises. These exercises are designed to help improve my narrative style and writing craft, and they’re distinct from actually writing the story or scene I’m currently working on. Instead, these…
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Friday’s Findings: Small Wins
Remember: Small, consistent wins usually lead to more success in the long run, as opposed to big, infrequent wins. Marissa Meyer, The Happy Writer I’ve been reading The Happy Writer: Get More Ideas, Write More Words, and Find More Joy from First Draft to Publication and Beyond by Marissa Meyer, and this quote really resonates…
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Friday’s Findings: Should You Add a Prologue?
Five years ago, I did a series called Writing Style Outcasts. It’s been a while since I’ve talked about one of these misfits of grammar. I’ve discovered the question is not why shouldn’t I use them but is when to use them. I’d like to add prologues to these misfits of the writing craft. A…
Andrew M. Friday 