Category: my novel’s progress
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Why I’m Not Watching “The Walking Dead” Anymore
I didn’t get into the AMC network show The Walking Dead until its fourth season. Dog sitting for some friends, I binge-watched over a weekend and got hooked. The next season would start in a few weeks, and I couldn’t wait. For the next couple of years I watched TWD faithfully. Then I got rid…
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What are the most important scenes in a novel?
To overcome feeling overwhelmed by finishing your novel, a writer might want to keep these writing principles in mind: She doesn’t have to write chronologically. She can write her most important scenes first and then fill in the blanks. Now, if she has planned your novel with some kind of outline, then these principles become even easier.…
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Checklist for writing a scene
When it came to my novel, I honestly didn’t think I’d have to do that. But, here I am, the stage of my novel where I am going over each scene, and I am “killing my darlings.” I want to keep most of the scenes, but I have a criteria I go over that may…
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22 Summer 2016 Books You Won’t Want To Miss
From the Huffington Post: Soak up these family dramas, advice column collections and near-future hijinks. This summer, in addition to the obvious 2016 warm-weather pastime of drinking watermelon water while listening to “Lemonade,” we’re looking forward to reading new books! Because, although we are big proponents of couch lounging, reading in the grass while using…
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Four quick reads on writing
When I was on vacation earlier this month, I read some e-books on writing. Even though these gems were inexpensive and quick, they provided me with some valuable lessons to apply to my writing craft. Here they are: Self-publishing a Book By Hank Quense Quense has a great series on self-publishing and this is the…
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How I Use My Bullet Journal
My closest friends know my deepest secret: I use a bullet journal. I rave about it. I’m a little obsessed with it. I’ve been talking about it so much, I suspect they are planning a bullet journal intervention. However, if they saw how a bullet journal could change their lives, they would turn the…
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My reading plan for this year: read more “widely”
The biggest pet peeve I have with myself is how I don’t read widely enough. What I mean is, I don’t read across genres. I stick to the same kinds of books. At the end of each year, I look at the list of books I’ve read and I realize it’s two-thirds speculative fiction: science…
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The Final Quarter
I am down to the last 25% of the current draft of my novel which I’m now calling Ziggurat Reach. Whether that is a working title or a final title, I don’t know. I know what is happening in the last part of my novel. I am building up to the story’s climax and all…
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Storming
Next on my to read list is a newly published book by K.M. Weiland called Storming. Not only are her stories entertaining–I read her novel Dreamlander earlier this year–her non-fiction books on writing have mentored me as I complete my novel. Check out her awesome website and blog. You will find tons of resources and…
Andrew M. Friday 