Category: my novel’s progress
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Friday’s Findings: Goals or Systems?
I’ll be honest with you. I did not achieve my writing goals this year. I have no one to blame but myself. Being the end of the year, I thought about how I could do better in the year to come. So, I consulted with my friend, a book called The Atomic Habits. I’ve discussed The Atomic…
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Warning: No Info Dumping, Part 3
For the past year, I’ve been creating a story in my mind. It started with a single scene, but since then I’ve daydreamed of several scenarios in which my story fermented, busted, and grew. And grew some more. If I wasn’t already working on other pieces of fiction, I’d go ahead and give it my…
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Warning: No Info Dumping, Part 1
Let’s talk about some do’s anLet’s talk about some do’s and don’t’s of info-dumping. I try to find ways to include how things work in my sci-fi and fantasy stories, but I’m not always sure I avoid info-dumping. I try to. But it’s an easy trap to fall into, especially as a speculative fiction writer.…
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Some books on writing craft
The following are two completely different books for the writer. One is about a structured process and the other is about organically discovering your creativity. We can benefit from both. Save the Cat Writes a Young Adult Novel by Jessica Brody I just finished Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat Writes a Young Adult Novel and…
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Friday’s Findings: Imposter Syndrome as a writer
Over the last few years, I’ve encountered the term imposter syndrome, and I’m like, “What is that?” Imposter syndrome is a thought pattern that reoccurs in someone’s mind and tells them they’re not good enough at what they do. For example: “I’m not a good teacher.” “I’m a terrible physician.” “I’m not as good a…
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Friday’s Findings: Five things I’ve learned in five years, part 2
A few weeks ago, I named five things I learned about the writing craft in the last five years, which are things about the actual writing process. As I came up with that list, I serendipitously came up with items that didn’t relate directly to the craft but to the writing life. These would be…
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Friday’s Findings: Every Sentence
“Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.” -Kurt Vonnegut Friday’s Findings
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Friday’s Findings: Stupid stuff that scared me when I was a stupid kid
When I was a little kid, like four or five years old, I would torture myself this way: while everyone else was watching tv in the warm, cozy, well-lit living room, I would sneak off to the dark, cold, empty kitchen. I would stand in front of the door that led down into the basement.…
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Focus on word count
“I try to focus on word count per day. So when I do first drafts, I aim to write a set word count every Monday – Friday until the book is done. That means that I can usually predict the day the book will be done when I start it.” — Taylor Jenkins Reidauthor of…
Andrew M. Friday 