Category: novel planning
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Friday’s Findings
Every situation is an opportunity for a writer to collect sensory details. Tomorrow, one of my closest friends for many years (decades, really), is getting married. I’m so happy for her and her groom. As a writer, I’m going to take the opportunity to mentally record sensory details for possible use in future stories. Weddings…
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Friday’s Findings: A Fiction writing Experiment in Layering
I’ve been experimenting with layering as a way to develop a scene. One aspect of layering I find helpful is how it can focus on the dialogue and action. I believe those two fiction elements are where a writer should begin when writing a scene draft. Here’s how I’ve been doing it: I make a…
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FRIDAY’S FINDINGS
Layering helps the writer flesh out her stories and novels. Applying this technique can break down the intimidation when it comes to a blank page and motivate the writer to tell the story one bit at a time. Before she knows it, the scene has been written. Here are some articles on layering: Layering and…
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Friday’s Findings
A few weeks ago, I started to read a book by a self-published author. As I chugged through the first chapter of this science-fiction novel, I was getting into the story, but one thing was annoying me. The author had really overdone it with the exclamation marks. Now, I’m not saying never use an exclamation…
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Writing Advice Page Updated
Have you ever wished you knew more about writing short stories and novels? How to write realistic dialogue? How to create smooth prose? I’ve updated my writing advice page by collecting links to articles on fiction elements. Feel free to explore them to hone your writing craft through learning or reference. Topics include: Backstory Beats…
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Writing a Strong Scene
Have you ever written a scene and wondered if it was good enough? What criteria can you use to determine whether that scene is strong or weak? Here’s a writing infographic from xterraweb.com on writing strong scenes. Photo by Mary Taylor from Pexels
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Free Audiobook Available
If you have an Audible account, you can listen to Grant Faulkner’s Pep Talks for Writers for free. It’s written with NaNoWriMo in mind and can get you psyched up for National Novel Writing Month. Photo by Christina Morillo from Pexels
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How I Write My Scenes
“How do I write this story?” Take a deep breath. Writing a novel or short story starts with writing one word. Then one sentence. Then one paragraph. Then one scene. Stop right there. Let’s focus on the scene in fiction writing. Scenes are the basic building blocks of the fiction process, but how do I…
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Friday’s Findings
What makes writing bad? A thousand answers exist to that question. While it’s always a good idea to focus on honing the writing craft in a positive direction, knowing what not to do can’t hurt. The Bulwer Lytton contest has been showcasing disasters in fiction since the 80s. They’re cringe-worthy. They’re shocking. They’re hilarious. And…
Andrew M. Friday 