Category: plot
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NaNoWriMo on the Horizon …
A warning: I’m going to vent a little in the first half of this blog posting, but I’m offering up some NaNoWriMo advice in the second half. First, I want to mention something I’ve noticed about haters of NaNoWriMo. They just don’t get it. NaNoWriMo haters assume it’s about getting published. “Most NaNoWriMo participants never…
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Friday’s Findings 04.27.18
Here are some articles on writing I’ve read lately: 7 Stress-Free Ways to Handle Notes From Your Book Editor The Best Book Is the One You Can’t Remember Not Your Mama’s Character Descriptions 5 Ways to Structure (and Plot) Your Novel How to Write (and Read) a Good Fight Scene View my Consortium SF Series…
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What is the most important aspect of revision?
NOTE: I dusted off some notes I took for a webinar, How to Revise Your NaNo Novel, from January 2016. Grant Faulkner hosted the segment on writing advice with guest speakers KM Weiland, James Scott Bell and Kami Garcia. The following was one of the questions asked. What is the most important aspect of revision?…
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Friday’s Findings 04.20.18
Here are some articles on writing I’ve read lately: John Keene: Elements of Literary Style Andrew Sean Greer Wins 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction Your Ultimate First Chapter Checklist, Part 2: Writing the Opening Scene Three Techniques to Write Better Settings Fix Scene by Employing Black Box Analysis View my Consortium SF Series at Amazon.…
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Harmon’s Plot Embryo: A Writer’s Tool for both Outlining and Evaluating
I admit it: I just started watching Community. Yes, I know. Better late than never. I kept hearing how great the show was, but never got around to following it. Well, now, thanks to Hulu, I can binge watch while I’m cleaning house or laundry or whatever. Lately, though, I’ve been hearing about this “Plot…
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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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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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Books on writing I read in 2015
Every year I try and read a couple of books on the writing craft. I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but, honestly, I love reading stuff on how to write fiction. Here is what I read in 2015: Planning a Novel, Script or Memoir by Hank Quense Quense offers practical tips on how…
Andrew M. Friday 