Andrew M. Friday

Category: procrastination

  • Writer’s Block: Just One Sentence

    I overcome writer’s block by tricking my brain. I tell myself: “All I have to do just write one sentence for today, and that’s it. That’s today’s quota.” I’ll write that one sentence and then I’ll just keep going. I think telling myself one sentence is enough removes the psychological barriers of “I have to…

  • Those Extra Chunks of Time

    Don’t wait for just the big chunks of time to write. Use little chunks of time throughout the day: 15 minute breaks; 20 minutes here; even thinking about your story while you drive home from work counts. Those little chunks of time add up. When the big chunks of time arrive –say a whole Saturday…

  • A question about agents

    How do I get an agent? “I’ll tell you why this is the wrong question. It’s not because self-publishing is the future or because you don’t need an agent in 2014 or blah blah. There’s plenty of room for those discussions elsewhere. It’s just the wrong question because asking it means you think the process…

  • Fiction writing workshop: story structure

    When planning a novel, the most helpful tool I’ve found is a thousands-year-old recipe called the three-act structure. It’s helped me plan out my novels more effectively than any fiction writing software. What is the three-act structure? Greek philosopher, Aristotle, came up with this structure. He said a good story has three acts: a beginning,…

  • Writing at the cafe

    I’ve had some of my best writing sessions at a coffee shop, but I’ll be honest: sometimes I just hang out and surf the web. I’m procrastinating. I’m telling myself I’m waiting for inspiration but I confess I’ve gotten no writing done at some so-called writing sessions. Here’s an article that describes it from the…

  • Periodic table of storytelling

    Let this periodic table of storytelling destroy your writer’s block.

  • Writing Blog Roundup: dialogue tags, avoid procrastination, two pages, idiot characters, hero’s journey

    What I read this week in writing blogs: Help with dialogue tags. What about “he said”/”she said”—do you need them? Ten tips to help you avoid procrastination.  A couple of weeks ago I talked about this distracting world we live in and how procrastinating has been refined into an art form of sorts. Two pages…

  • Writing Blog Roundup: daily writing, character’s eyes, write description, using setting, breaking style

    Some blog articles on writing I’ve read lately: Daily Writing leads to better writing. Ideally, you’ll write every day . . . Seeing through your character’s eyes. Novelists are very familiar with the term POV, or point of view . . . How to write description that will delight your reader’s senses. NY Times Bestselling…

  • Writing Blog Roundup: Five on Five

    Twenty-five tips on writing: Five types of anti-heroes. So we’ve established that there is a difference between the hero and the anti-hero . . . Five traits of the successful author. I am off to THRILLERFEST in NYC, and I’m sure it will be thrilling….bada bump *snare* . . . Five writing habits that could…