Category: revising

  • Friday’s Findings: Fictionary

    Friday’s Findings: Fictionary

    I bit the bullet and purchased a subscription to Fictionary. Being a word-processing program and outliner for authors, it falls into the same category as Scrivener, but they have some differences. Here’s how I feel about Fictionary: Character tracking: Fictionary has a great feature for keeping track of characters in each scene. Character tracking is…

  • This Year: Why My NaNoWriMo Is Going So … Great

    This Year: Why My NaNoWriMo Is Going So … Great

    Nanowrimo first week update: Taking a short break from writing my NaNoWriMo project for an update and access how I’m feeling. Overall, I feel like this year’s NaNo is going fantastic. I would have to say it’s the best NaNo experience I’ve had, and I’ve been doing it since 2008. Why is it going so…

  • Friday’s Findings

    Friday’s Findings

    My first week of NaNoWriMo 2021 has gone fantastic. It’s day four and I’m already past 10,000 words. I’ve had some years of NaNo in which I just wasn’t into it, but this year I’m on fire. I think it’s because I did some planning. I created an outline with a summary of scenes, and…

  • One Way to Get Ideas for Writing Stories

    One Way to Get Ideas for Writing Stories

    Potential spoilers: If you haven’t watched Love and Monsters and plan to, you should know the following post has some potential spoilers. Are you looking for an idea for writing your next short story or novel? Are you coming up with nada? Well, look out. The following is just one way to generate an idea…

  • Friday’s Findings

    Friday’s Findings

    One thing I’m realizing as I work on my WIP is that even as I am writing the third draft, it’s going to need rewriting. Major rewriting. But that’s okay because at least I have something to work with. But the lesson I’m learning is to just finish the draft. Don’t stop and start over.…

  • Fiction Writing and Foreshadowing

    Fiction Writing and Foreshadowing

    Photo by Mumtahina Tanni from Pexels

  • Friday’s Findings: A Fiction writing Experiment in Layering

    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…

  • Friday’s Findings

    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…

  • Writing Advice Page Updated

    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…