Category: writing tips
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Friday’s Findings
While being at home this week, I took a Udemy.com course called How to Plan and Outline Novels (Using Scrivener). I loved the simplicity of how the instructor, novelist Sean Platt, broke down the novel writing process. And I got a lot of great ideas for using Scrivener. The course is only about two hours…
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Friday's Findings
I always think of my first draft as a lump of clay I’ve been working on for only a few minutes. It’s wet and soggy and unpainted, but I know it’s unfinished and the best is yet to come. Why Your First Draft Isn’t Crap Stop Killing Your Creative Genius How a Career Can Reveal…
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Author Interview: Carol Preflatish
A few years ago, I decided to make an effort to meet more authors in my area. One of these authors is Carol Preflatish. We’ve bumped into each at events such as The Kentuckiana Book Fair and Imaginarium 2019. Carol has published several romantic suspense novels. Homecoming To Murder is her recently released murder mystery…
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A Three Hour Writing Course That’s Worth Your Time
Beware: the following sounds like like a commercial, but it’s only because I liked the “product” so much. Now that I’m wrapping up the second draft of my WIP, I wanted to share my thoughts about an online course I took called Write a Bestselling Novel in 15 Steps, which I’ll refer to as WABNI15S…
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Wooden Characters
The best thing you can do when creating a character is give them a flaw. Here are some more tips on avoiding wooden characters. Photo by Magda Ehlers from Pexels
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Friday’s Findings
A couple weeks ago, I shared some tips on how I trick myself into writing. One of those tips was to print out your manuscript and put it in a binder. Having tangible evidence of your hard work can be motivational. But what format should you print it out in? The first link in today’s…
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The Grammar Police Make a Visit
I hate the grammar police, yet I’ve been the grammar police before. I won’t call out someone, but, in my mind, I’ll make a mental note about his misuse of the English language. And I’ve misused it plenty of times myself, so who am I to cast the first English grammar textbook? Photo by kat…
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Don’t Be Afraid. Don’t Be Very Afraid.
Ever since Jeff Goldblum’s character uttered those words in the 1986 film The Fly, he has inspired people to use them in a humorous but sincere way to express anxiety about a current situation. That includes many aspiring writers I see on social media who are afraid “their WIP will not be well received. I…
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Friday’s Findings
I’ve been the victim of a writing group troll. I didn’t even want to read my rough draft. Then he proceeded to tear it apart. I understood why there was another writing group that had broken off from his and why they didn’t include him. I wish I hadn’t let it discourage me. But that…
Andrew M. Friday 