Category: writing
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Writing With Scene Beats
If plot is the skeleton and character, is the heart. Beats are the nervous system. They carry every signal, every reaction, every emotional pulse through your story. Master beats—and suddenly everything else gets sharper.
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Writing Advice: Margaret Atwood
From the author of The Handmaid;s Tale. Legendary wisdom to sharpen your craft—swipe through for practical, powerful advice every writer should hear.
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Friday’s Findings: Keeping a Writing Journal
I work as a technical editor for an airline. A year and a half ago, my department moved into the gigantic new hangar the airline built. While I love the new building, I never thought it would help me in my writing. But it does. It just so happens the science fiction novella I’m working…
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Is It Preptober?
Next month will be the first November in decades that the official NaNoWriMo website will not exist. Does this mean no National Novel Writing Month? Will there be a NaNoWriMo community? Should I do NaNoWriMo? I can only speak for myself, but I plan to do NaNoWriMo. Which means this is Preptober. Preptober: It’s a…
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Friday’s Findings: Creating a scene palette
When creating a scene for the first time, I have a list. And I try to hit as many points on that list as possible: But before writing the rough draft of a scene, I have practiced a step I got from a thin, little book called Every Writer Has a Thousand Faces by poet…
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Aspiring Writer?
“Write. Then you’re not ‘aspiring’ anymore and that’s a really good first step.” —Fredrik Backman Photo by Landiva Weber: https://www.pexels.com/photo/abstract-purple-and-green-oil-and-water-art-30177701/
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Friday’s Findings: Will I do NaNoWriMo This Year?
That photo of the guy contemplating NaNoWriMo may be a bit melodramatic, but it’s a feeling many of us can relate to. Since 2008, NaNoWriMo has been a journey of self-discovery for me. It’s shown me the strength I possess as a writer, pushing my brain, body, and sanity to the limit. It’s proven that…
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A passion for well-told stories
“Humans are born with a passion for well-told stories.” ― Jessica Brody, Save the Cat Writes a Young Adult Novel Find Save the Cat Writes a Young Adult Novel on Amazon. Photo by Diogo Miranda: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-autumn-leaves-on-a-branch-28543595/
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Friday’s Findings: Sentence Purpose
“Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.” – Kurt Vonnegut Friday’s Findings: Photo by Dibakar Roy: https://www.pexels.com/photo/monochrome-10-22643641/