Category: writing
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Temptations to avoid when writing characters
I’ve had a great time getting to know the characters in my SF novel. A plethora of minor characters run around in my story, but I have three main ones: Bandonn FarPacer-Technology genius; while growing up, forced to fight a war on his home planet; escaped the war, and wants to be an agent for the…
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In honor of fifty years of YA novels
In honor of its fiftieth anniversary, I read The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton again after about twenty-five years. Hinton has been said to single-handedly jump started the YA publishing market. I went through a period of reading YA novels. Most of Hinton’s–That Was Then, This Is Now; Rumble Fish–and tackled Paul Zindel’s books beginning…
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Checklist for writing a scene
When it came to my novel, I honestly didn’t think I’d have to do that. But, here I am, the stage of my novel where I am going over each scene, and I am “killing my darlings.” I want to keep most of the scenes, but I have a criteria I go over that may…
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Fiction Writing Workshop: Action Scenes
He extends his sword and then utters these words: “My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.” The most memorable part of this fight scene are these words. But why? To find the answer, I wanted to know more about writing effective fight and action scenes. My novel has several of…
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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…
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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…
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Writing Exercise: Describe One Thing Ten Ways
This writing exercise challenges the writer to describe something ten different ways. I chose Andre, a french bulldog whom I watch when his “mommy” and “daddy” are out-of-town. I have grown quite fond of him and he offers wondrous opportunities for description. Now, for my list, I decided to tackle description using the five senses…
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The Furious Five Hundred
It’s a busy week for me for several reasons, one of which my house is being remodeled and every room is in disarray. I have no place to sit in my own home. Despite that, I’ve been camping out at the coffee shop for the past few days and I’m getting work done. I’m using…
