Category: writing
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Friday’s Findings
Prologues vs. Flashbacks Backstory is something I’ve been thinking about lately and this article answered a lot of questions. How to Read Like a Writer (to become a better writer) Five simple steps to reading a book and noticing techniques writers use to make readers want to finish the book. 5 Ways to Write Better…
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How These Writers Faced Their Challenges
11 top writers on their greatest writing challenges and how they overcome their demons . . . Right click and hit save as to download and read. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-red-tank-top-jumping-on-obstacle-3763879/
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Friday’s Findings: Screenplay Writing with Tony Acree
Last week, I attended a short workshop on screenplay writing. Tony Acree, author and publisher, has turned his novel, The Hand of God, into a screenplay. He talked about what he has learned as he gets it turned into a movie. With his permission, I’ve summarized his main points: Video of Acree’s presentation. Here are…
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Friday’s Findings: Storytelling Tips and Techniques
Got an extra Audible credit you want to use? Looking to take a creative writing class? Then I recommend Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques. This is part of The Great Courses Series on Audible. James Hynes, a writing professor and novelist, narrates this 24 lecture course on writing novels and short stories. I…
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Friday’s Findings: Discovering Flannery O’Connor
A couple months ago, my supervisor came into the office excited about a movie being filmed in town. Ethan Hawke had been spotted by the local paper at various locations: the zoo, Old Louisville, and nearby small towns. “He’s filming and directing a movie about Flannery O’Connor,” my boss exclaimed. She loves O’Connor’s short stories.…
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Friday’s Findings: How to Write Fast
Some writers imagine the writing process as slow and meticulous. They take their time composing that first draft, lingering over it for months, maybe years. These writers are tortoises and they don’t mind. However, in How to Write Fast by Sean Platt and Neeve Silver, the writing process is the hare, not the tortoise. They…
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NaNoWriMo Day 30: Some resources to check out
No two writers approach their WIPs in the same way. Over the years, I’ve used a combination of the following methods to develop my stories. You may be familiar with some of them. Some of them may be new. I cherry pick parts from them and have created an amalgam of a fiction creating process…
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NaNoWriMo Day 29: Seeking the senses
On Thanksgiving Day, I accompanied my mom and her husband to volunteer at a church serving T-day meals to the homeless and low-income families. It was a nice break from working on my NaNoWriMo project. The three of us ending up on the team of volunteers who picked up paper plates and cups from those…
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NaNoWriMo Day 27: Home Stretch
Two milestones yesterday: I reached 45k words. And I finally did a 6k day. I did several sprints all day long. Most were 30 minute sprints and a couple were 45 minute sprints. And I still managed to get non-writing stuff done. In between writing sprints, I would exercise for 15-20 minutes. Or I would…