Category: writing
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Terry Brooks: Sometimes the Magic Works (After 20 Years)
I attended the Imaginarium Convention last weekend, and Terry Brooks was a special guest. In 2003, I bought his book Sometimes the Magic Works, his half memoir, half writing instruction book. I read it and learned a lot. Since then, I’ve read many of his fantasy novels. At the conference, I asked him to sign…
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Friday’s Findings: Do We Really Need Story Structure?
I just finished Stephen King’s On Writing. Once again. I’m still flabbergasted that one of the best-selling authors in American history doesn’t endorse story structure. And I also just listened to a fiction writing seminar with Lisa Cron. In it, she reiterated what she says in her book, Story Genius, to begin with the story.…
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Friday’s Findings: Can AI Write a Novel?
Apparently, Artificial Intelligence can write a novel. The question is: can AI write a good novel? To me, good novels require human emotions. Characters need to make decisions in their fictional exploits. And decisions, even those based on just the facts, require emotions to be made. Can AI make decisions as complex as humans? Can…
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Friday’s Findings: The Perfect Story?
This week, I came across some articles that go over the basics of fiction: story elements, types of characters and the three act story structure. I also came across Writer’s Digest’s 50 best websites for writers in 2023. Elements of Fiction: A Quick Guide to Writing the Perfect Story – Kotobee Blog A refresher on…
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Friday’s Findings: Vision Boards and Facial Cues
My Seven writing rules – JMJ Williamson Not so much ‘rules’ as they are ‘preferences.’ How to Write a Good Villain: 6 Scenes Your Story Needs (thewritepractice.com) Some good suggestions for scenes to make your antagonist more real to the reader. Fiction University: Give Your Story Meaning with Inner Conflict and Theme (janicehardy.com) Some good…
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Put Butt in Chair to Find Your Voice
Last year I took an online course with Writing Mastery Academy called Crafting Dynamic Characters. The instructor was Mary Kole, an editor. One thing I’ve realized with Writing Mastery Academy courses is that they always end up being way more than I expected. The same can be said about Crafting Dynamic Characters. I thought it…
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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…
Andrew M. Friday 