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Focus on word count
“I try to focus on word count per day. So when I do first drafts, I aim to write a set word count every Monday – Friday until the book is done. That means that I can usually predict the day the book will be done when I start it.” — Taylor Jenkins Reidauthor of…
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Friday’s Findings: Five things I’ve learned in five years
In my post last Friday, I talked about writers should keep learning their craft. I thought about writing practices I had learned in the last five years. I took an inventory and came up with two lists: writing craft tips writing life tips Today, I want to show you my writing craft tips. These are…
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Simple Advice for Writing
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” -Ernest Hemingway Photo by cottonbro studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-writing-on-a-white-paper-7610770/
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Friday’s Findings: Never stop learning
Never stop learning your craft. I’m a little surprised that some people I know who like to write aren’t interested in further training. I guess I understand. but I like taking online classes about writing fiction. I have to be careful, because I don’t want learning to replace actual writing. Writers can spend a little…
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Painting and words
“Paint. That’s the magic word. Paint pictures with words. That’s the greatest advice I can give anybody. Paint the pictures with words. The picture will appear in the imagination so the person reading it can say, ‘I can see that’.” -Brian Jacques Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán: https://www.pexels.com/photo/several-paintbrushes-114123/
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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: Bullet Point Outline – Do you do it?
Want to write a rough draft of a scene like a champ? For a while now I’ve been trying this method using bullet points. It’s not my invention, but it makes sense to me. Here’s the short version: Spend some time thinking about what needs to happen in the scene. As you think, type out…
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Book Buffet: Reviews of the Latest I’ve Read
I admit it. I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy. But this past summer, I managed to read several novels that did not fall into those categories. I’m so proud of myself. Here are my thoughts. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver A modern retelling of David Copperfield set in the Appalachian Mountains, this…
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