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The Intimidating Draft
“Drafts. Nothing is more intimidating than a blank page. Writing in drafts helps to diffuse some of that pressure. My rough draft has one goal; to write “The End.” I have the next 200-300 drafts to make it good.” -Max Brooks Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-and-gray-checkered-textile-6474345/
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Friday’s Findings: Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft
I just finished Janet Burroway’s Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft, 10th edition, and here are some takeaways: “Most writing is done between the mind and the hand, not between the hand and the page.” “Keep the journal regularly, at least at first. It doesn’t matter what you write and it doesn’t matter very…
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Friday’s Findings: A Dollop of Delusion
“Your first book is brutal, and for that reason I really think it has to be a labor of love. Only love and a dollop of delusional hope will get you through that misery. Let the cynicism come later.” –Sunyi Dean, author of The Book Eaters Friday’s Findings: Photo by NEOSiAM 2024+: https://www.pexels.com/photo/tilt-lens-photography-of-white-flowers-673535/
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Friday’s Findings: Starting with Ambience
“. . . I start with theme and vibe – the ambience, the mood of it. Then I get hazy images of what I want the characters to experience, and I start to develop their backgrounds and exchanges and developments that dovetail with it all. The world fills in in the background as I go.”…
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Science Fiction & Fantasy I’ve Read Lately
Wow, I’ve read some great fantasy lately, and I want to share my thoughts with you. The first two reviews are of recently released novels (there may be spoilers ahead, but I’m trying to avoid them): A Whisper in the Walls by Scott Reintgen Waxways #2; Fantasy Ren Monroe’s ultimate goal is to avenge her…
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Friday’s Findings: The Recipe for Interiority
There’s this new term I’ve come across in the fiction craft world: interiority. I had never heard of it until last year when I took Mary Kole’s online class called Crafting Dynamic Characters. Great class. As far as using it as a writing craft term, I don’t know who coined interiority, but Kole built her…
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Writing Garbage
“When you’re stuck, and sure you’ve written absolute garbage, force yourself to finish and THEN decide to fix or scrap it – or you will never know if you can.” – Jodi Picoult Photo by Anna Shvets: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-white-and-green-shirt-holding-yellow-plastic-bag-3746342/
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Friday’s Findings: The Moon Is Shining
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” -Anton Chekhov Friday’s Findings: Photo by Martin Schneider: https://www.pexels.com/photo/moon-shining-through-silhouette-of-trees-11597986/
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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/
My Projects:
Andrew M. Friday 