February 2012
5 posts
“So let’s consider an alternative definition of failure.
What if the only way...”
– How To Be A Complete And Utter Creative Failure | A Big Creative Yes
“If you find yourself imitating another writer, that doesn’t have to be a bad...”
– Poppy Z. Brite (via writingquotes)
“Don’t mistake a good setup for a satisfying conclusion — many...”
– Stanley Schmidt
Creative Something: What to do after you start. →
creativesomething:
Getting started is easy if you are motivated enough.
You take the first few steps, you put the pencil to the paper and move it around a bit, or you open the text editor on your computer and make the clackity noise, or whatever else it takes to simply do something.
But what then?
If…
102 Resources for Fiction... →
fyeahnanowrimo:
thinkings0ber:
102 Resources for Fiction Writers
vulpesinculta:
Are you still stuck for ideas for National Novel Writing Month? Or are you working on a novel at a more leisurely pace? Here are 102 resources on Character, Point of View, Dialogue,
January 2012
5 posts
“I made up my mind long ago to follow one cardinal rule in all my writing—to be...”
– Isaac Asimov
“Try any goddam thing you like, no matter how boringly normal or outrageous. If...”
– Stephen King
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass....”
– (via amandaonwriting)
“Dialogue which does not move the story along, or add to the mood of the story,...”
– BILL PRONZINI
2 tags
Kurt Vonnegut: How to Write With Style
Newspaper reporters and technical writers are trained to reveal almost nothing about themselves in their writings. This makes them freaks in the world of writers, since almost all of the other ink-stained wretches in that world reveal a lot about themselves to readers. We call these revelations, accidental and intentional, elements of style.
These revelations tell us as readers what sort of...
November 2011
1 post
The Book Xperience: Writers' habits series →
thebookexperience:
Salman Rushdie
“What I do for hours, every day of my life, is sit in a room by myself. When I stop for the day I always try to have some notion of where I want to pick up. If I’ve done that, then it’s a little easier to start because I know the first sentence or phrase. At least I know where in…
October 2011
2 posts
2 tags
25 Things You Should Know About NaNoWriMo →
“Don’t look back until you’ve written an entire draft, just begin...”
– Will Self
September 2011
9 posts
2 tags
10 tags
The 7 Habits Of Highly Successful Authors →
ctattianahh:
by Suzanne Harrison
The more I read how the successful authors do it, the more I realize that, like successful people in all walks of life, they all do things in common that contribute enormously to their success. So how can we learn from successful authors to ensure our own success in 2008 and beyond?
We can start by adopting what I call “The 7 Habits of Highly ...
“My writing is a process of rewriting, of going back and changing and filling in....”
– Joan Didion
4 tags
“What you want is practice, practice, practice. It doesn’t matter what we write...”
– C.S. Lewis
3 tags
Simplify Your Writing →
By Nina Munteanu
Reduce Extraneous Words
When constructing a scene, it is wise to pay attention to cadence, rhythm, number of phrases or clauses and general length of sentences. Sentences in early works tend to be full of extra words (e.g., using “ing” verbs, add-ons like “he started to think” instead of simply “he thought”) that slow down narrative. Try reading your sentences out loud; ...
“Over the years, I’ve found one rule. It is the only one I give on those...”
– Norman Mailer
2 tags
10 Distinctive Traits of A Writer Who Speaks From... →
By Miranda Jane
They are aware of the world around them—the sounds, faces, colors, and smells.
They take joy in simplicity. A hot cup of tea, a sunny morning, or a smile from a stranger.
They remember that when they feel “blocked” in life or writing that this really is an opportunity to pause and think.
They know love is the point of it all. If you aren’t doing it for love, why are you doing...
Are You The Next JK Rowling? →
When Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in 1997, Joanne Kathleen Rowling was a previously unpublished author. She had no publishing credits, no insider knowledge, no friends in the industry.
So how did she do it? How did she go on, in the space of ten short years, to become the first billionaire author on the planet?
The answer to that question lies not in what she did in...
August 2011
9 posts
3 tags
10 Reading Exercises for Fiction Writers →
I always find it exciting when I discover a book that in some way echoes whatever I happen to be writing at the time.
It might share a similarity of style, story, or structure, or any combination of the three. Whatever the similarity, I find it helpful to delve into the writing to see what lessons I can glean.
When I find a book like this, there are several things I do while reading it. They...
3 tags
The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help You... →
By Anne Marble
Description is something that gets in the way of many authors. Why? Well, because it’s so darn hard to write. And no wonder. If you’re not careful, descriptive sequences can become static, even dull. Writing action and dialogue is so much more fun. On top of that, description incorporates so many elements. It doesn’t just cover describing the setting —...
Point of View: What and Why →
Point of view is one of the most powerful, and underrated, tools that you have at your disposal when crafting fiction. It’s the difference between whether you let a character speak for themselves, or whether you speak for them. In fact, when a story feels stilted or isn’t flowing the way you think it should, simply shifting between points of view, or POV, can sometimes be all you need to make a...
2 tags
The Seven Stories That Rule the World →
By Matt Haig
Are there any new stories, or have they all been told? The British literary critic Christopher Booker, has argued that there have only ever been seven basic plots, as follows: 1. ‘Tragedy’. Hero with a fatal flaw meets tragic end. Macbeth or Madame Bovary. 2. ‘Comedy’. Not necessary laugh-out-loud, but always with a happy ending, typically of romantic...
“To start, you have to have an idea. I can’t help you there. Whatever idea you...”
– Diana Wynne Jones (via writingadvice)
1 tag
“Nothing you write, if you hope to be any good, will ever come out as you first...”
– Lillian Helman
1 tag
“However great a man’s natural talent may be, the art of writing cannot be...”
– Jean Jacques Rousseau
2 tags
21 Writing Prompts for Setting a Scene in Your... →
When you’re writing (or rewriting) a scene, do you ever get the feeling you just don’t have enough to say?
Sure, there’s the action–but what about all the extra bits meant to flesh out your story?
While I don’t encourage overwriting for the sake of word count, meaningful details can help you establish setting and atmosphere.
(Read more)
June 2011
2 posts
“Try to develop steady work habits, maybe a more modest quota, but keep to it....”
– John Updike
“Writing is rewriting. A writer must learn to deepen characters, trim writing,...”
– Richard North Patterson (via writingadvice)
May 2011
1 post
From the Write Angle: Twitter 101 For Writers →
April 2011
7 posts
writing advice: Software for writers. →
paperbackgirl:
Finding the right writing programs is as important as the perfect pen or notebook. Here are some applications that I have used and liked:
Freedom: If your creative output suffers from chronic internet distraction, Freedom solves the problem by eliminating your internet…
6 tags
“The more I read, and write, the more convinced I am that writing has less to do...”
– Ralph Keyes, from The Courage To Write
20 Great Opening Lines to Inspire the Start of... →
writing advice: How To Write The Middle Section of... →
writingadvice:
The dreaded middle section of the novel. The bit that sometimes makes would-be novelists give up entirely and take up gardening instead. The part after the amazing beginning and just before the satisfying ending has a habit of stalling many writers, because often they are not sure how to progress….
“You can end a story in almost any way, as long as the ending is inevitable,...”
– Beth Hill, fiction editor, from “Bad Novel Endings: Deliver the Payoff.” (via oliveryeh)
writing advice: Advice to Authors →
writingadvice:
By Neil Gaiman
How does one get published? How do you do it? You do it. You write. You finish what you write. You look for publishers who publish “that kind of thing”, whatever it is. You send them what you’ve done (a letter asking if they’d like to see a whole manuscript or a few…
“Don’t say you were a bit confused and sort of tired and a little depressed and...”
– William Zinsser
March 2011
13 posts
Hang out on the page for a while
juliacameron:
Most of us try to write too carefully. We try to do it “right”. We try to sound smart. We try, period. Writing goes much better when we don’t work at it so much, when we give ourselves permission to just hang out on the page.
- The Artist’s Way Every Day
A Readers Fancy: Grammar rules: →
areadersfancy:
I’m always seeing these mistakes, so this should be relevant to a lot of people:
Its = possession:
“Did you see its climax?” correct
It’s= it is:
“Did you see it’s climax?” eeet, wrong.
“Yeah, I did, it’s mesmerizing.” correct
Girl’s= girl is; or possession:
“Oh my lord, that…
3 tags
Typetrigger →
Four times a day, we help you get the words out. Write in any genre in 300 words or less. Hit publish. Read. Be Read. Write. Now.
2 tags
One Writer's Personal Writing Checklist →
1. Have we been here before? I look at the bones of the novel and think – am I repeating myself? No. Is this a blatant rip-off of something else? No. We’re cool. Is this vaguely familiar to something else? Yes. Damn. Then what can I do to make things a little different at least? How can I put my spin on a particular trope? Crave something new, kids. Crave your own spin. Make your own mark on the...
3 tags
50 Things a Writer Shouldn’t Do →
Interesting. What do you think?
5 tags
Force Yourself to Write Non-Stop
[If you have writer’s block] force yourself to write non-stop for twenty or thirty minutes: no deletions, no erasures, no pauses. If that doesn’t work, take a break. Take a walk. Pack up your writing supplies and go someplace new. Sit in a coffee shop, find a cozy spot in a library, go to a park. If you’re truly desperate, go away for a few days. Take a train to a distant...
4 tags
Keeping Motivated Daily →
By Elizabeth Spann Craig
Writers give up so much to write. The only way to really improve is to work at it—work hard at it. Frequent practice is crucial.
The rewards are not always a published book and critical acclaim. In fact, many of us might not end up published until years down the road. There are so many things that drain our creative wells—day jobs, family demands, setbacks, hectic...