December 2010
10 posts
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Sarah Dessen's Rules for Writing a Novel →
notwritenow:
Thanks keahnicole!
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“The creative power, which bubbles so pleasantly in beginning a new book, quiets...”
– Virginia Woolf
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When Online Sites Take Advantage of Writers →
There are many websites out there trying to promise up and coming writers that they can make them rich. The problem with most of these sites is that they take advantage of the writer. In most cases, the pay is horrendously low with some only paying according to page views (and even then it’s pennies).
Others take full exclusive rights with very low pay and some even redistribute the content...
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6 Questions NOT to ask a Writer →
By: Elspeth Antonelli
People mean well. They do. But I believe there are certain questions you should never ask a writer - or never ask many of us.
1. Are you still writing that novel?
A ‘no’ answer will elicit more questions - like “When is it being published?” or even worse, “Why?”. A ‘yes’ answer will usually result in the questioner giving you...
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Writer’s Style Vs Good Writing: Examples of Style,... →
“What’s important is the way we say it. Art is all about craftsmanship. Others can interpret craftsmanship as style if they wish. Style is what unites memory or recollection, ideology, sentiment, nostalgia, presentiment, to the way we express all that. It’s not what we say but how we say it that matters.”
~ Federico Fellini.
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James Killick's Blog: Enriching your story-world →
Ever read a book where it teems with life, where you can really feel that things are happening beyond the page, as if you’re viewing a window on a world that lives and breathes whether you read about it or not?
More importantly, is your writing like that? Because it should be, as this is one of the three techniques that trump every other in writing.
So how do we go about achieving that?...
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8 “Moments” You Absolutely Need to Deliver to Your... →
The first is the Big Picture of your story, that sense of building interest bordering on addiction as you read, and that feeling of loss when the book is done.
This is the standard readers use to measure – and recommend – a story. A bottom line, thumbs up or down perspective.
Translation: if the ending sucks, the book sucks.
But it isn’t always just about the Big Picture. Little things count...
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10 Things Writers Know →
10. Writing is easy. Writing well takes work.
9. It takes longer than a week to write 80,000 words.
8. Fiction means made-up. I’m not my sleuth, nor are you one of my characters.
7. Just because I’m staring into space doesn’t mean that I’m not working.
6. Characters take on lives of their own.
5. You never really get a day off.
4. Just because a writer asks the right...
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Stop Making Excuses! →
I’m a “brewer.” Once I get an idea in mind for an article or story, I like to let it simmer, let it steep and build until I have the perfect blend, like a delicious cup of tea.
Honestly, it’s procrastination at its best - or worst - depending on how you look at it. Once I get the initial sentence down on paper, I have no problem letting the words spill onto the page.
...
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The secret ingredient to a strong author platform →
I have come to believe that an author platform is its own cool thing. It isn’t something you can just slap on top of your novel – a coat of promotion, a sprinkle of marketing – but a living, growing entity in its own right.
It needs to reach into many different places. You can’t just sit on your blog like a spider in its web and wait for the pretty flies to come. You need to find your readers...