January 2011
15 posts
3 tags
The Blank Page: Making a Mess →
by Christin Taylor
Let’s begin with what’s terrifying about the blank page: it holds all of our ideas and none of our ideas at the same time. When we look at that beautiful white expanse, we see possibilities. We imagine a work of art.
Yet when we sit down to write, our hands turn to cement and the words come out ugly and lethargic and lazy and we are mortified. So we put down our...
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“1 When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing...”
– Zadie Smith’s ten rules for writing fiction. (via unicornology) (via baringmysoul) (via writingadvice)
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“…Go inside yourself. Discover the motive that bids you to write; examine whether...”
– Rilke (via merelymer)
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60 Awesome Search Engines for Serious Writers →
writingadvice:
Finding the information you need as a writer shouldn’t be a chore. Luckily, there are plenty of search engines out there that are designed to help you at any stage of the process, from coming up with great ideas to finding a publisher to get your work into print. Both writers still in college and those on their way to professional success will appreciate this list of useful...
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“So why? Why do we continue to write? We, we happy few, we published writers?
...”
– Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » Why We Write
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“If you want to write, you can. Fear stops most people from writing, not lack of...”
– Richard Rhodes
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“Writing is like this. There must be at least a hundred different ways to...”
– Mystery Writing is Murder: Doing Things Our Own Way
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“People are going to think what they think. Don’t let them decide how you...”
– * Fiction Groupie *: Saying “I’m a Writer” - The 6 Stages of Responses from Others
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Character Emotion Makes the Plot →
Rather than get stuck in the character’s head “telling” what the character feels, show the character’s authentic feelings in action. Emotion has a strong physical component and is primarily felt in the body. “Show” emotions through the character’s relationships and reactions to conflict.
(Read the whole article)
4 tags
“Don’t get it right, just get it written.”
– James Thurber (via writingadvice)
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“There is no cure for fear of writing. The fear is part of the process.”
– Milli Thornton (via writingadvice)
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3 Questions a Writer Must Ask for 2011 →
By Janet Morris Grimes
1) Why do I write?
This is simple. Because for me, writing is the same as breathing. I will explode if I stop doing it. Yet, writing is not something that I do. It is what I am, both when no one else is looking and when everyone else is looking. When I stop feeling the constant drumbeat of my stories, I will know it is time to stop.
2) What do I hope to accomplish?
I...
3 tags
Seven Keys to Writing Good Dialogue →
By Nathan Bransford
It goes without saying (but watch me say it) that dialogue is one of the very most crucial elements in a novel. Great dialogue can make a novel sing. Bad dialogue can sink it like a stone.
Here are a few ideas on what makes good dialogue work:
1. Good dialogue is not weighed down by exposition.
When the dialogue is carrying exposition and trying to tell the reader too much,...
4 tags
How to Create a Writing Style That Impacts Your... →
The truth is: Your writing style either shoots air bullets that won’t even scratch the skin of your audience, and or it pierces through them like acid rounds and blows them away in pure “awe”.
I pay a lot of attention on word choice and writing, and I want to make sure that IT has the maximum impact on my audience, both in the off-and online world !
If you want to take your writing and...