(Syn)Tactics in Fight Scenes
Readers need mental “take a breath” moments in a fight scene. Like swimmers holding their breath, eventually they need to come up for air.
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Life lessons
on the craft
Life lessons
on the craft
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Writer
Life lessons
on the craft
Jul 14 min
Avoid Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is an end result. A new self-revelation is a great denouement. But until the character has struggled to learn, hold off.
Jun 14 min
Take Your Time to Publish
Take the time to learn the skills, to learn the craft, to develop your talent. People will be reading books forever. You have time. Take it.
May 14 min
Constructing Show, Don't Tell
Our brains use inductive logic; thus, pairing two specific actions together gives the readers all they need to understand.
Apr 14 min
Deeper Than "Show, Don't Tell"
In order to SHOW your character’s emotions, you need to know WHY the character feels that way. This is not as simple as it sounds.
Mar 14 min
Secrets of "Show Don't Tell"
Narrative will not deliver a feeling alone. Instead, zoom in. Give the image of an action that creates the feeling. Here's how.
Feb 13 min
Write Small
As you improve, focus more on the nuances of what you know and not the novelty of something new. I call this learning to “write small.”
Jan 13 min
Master Your Dialogue
To write dialogue, invert the reading process. Don’t use dialogue to deliver information. Use it to imply emotions and psychology.
Dec 1, 20234 min
Dialogue & Building Character
Invert your craft. Start with the deeper psychology, and then write what they'd say because of the feeling, not to explain that feeling.
Nov 1, 20234 min
Top Five Dialogue Techniques
Think about how dialogue affects many other elements of writing all at the same time. Below are my Top Five Dialogue Techniques.
Oct 1, 20233 min
Because I Like It
I gave myself full permission to stop writing. I wasn’t going to write any more that night and I wasn’t going to write any more the next day
Sep 1, 20234 min
It's About Story
That’s why, to me, the worst Jeffery Eugenides book will always be remarkably better than the best Dan Brown book.
Aug 1, 20233 min
Thinking 4th Dimensionally
There are less-discussed and less-understood Time factors, such as the past perfect verb tense or the order of phrases and clauses.
Jul 1, 20234 min
Grammatical Time Travel
When you use a verb tense without fully understanding it, you’re essentially sticking your reader into the Delorean and stepping on the gas.
Jun 1, 20234 min
Subtracting Time
Many writers add more words in an effort to explain or justify. The more effective solution is to go back to fix. More is not always better.
May 1, 20234 min
The Immediate Flashback
The most misused and dangerous use of Flashback is – what I have come to call – the Immediate Flashback or interrupting backstory.
Apr 1, 20234 min
Suspending Disbelief
Character's unique abilities put them in strange places, but if you include too many details about abilities, you bore the reader.
Mar 2, 20233 min
Word-Time & Real-Time
The ratio is simple: the amount of words used to show the action is inversely proportional to the time that action requires.
Feb 1, 20234 min
Forcing Characters
Don’t be fooled – characters will not suddenly become real people, capable of reaching out from your computer to type their own story.
Jan 2, 20234 min
Trusting Implications
You must trust your skill, of course. But more than anything, trust your readers. They’re a lot smarter than you might think.
Dec 1, 20223 min
Want to See More
You've finished! Hooray! Now, how do you make sense of the feedback your beta readers give?
Nov 1, 20223 min
Struggle Happy & Embrace Conflict
The fun in reading comes from watching how a character achieves a goal despite lacking the skill that makes the goal easy.
Oct 2, 20223 min
Starting a Novel: The Pantser & The Planner
Whether you're a Pantser or a Planner, starting a novel is the same -- start with "The Decision"
Sep 1, 20223 min
Write What You Know
When you fake that truth or over-/under- sentimentalize a truth, it comes across as bad writing.
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