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Blue Square
Writer
Life lessons
on the craft


Feb 23 min read
Right & Wronger
What works for one writer may not work for another. One writer may be able to break rules that another cannot.


Jan 24 min read
The Voices in my Head
Pick one character or action and explain its importance to yourself. Ask yourself over and over again those important writer questions.


Dec 1, 20243 min read
Copying Originality
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But it’s also a lot like copying.


Nov 1, 20244 min read
Physical Descriptions
I don’t like to include physical descriptions of my characters in my writing. I’m often accused of this fault.


Oct 1, 20243 min read
Amateur Expectations
On a Thursday night, I listened to a poet read his newest stuff.


Aug 1, 20244 min read
(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.


Jul 1, 20244 min read
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 1, 20244 min read
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 1, 20244 min read
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 1, 20244 min read
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 1, 20244 min read
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 1, 20243 min read
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 1, 20243 min read
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 read
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 read
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 read
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 read
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 read
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 read
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 read
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 read
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 read
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 read
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 read
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.
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