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.
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Life lessons
on the craft
Life lessons
on the craft
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Writer
Life lessons
on the craft
- Jun 1
- 4 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
- 4 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
- 4 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
- 3 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
- 4 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
- 4 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, 2022
- 3 min
Want to See More
You've finished! Hooray! Now, how do you make sense of the feedback your beta readers give?
- Nov 1, 2022
- 3 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, 2022
- 3 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, 2022
- 3 min
Write What You Know
When you fake that truth or over-/under- sentimentalize a truth, it comes across as bad writing.
- Aug 2, 2022
- 3 min
Writer's Block
If you’ve been writing for even a short time, you’ve sat down to write and you've struggled.
- Jul 2, 2022
- 3 min
Rate of Reveal
We start our readers with easy level walking – introducing our characters, giving a brief show of what their world is.
- Jun 2, 2022
- 4 min
Small Nuances
The difference between good writing and Good! writing is not in the major issues.
- May 2, 2022
- 3 min
Choosing Equipment
Motivations for writing can differ far more than types of skis. But no matter what the goal, every writer needs to use the right equipment.
- Apr 2, 2022
- 4 min
Writing Fearlessly
I needed to go big or go home. If you want to be a better writer, you need to be brave or put down the pen.
- Mar 2, 2022
- 5 min
To Be Basics
The biggest mistake I see with beginning writers is their paucity of knowledge when it comes to mechanics and grammar.
- Feb 2, 2022
- 3 min
Right & Wronger
What works for one writer may not work for another. One writer may be able to break rules that another cannot.
- Jan 2, 2022
- 4 min
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, 2021
- 3 min
Copying Originality
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But it’s also a lot like copying.
- Nov 1, 2021
- 4 min
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, 2021
- 3 min
Amateur Expectations
On a Thursday night, I listened to a poet read his newest stuff.
- Sep 1, 2021
- 4 min
(Syn)Tactics in Fight Scenes
Readers need “take a breath” moments in a fight scene. Like swimmers holding their breath, eventually they need to come up for air.
- Aug 1, 2021
- 4 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.
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