I was sick last week, so this week’s post includes articles from the past two weeks.
Complex, or Over-Complicated?
Have you ever worried that your story may be too simple?
Have you found yourself adding plot twists, shocking turnarounds, colorful secondary characters, and a number of tragedies, in the hopes of maintaining your reader’s attention?
Walking a Mile In Their Shoes: Understanding Difficult Characters
Compelling characters are what bind me to stories, be it those I write or books I read or performances I watch. So I am endlessly fascinated by the magical alchemy, and hard work, involved in crafting characters who leap from the page. This post stems from recent struggles to flesh out characters in my current manuscript and my desire to give them wings.
Stage Directions in Fiction: Where is the MC?
You’re reading a novel and a character appears out of nowhere and joins a conversation. Or, a character sitting in the living room in the scene is suddenly standing by the door. Have you ever felt disoriented by characters who jump on or off the page with no reference to how they got there?
Writing: The Art of Turning a Unique Phrase
Originality in writing is something we all strive for. But sometimes we’re all guilty of over-using the same words and descriptions. In today’s article, Becca Puglisi from One Stop For Writers shares some ideas that might help.
Developing Our Story: From Beat Sheet to Scene List
My regular readers know that I’m a pantser, writing by the seat of my pants. However, it wasn’t always that way. (In this post, Jami provides a detailed strategy for plotting.)
6 Tasks You’ll Love Yourself for Checking Off Your NaNo Pre-Writing List
When participating in National Novel Writing Month, what is the only thing more important than getting those 50,000 words written in November? How about making sure you’ve checked all the necessary to-dos off your NaNo pre-writing list in October?
How to Write a First Draft that Rocks! (Using the 4 D’s)
The Internet seems to be of two general thought schools on the subject of first drafts.
I read a large number of blogs and sites every week and will be curating them here, on my blog. If you want to see my picks of the best articles each week, just subscribe below. You’ll get an email each weekend with a list of the fiction writing articles I found most interesting or useful.