Though using a pattern to inform our books’ structure has merit, it may lead us to a troublesome end There are multiple guides we can follow to properly structure the books we write. Perhaps the most common is the three-act structure, but there are many others as well. There’s enough to make me dizzy, so […]
Sharing writing tips with other writers helps the whole writing community I spend a lot of time learning about writing. I read blogs, listen to podcasts, attend conferences, scrutinize magazines, and study books. Though I will never finish growing as a writer, I have learned so much. In fact, everything I know about writing came […]
8 tips to staying physically fit while spending hours at the keyboard I’m not a medical doctor, and I don’t play one on TV. But I have compiled a list of what it takes to be a healthy writer. Some I’ve learned through research, others through experience and a couple by common sense. The main […]
Writers need to guard against making unhealthy comparisons to other authors As writers we read the work of others, we look at their books, and we notice their successes. Though this happens in any profession, writing is a more public endeavor, so making comparisons is harder to avoid. Yet we should strive to sidestep assessing […]
By following these four simple steps writers should always be ready to write A common complaint among writers is not knowing what to write. With a dearth of ideas they procrastinate, wasting time at the keyboard or even failing to sit down. They wait for inspiration or need a looming deadline to motivate them. And […]
Learn to capitalize on creative vision whenever and wherever it occurs Last week we talked about why we shouldn’t wait for inspiration in order to write. But that doesn’t mean we always work in the absence of creative vision. Sometimes inspiration hits and promises to propel our words forward. When this happens, we must make […]
Last week we looked at using writing tools and aids. Today we consider tapping human input to improve our work. While this is a great way to advance as a writer, a bit of caution is also in order. When we read books, we notice what other authors do and may adopt their writing idiosyncrasies, […]
When I first started writing, I was delighted to learn about a nifty book called a Thesaurus, which suggested new words to replace ones I grew tired of using. However, I assumed each of their suggestions would work in every situation. I didn’t know I had to understand the meaning of these words and determine […]
I recently read a short story by a young author. I enjoyed her plot, her imagination, and her use of words. One thing I didn’t like was missing apostrophes in all her contractions. Each time I encountered a contraction sans apostrophe it took me out of her story. These reoccurring speed bumps reduced my enjoyment […]
An explanation of what constitutes the passive voice is too technical to fully cover—not that I would try anyway—but here is an example: Passive: Passive writing is something to be avoided. Active: Avoid passive writing. Notice that the active version is both clearer and more concise. This is key. If you, like me, have trouble […]