Word Magic
Want to be more productive? Try developing a writing process which includes warm ups. When you warm up before writing, you’ll eliminate procrastination and you’ll get more writing done in less time. Over the years, whenever I’ve skipped warm ups because deadlines loomed, I discovered projects took longer and frequently developed unexpected challenges. Try a couple of these warm ups … Read more
In fiction writing, dialogue is more than conversation, so make your dialogue work for you. Unlike real-life conversation, dialogue builds your plot and characters. It’s heavy with subtext and packed with conflict. Have you noticed that commercial fiction is dialogue-heavy? Readers expect scenes (showing) rather than narrative (telling.) This means there’s lots of dialogue and every word of dialogue is … Read more
When you’re writing fiction, think worse. Make things so tough readers are convinced your main characters have no hope of overcoming their challenges. When they start a new novel, many authors begin with developing the protagonist; the hero/ main character. A great hero’s essential, right? Yes, he is. However, every hero needs something to fight: an antagonist—a dangerous enemy threatening … Read more
If you need to create content regularly, whether it’s for fiction or nonfiction books; for blogging; or for your clients; you need a constant supply of ideas. And not just any ideas either, those ideas must be right for you. Ideas which are right for you will spark your creativity; they may not necessarily be “original.” Create content: should you … Read more
Want to improve your writing career? The best tip I can give you is: keep a journal. What you write in your journal is up to you. (Scroll down to read about the various kinds of journals.) When I chat about journals with my writing students, many can’t see the point. If they’re novelists, they want to get on with … Read more