The Different Faces of Good Writing
I thought it would be a good idea to talk about the different types of quality writing that professional authors will do for their respective styles and genres. Read More …
Tag: writing tips
The Hazards of Origin Stories
Our modern media is awash with reboots, adaptations, and re-imaginings, which means that we’ve become very familiar with origin stories involving characters that we already know. While many of these stories are perfectly serviceable, let’s take the opportunity to examine some of the potential issues Read More …
Finding Your Unique Writing Process
Years ago, while attending a writing conference as an instructor, I was approached by another writer who asked me what my writing process is. I obligingly described my nightly writing routine as well as giving a few details on my writing goals and how I Read More …
I asked 750k People What Would Convince them to Buy an Unknown Author’s Book
A couple of months ago, I posted a single question in several Facebook groups for writers and authors with a total membership of over 780,000. My question was this: “What would convince you to buy a book from an author you’ve never heard of?” The Read More …
4 Ways to Expand Your Reading Tastes
Whether you’re a young, budding writer or an older, experienced author, reading is an essential part of your craft. Reading is a critical habit to form as a writer and cultivate your empathy as a human being. A Discover Magazine’s article on reading notes how consuming books Read More …
The Benefits of Outlines
I am not an organized writer. I rarely have a detailed plan before I start a story, and what little pre-planning I do have is almost never written down. But even as an organic writer (I resent the term ‘pantser’) I can see the advantages Read More …
Good Setting Description Depends on Your Genre
Too often, the concept of “good writing” for prose fiction is overly simplified by well-meaning industry professionals. For example, I once attended a workshop on how to write setting description. During the presentation, the presenter gave multiple examples of lengthy, image-heavy scene description. Her implication Read More …
To Authors – More isn’t Always Better
As a parent, one of the many pleasures that I enjoy is sharing movies with my children that were formative building blocks in my own childhood. Recently, I decided to introduce them to Bedknobs and Broomsticks from 1971, a magic-infused musical film attempting to rediscover Read More …
Tips on How to Handle Character Dialogue
This may be a personal preference, but whenever I’m browsing through novels at an author event, I’ll usually open to a few random pages and look for some dialogue. Generally, if I can’t find any dialogue at all, I’ll put the book back down, since Read More …
