Category: General Thoughts & Updates

November 15, 2015

Programs for Writers: Scrivener

Did you know that there are computer programs designed especially for writers? If you look at the list of goodies from the NaNoWriMo sponsors, you’ll see several deals on programs such as Scrivener, Ulysses, Storyist, and Evernote. I have only tried Scrivener, so I can’t describe how the others work; however, I figure that if you hadn’t heard about any of these programs,...

Categories General Thoughts & Updates/Research & Worldbuilding/Writer Resources Comments: 6

November 14, 2015

The All-Important Manuscript Format

If you’ve been looking at places to submit your work (book publishers, magazines, contests, etc.), you’ve probably noticed that just about all of them use the same term. Even in the modern day of sending files instead of printed pages, pretty much all publishers are looking for manuscript format. So what is manuscript format? Instead of trying to explain it myself, I’m...

Categories Business & Publishing/General Thoughts & Updates/Grammar & Editing/Writer Resources Comments: 0

November 13, 2015

A Book Within A Book: A Rant In Two Parts

Sorry, everyone, but I feel the need to rant for a moment. I was re-reading a book the other day (no big surprise there), and I ran into a section that bothers me every time I read the book. The one or two other times I’ve read this one, I’ve skipped over it (including the first time), and normally skipping...

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November 12, 2015

Blind Love & Letting Go

I’m sure that all of us have had an idea or a scene or a character that we come up with that simply makes us fall in love. We think it’s the best thing since sliced pizza, and we can’t imagine anyone disagreeing. And when we’re right, it’s magic. Unfortunately, sometimes we’re wrong. Oddly enough, a lot of the time,...

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November 10, 2015

What Would You Ask An Author?

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: if you have a chance to go hear an author talk, do it. It’s fun, it’s interesting, and at the very worst, it’ll teach you what not to do (unfortunately, not all authors are decent public speakers). That said, one of the things not to do as an audience member is to...

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November 8, 2015

Find Time To Read

Whether you’re doing NaNoWriMo or any other writing project, you’re probably doing your best to write every day. Maybe, you’re aiming for 1,000 words a day. Maybe, you’re working on several different projects. Or maybe, you spend most of your day writing. All of those options are great. If you’re doing any of them, congratulations! Just don’t forget to take...

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November 7, 2015

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

Have I mentioned that November is National Novel Writing Month? Ok, technically, it’s international since there are participants in many different countries, but the NaNoWriMo Nonprofit is a group dedicated to encouraging people to write. Their challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. If you join (I believe it’s free) and write and upload 50,000 words...

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November 6, 2015

The (mis)Use of Quotation Marks

As I was driving the other day, I saw a bumper sticker that made me do a double take. I was stuck behind the vehicle for quite a while, and as I was staring and shaking my head, all I could think was, “You’re not saying what you think you’re saying.”  BECAUSE “HE” LIVES Based on the area and whatnot, I’m assuming that...

Categories General Thoughts & Updates/Grammar & Editing Comments: 0

November 4, 2015

The Top Tool for Realism Is Imagery

It’s hard to talk about realistic writing without talking about imagery. What I said yesterday about realism related to research, experiences, and believability is true, but it was still framed in big ideas (almost more related to plotting: what situations or experiences will the reader believe are real?). Imagery is more about the small details of the experience, and it is one...

Categories General Thoughts & Updates/Literary Devices & Writing Techniques/Research & Worldbuilding Comments: 6

November 3, 2015

Researching for Realism

Yesterday’s Stephen King quote made me think about a post I wrote in September that probably made any realism writers reading it think I was nuts (or a hack). It was called “Writing Requires Research,” and it was about the minimum research needed to make a story work. My minimum probably sounded ridiculous to them. The best part about minimums,...

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