In a great example of “Kill your darlings,” the following is an abandoned snippet from my werewolf tale. I’ve started and erased this story over 2 dozen times and can never get it to gel. This was one of...
Have you ever watched a movie or read a book and suddenly the main character does something so completely uncharacteristic it ruins the entire story? This happens when the writer doesn’t understand a character or wants the story to...
Opening scenes are hard. They have to do a lot. They have to introduce your characters. They have to set the tone for the story. They have to set the reader’s expectations. This last item is probably the biggest...
Waxing a little philosophical today. When you think in terms of “I want to” instead of “I have to” your whole attitude changes. It releases stress and makes you less likely to procrastinate on things you don’t really like...
I’ve been reading Alexandra Sokoloff’s blog series on Nanowrimo prep and the very first exercise completely threw me. (from her blog) ASSIGNMENT: List ten books and films that are similar to your own story in structure and/or genre (at...