Just something to think about if you are a writer. And a reader. Are you painting beautiful pictures in your readers’ minds? Are the stories they read from you ones that they will smile over in years to come? Do the books you read create lovely pictures and stories you’ll be glad you read in […]
Is Said Dead?
The debate that splits the writing community! Some people are passionate about this question and have strong opinions on it. What do I think? Is “said” dead? Should “said” be dead? Never use “said” in your stories! Said is dead! Instead you should use words like shouted, whispered, questioned, demanded, urged, laughed, etc. Only use […]
Tips on Writing Conversation
Do you talk? Of course you do. Some people talk a lot (like me) while others don’t talk as much. Some people talk about anything and everything (again, like me) and others don’t like chit-chat. But how do you get your conversation to sound real in your writing? Here are a few ideas. Make your […]
And I Quote
Sometimes you just need a good quote to remind you of something. Or to encourage you. . . . The essence of writing . . . is not putting words on the page but learning to recognize and erase the unnecessary ones . . . Robert and Michèle Root-Bernstein This doesn’t mean cutting all adverbs […]
How to Get Ideas for Short Stories
So many ideas! So many plots and characters and situations! We are surrounded by story ideas, but sometimes we need something for short stories. What do we do when it seems that everything we think of is complicated, involved, novel length if not a six book series length? Let me give you some suggestions on […]
How Do I Outline?
If you have been reading my posts for a while you might wonder if this is going to be a very short post. I’m a pantser. I rarely know where my stories are going when I start them. So, if I write “by the seat of my pants” how in the world do I outline? […]
Things I Learned from Writing 60k
I wrote 60k words in one month. That was in March. I’ve never written that much in a month before and didn’t really think I could ever do it. I mean, that’s practically writing an entire novel in a month! That’s just crazy! But I did it. And I learned some things. {1}That’s a LOT […]
And I Quote . . .
Writing Camp has started and I don’t have a lot of time, and many of my readers should be busy writing to, so I’ll keep today’s post simple. “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” ― Stephen King “Read, read, read. Read […]
Getting Over a Blank Page
How do you start writing? How do you get from that blank page to a page with words on it? You have your ideas, you have considered all sorts of things, and now you are ready to write. But how? You have opened that blank document and that little blinking line seems to tick down […]
Tips on Writing for a Theme
Writing for a certain theme or about a specific theme can be challenging. How do you do it? I asked some other authors for their tips and advice, and I’ll be sharing my own too. So hopefully something in this post helps you next time you have to write a story for a theme. Auntie […]
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