Writing Tips

Pruning Your Novel

December 19, 2014December 19, 2014Writing Tips

Guest Post by Jack Smith

Revising a novel often calls for a bit of pruning. Some material must undoubtedly go, anything that doesn’t contribute pretty directly to the plot and your protagonist’s overall arc. If it’s material you feel pretty ho-hum about, good—it’s gone. You’re happy to see it go. But if you feel really invested in it, and you’ve done a lot of work on it, then cutting it can be something of a heart-breaker. You hesitate. Should you?

What kinds of material? The following are some candidates for pruning:Continue reading

Twitterific Writing Links

December 14, 2014December 14, 2014Twitterific, Writing Tips

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

How To Write Your First Book: http://ow.ly/FQHEZ @sealin

11 best practices for working with an editor: http://ow.ly/FQHF0 @awsamuel

Querying Theme: http://ow.ly/FQHF1 @notjustanyboggs

5 Reasons To Hire A Professional Proofreader: http://ow.ly/FQHF4 @Jen_328

The Top 3 Misconceptions about Self-Publishing: http://ow.ly/FQHF6 @HollyBradyContinue reading

Twitterific Writing Links

December 7, 2014December 6, 2014Twitterific, Writing Tips

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

5 times to use a prologue: http://ow.ly/FrloF @writers_write

Free 7 day online writer workshop on Dec. 29: http://ow.ly/FrloI @fran_boothContinue reading

How to Write a Humorous Memoir

December 5, 2014December 5, 2014Uncategorized, Writing Tips

By Steven R. Leonard, @easterduckling

“Those were the best days of my life.” Bryan Adams in “Summer of ‘69”

THE FUNNIEST STORIES DON’T NEED TO BE EMBELLISHED MUCH – THEY REALLY HAPPENED

We all remember three or four stories from our childhood that always bring laughter to a dinner party – whether it’s about the time you barged in on your semi-naked parents having sex in an empty bathtub or when you caught the prissy librarian picking her nose when she thought no one was looking – the most farcical humor is based on true events. Readers can detect unrealistic dialogue and forced situations – just recount the story as it unfolded. Blurting out the punch line before starting the chapter never works, so don’t skimp on important details leading up to the climactic deus ex machina in reverse.Continue reading

Twitterific Writing Links

November 30, 2014November 29, 2014Twitterific, Writing Tips

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Hope my American friends had a happy Thanksgiving!

How to Make a Character Moodboard: http://ow.ly/EQSKb from A Not-So-Classically Trained Writer

Character Date Ideas: http://ow.ly/EQSKc @CherylRWrites

Who’s Your Ideal Reader? http://ow.ly/EQSKf @rachellegardner

Crafting the Perfect First Line: http://ow.ly/EQSKg @AuthorKeller Continue reading