There are so many “rules” we need to follow as writers. Don’t write in the second person. Don’t open with a dream sequence. Don’t use too many flashbacks. Don’t use too many adjectives. Don’t use any adverbs. You get the point. But there is one rule of writing fiction that isn’t brought up very often, […]
But who the heck cares?
Any of us who can still remember elementary school are familiar with the questions of description: “Who? What? When? Where? Why? (and sometimes How?)” As writers, we pretty much ask ourselves most, if not all, of these questions whenever we create a new story or setting. And that’s all great, but there is another question […]
Avoid Using Cookie Cutter Characters
I’ve watched a lot of horror movies in my life, more than I care to count. Call me crazy, but that’s how I relieve stress. My favorites are slashers. Nothing beats watching one of the various masked-men stalking teenagers and taking them out one-by-one. The only problem with slasher films is that sometimes they are […]
3 Overused Character Traits to Avoid
I know. You’re supposed to create interesting, flawed characters with compelling back-stories. The last thing you want is for a rejection letter to tell you that you have flat, dull characters. So what do you do? Like all good writers, you try to make your characters deeper by giving them some interesting baggage from their […]
Self-critique of my first page
I opened up the first draft of a novel that has been sitting on my computer untouched for the last couple of years and started looking it over. The good news is that is a good story. It’s a fun read and I’m looking forward to start working on it again. I’m hoping to have […]
Five Links Friday – Friday the 13th Edition
It’s not only Friday, but it’s Friday the 13! So the celebrate the awesomeness of the day, here is Five Links Friday: The Friday the 13th Edition, where all of the links are related to writing horror. 1. Let’s start with 3 Reasons You Should Write Ghost Stories by Joe Bunting at The Write Practice. I think […]
Five Links Friday 1/9/15
It’s already the second Friday of 2015 and there is no better time than today to introduce a feature that, until last week, I’ve done at my author site for the last few years. This is Five Links Friday, where I share the best blog posts or articles I read on the web over the week. […]
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