Writing Stuff

MS Word Trick: Combining Changes and Comments

April 3, 2012 Writing Stuff
Thumbnail image for MS Word Trick: Combining Changes and Comments

We all have weaknesses.  Some people want to deny their imperfections, but most of us do what we can to overcome them. Like many writers, one of my weaknesses is my inability to interpret my words the way a reader does.  That’s not unusual.  We know what we meant to say, so it’s easy to [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, beta reader, critique partners/groups, editing, feedback, Jami Gold, organized, paranormal author, perfectionism

Click here to read more

What If Our Story Idea Has Already Been Done?

March 22, 2012 Writing Stuff
Thumbnail image for What If Our Story Idea Has Already Been Done?

In my last post about Google search terms, I mentioned that we sometimes have lots of content around a search’s keywords and yet have never answered the question directly.  In that case, Google just gave us an idea for a blog post.  *smile* One search term that led people to my blog this past month was “What do [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, character archetypes, emotional heart, high-concept hooks, Jami Gold, paranormal author, premise, story seed, theme

Click here to read more

Is Taking the Hard Road a “Waste”?

March 15, 2012 Writing Stuff
Thumbnail image for Is Taking the Hard Road a “Waste”?

My post about the ethics of fan fiction went viral this week, spreading beyond even the Twilight fandom.  From a post on mediabistro/GalleyCat to mentions at Dear Author, Jezebel, The Paris Review, and AbsoluteWrite, people have been discussing ethics in regards to writing and the publishing industry. I don’t bring that up to brag but to [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, dreams, ethics, fan fiction, Jami Gold, Jami's rants, paranormal author, professionalism, risk, self-doubt

Click here to read more

Who Cares about Quality Writing Anymore?

March 13, 2012 Writing Stuff
Thumbnail image for Who Cares about Quality Writing Anymore?

No, that’s not a rhetorical or trick question.  Recent events in the publishing industry have left me asking that as a serious point of confusion and discouragement. I know this is an ongoing complaint about the state of literature.  Over a century ago, people complained about penny dreadfuls and dime novels, and then moved on to complaints [...]

Tagged as: branding, editing, genre, Jami Gold, Jami's rants, literary, paranormal author, perfectionism, professionalism, self-publishing, traditional publishing

Click here to read more

What Makes a Character Unique?

March 8, 2012 Writing Stuff
Thumbnail image for What Makes a Character Unique?

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare Wow, Bill, you have no idea how ahead of your time you were.  I know it must be hard to believe, but hundreds of years after you made this insightful observation through [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, character archetypes, ethics, fan fiction, Jami Gold, Janice Hardy, listening to characters, paranormal author, professionalism, RWA, strong characters

Click here to read more

Ask Jami: Editing Tips–Tightening Scenes

March 1, 2012 Writing Stuff
Thumbnail image for Ask Jami: Editing Tips–Tightening Scenes

In my post last week asking if we can have too much voice, some great questions came up in the comments.  I decided to turn them into “Ask Jami” blog posts rather than bury the answers in the comment string. Earlier, I shared ideas on how to use color-coding to check if we’re “overusing” a writing element. [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, Ask Jami, editing, information dump, Jami Gold, page turning stories, paranormal author, tension

Click here to read more

Ask Jami: Editing Tips–How to Use Color-Coding

February 23, 2012 Writing Stuff
Thumbnail image for Ask Jami: Editing Tips–How to Use Color-Coding

In my last blog post, where I shared the “two-paragraph guideline,” some great questions came up in the comments.  Rather than bury the answers in the comment string, I decided to turn them into “Ask Jami” posts. Today, we’re talking about how to make sure we’re using all the various writing elements.  Next week, I’ll give [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, Ask Jami, editing, Jami Gold, Janice Hardy, organized, paranormal author, tension

Click here to read more

Can We Have Too Much Voice?

February 21, 2012 Writing Stuff
Thumbnail image for Can We Have Too Much Voice?

Is it possible to have too much of a good thing?  Sure.  We’ve all overindulged in our favorite foods before.  No matter how much we might like sweets or any other type of food, something can be too sweet, too rich, too whatever. In my last post about how to add voice to our writing, Eve [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, character flaws, editing, feedback, Jami Gold, page turning stories, paranormal author, tension

Click here to read more

Need Voice? Think Out Loud

February 16, 2012 Writing Stuff
Thumbnail image for Need Voice? Think Out Loud

“The voice didn’t grab me.” Uh-oh.  Isn’t that feedback one of a writer’s worst nightmares?  Voice is one of those things that feels like we either have it or we don’t.  And we think we can’t easily change it because our voice is so internal to us. But all is not lost.  We can develop and strengthen [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, branding, feedback, Jami Gold, Janice Hardy, listening to characters, paranormal author, point-of-view, voice

Click here to read more

How to Revise for Structure, Part Two

February 14, 2012 Writing Stuff
Thumbnail image for How to Revise for Structure, Part Two

Last time, we discussed Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat craft book and how we can use his writing tools to revise our work.  His beat sheet points out when story events (beats) should occur in a screenplay, and most of his advice applies to all forms of fiction writing. Whether we dig into the structure of our stories [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, editing, Jami Gold, Jami is insane, organized, paranormal author, perfectionism, plotter vs. pantser

Click here to read more

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →