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A Prologue Will Help Our Story When…

Knife with text: Prologues: When to Kill

Last time we touched on beat sheets because of a guest post I wrote for one of my Blogiversary winners. Today we’re going to talk about a subject that came up with one of my other Blogiversary winners: prologues. Prologues are hated by many editors and agents. Surprisingly, I’ve heard from readers who say they […]

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July 25, 2013

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Do Beat Sheets Lead to Formulaic Writing?

Page of math formulas with text: Are Beat Sheets Too Formulaic?

Last week, Slate.com ran an article about how Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat book is ruining movies. According to that post’s author, “Snyder’s beat sheet has taken over Hollywood screenwriting. … Intentionally or not, it’s become a formula—a formula that threatens the world of original screenwriting as we know it.” I’ve run enough posts here about […]

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July 23, 2013

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Are You Sharing Your Gifts?

Gift box with text: Are You Sharing Your Gifts? To: Writers

I’ve been thinking lately about what it means to have gifts. We all have some sort of gift, some talent or skill we’re better at than most. More importantly, I’ve also been thinking about what we should do with our gifts. In most schools, kids at the top of the class are labeled “gifted.” Dictionary.com defines […]

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July 16, 2013

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Blogiversary Winners & an Announcement

Magic wand with text: Writing Worksheets: What's Your Wish?

Ta da! I made it to the three year mark for blogging. Appropriately, we had enough comments on the Blogiversary Contest post to earn three winners! Yay! Or boo… Depending on if you’re one of the winners or not. *sad face* I wish everyone could be a winner. Seriously. But random.org does its random thing without […]

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July 11, 2013

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A Pantser’s Guide to Beat Sheets

Map with text: A Pantser's Guide to Beat Sheets

Can those who write by the seat of their pants use beat sheets…without driving their muse crazy? If so, how? Here are few tips for how pantsers can draft and revise with beat sheets.

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July 9, 2013

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Should We Use a Blog Commenting System?

Stick figure with speech bubble and text: Who Wants Comments?

I’ve mentioned before that I wish I could change how comments work on my blog. I’d love for readers to easily see when someone replies to their comments here or provide the ability to subscribe to comments for a post. A system like that often encourages more interaction on a blog by enabling back-and-forth conversations. […]

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July 2, 2013

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3rd Annual Blogiversary Contest — Prize: Me! Wait…er, What?

Gift box with text "Want to win 'me'? Wait... What?"

It’s that time of year again. My three-year blogiversary is coming up on July 12th.  And I’m once again amazed by the fact that I’ve been writing this blog for three years. How can something feel like yesterday and forever at the same time? Mostly, I’m amazed that I found that much to blog about, […]

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June 27, 2013

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Stuck in Your Book? Try a Brainstorming Warm-up

Car stuck in the mud with text: Stuck in Your Story?

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I’ve started drafting a new story. The first week, my word counts were rather lame, but this past week has been going much better. Each day finds me getting into my writing groove more easily. I joked to my family that I’d apparently needed to get my […]

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June 25, 2013

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