Most of my past year has been spent editing and revising, but for the past two days, I’ve been able to write fresh stuff for a shiny new project. Oh, drafting, how I love thee. Really, is there anything more freeing than starting with a newborn idea and exploring? Every scene, every line, every character’s […]
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It’s probably a given that all good writers want to get even better. Last week, I talked about how we can use criticism to improve our work, and I gave a peek inside a successful critique partnership. My critique partner and I work very well together, and we certainly lucked out by finding each other. […]
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Info dump? Infamous? You better believe it. The most egregious offender even has a name: the “As you know, Bob.” Imagine dialogue along the lines of, “As you know, Bob, Jane is our sister.” *cringe* Does anyone actually speak like that? Would you ever tell someone something they already know? Nope. (Unless you’re reminding your […]
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We’ve all heard the saying: Life is a journey. Often this thought will be accompanied by—enjoy the ride—or something along those lines. And that’s great advice for life. But what about for stories? At the RWA conference, I attended the Inside Scoop workshop with Robin Perini and Claire Cavanaugh. During the workshop, they critiqued opening […]
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(No disrespect to anyone—crazy, insane, loony, committed, batty, bizarre, eccentric, daft, demented, deranged, or otherwise—is intended by this post.) When is a crazy person not a crazy person? When they’re a writer. Writers can have hundreds of imaginary friends. No, I’m not crazy, I’m just talking to my characters. Writers can allow their characters to […]
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