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The Joy of…Drafting

Osprey's Flight

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 […]

October 19, 2010

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Critique Week: Finding the Perfect Critique Partner

Step Pyramid

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.  […]

September 20, 2010

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How to Fix the Infamous Info Dump

Spilling Water

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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September 1, 2010

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Unlike Life, Stories Aren’t a Journey

Road to Mountains

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 […]

August 23, 2010

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Multiple Personality Disorder? No, I’m a Writer.

Crazy Face

(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 […]

July 20, 2010

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