If you’re a film buff, you might dream of writing the perfect screenplay. You know you have the talent, and joining the ranks of the most sought-after, established screenwriters has been a long-time goal. Or you just think it would be a cool thing to try; so many movies are disappointments, after all, and couldn’t you … Read more
No matter what kind of writer you are—fiction or non-fiction—you’re probably guilty of procrastinating somewhere along the way. Frustrating, isn’t it? Maybe you’ve started five novels and haven’t completed one. You’ve written rough drafts of essays and haven’t published any. You have brilliant ideas for magazine articles, but your drafts are hidden in the deep, … Read more
Do you follow a style guide? Do you know which one you should use? Lots of writers have questions about grammar and punctuation or, if you’re like me, sometimes you forget the rule for unusual situations you rarely see or use. Or you know the rule changed, but you need to make sure. Just a … Read more
Writing a novel? If you’re writing during National Novel Writing Month—NaNoWriMo—you’re probably too busy writing to read about plot structure, narrative structure, dramatic structure, storylines, or narrative arcs right now. So many terms. So little time. But listen up. Plot structure can mean the difference between 50,000 words worth of beautiful descriptions, action-packed scenes, and … Read more
If you’ve ever doubted you can write a novel in 30 days, rest assured. You can. I have. And so have many others. Granted, a few of the novels I’ve written during NaNoWriMo didn’t turn out quite the way I’d hoped. But each one is salvageable, and last year’s novel turned into something quite different. … Read more
Writing blog posts is a breeze. You smile as you add the final touches and lean back. There. All done. Confident that this post is The Post That Makes You Famous, you look it over one more time. And fear takes over. You shrug it off—you’ve been writing blog posts for a while now. This … Read more
Many of you know I’m working on a novel, so you might be surprised that I just finished a short story and published it on Amazon and other online outlets via Smashwords. But I’ll bet some of you might be wondering why I’d break concentration on a novel and write a short story. Isn’t the … Read more
Do you use semicolons? Do you know how? Good writers often avoid them rather than make a mistake. Some even think semicolons are “old school” or too formal to use in their writing, while others fling ‘em around like wet noodles—some of ‘em stick, some don’t. But it’s not that hard to get the hang … Read more
So you’re writing a novel. Or you want to. And no matter how many novels you’ve read, you’ve probably found out that writing one is a completely different story. Even if you’re an experienced non-fiction writer—maybe a blogger or a freelance writer—there’s a lot to learn when it come to fiction writing. And the best … Read more
If you’re like a lot of writers—and I suspect you are—you might not be sure how to use ellipsis points, also known as suspension points or simply ellipses. They’re the “three dots” that mean … well, lots of things. Even the spelling and meaning can be confusing. Ellipsis (singular) can refer to an omission of … Read more