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Tag Archives: how to write
Writing-Tip Wednesday: Crutch Words — Finding Them and Limiting Them
Last week, John Hartness, my good friend and the owner and editor at Falstaff Books, posted on Facebook about something he was seeing while editing manuscripts. Many of his writers were starting too many lines of dialogue with, “So…” As … Continue reading
Posted in Novels, Short Fiction, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, crutch words, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, dialogue, editing, Falstaff Books, how to write, John Hartness, prose, revising, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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Writing-Tip Wednesday: On Blogging
So, at the risk of going full-on meta, I would like to post today about blogging — the value and costs of maintaining a blog, the secrets of keeping the blog fresh for you and for your readers. When I … Continue reading
Posted in Business of publishing, Publicity, Publishing, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, business of writing, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, how to write, publicity, publishing, publishing business, social media, time management, writing, writing advice, writing business, writing life, writing tips
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Writing-Tip Wednesday: SEX and VIOLENCE, and How To Write Them
Title got your attention, eh? Yeah, figured it would. I might not be a marketing genius, but I’ve learned a little bit over the years… Last week, I wrote about using profanity in our writing, and at one point likened … Continue reading
Posted in Character, Novels, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged a.j. hartley, action scenes, blogging, character, Children of Amarid, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, Faith Hunter, how to write, Jane Yellowrock, point of view, sex, violence, Will Hawthorne, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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Writing-Tip Wednesday: How To Handle Profanity In Your Writing
Have you watched the HBO series Deadwood? It’s a Western, the creative child of the brilliant David Milch. It’s violent, brutally realistic, and absolutely the most profane thing I have ever watched, with the possible exception of the Academy Award-winning … Continue reading
Posted in Business of publishing, Novels, Publishing, Setting, Thieftaker, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, business of writing, character, cursing, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, fantasy, how to write, narrative, novels, profanity, publishing, publishing business, short fiction, Thieftaker Chronicles, worldbuilding, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Writing Musically
It will come as no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a huge fan of The West Wing, in particular Seasons 1-4, when series creator Aaron Sorkin was writing nearly every episode, and his creative partner, Thomas … Continue reading
Posted in Music, Novels, Reading, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged Aaron Sorkin, blogging, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, dynamics, Guy Gavriel Kay, how to write, music, pacing, rhythm, tempo, The West Wing, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing musically, writing tips
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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Let’s Talk Trunk Novels
A good idea remains such, regardless of the market and our inability to execute that idea when first it comes to us. Sometimes we need to grow into the ambition of certain projects. Let me tell you about my trunk … Continue reading
Posted in Business of publishing, Fantasy, Islevale Cycle, Novels, Publishing, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, business of writing, Case Files of Justis Fearsson, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, editing, how to write, Islevale Cycle, publishing, publishing business, revisions, trunk novels, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Short Fiction Anthologies — When Does an Idea Become a Story?
What is the difference between an idea and a story? It sounds like a basic question, but we have just begun the Zombies Need Brains Kickstarter for the coming year’s anthologies, and once again I am hoping to co-edit one … Continue reading
Posted in Short Fiction, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, character, creativity, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, Galactic Stew, how to write, ideas, Joshua Palmatier, Kickstarter, narrative, short fiction, story, Temporally Deactivated, writing, writing advice, writing tips, Zombies Need Brains
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Writing-Tip Wednesday: The ABCs of Character
Last week, I wrote about befriending our characters, as a way of using empathy to improve our character development. This week I would like to continue the discussion of character work by taking a slightly different approach to creating and … Continue reading
Posted in Character, Novels, Short Fiction, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged ABCs of character, attributes, backstory, blogging, character, character development, circumstance, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, Gollum, how to write, J.R.R. Tolkien, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Befriend Your Characters…And Be-Character Your Friends
This will be a relatively brief Writing-Tip Wednesday post. It’s a lazy, hot, stormy day and I’m feeling, well, lazy and hot… So far this year, I have used my Wednesday posts to offer advice about any number of things, … Continue reading
Posted in Character, Family, Friendship, kids, Novels, parenting, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged character development, characters, creativity, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, developing characters, emotion, empathy, family, friendship, how to write, parenting, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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Writing-Tip Wednesday: World Building Lessons I’d Forgotten
Back in early March, I posted about creating magic systems, and said then that I expected I would post about world building at least once more over the course of the year. And so here I am, making myself a … Continue reading
Posted in Fantasy, History, Islevale Cycle, Novels, Research, Thieftaker, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, Case Files of Justis Fearsson, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, how to write, Islevale Cycle, research, Thieftaker Chronicles, world building, worldbuilding, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
Comments Off on Writing-Tip Wednesday: World Building Lessons I’d Forgotten