Tag Archives: writing tips

Writing Tip: What to do with All Those Rules

Posted on April 11, 2012 by dbjackson

You’ve heard the rules before:  Don’t write in first person.  Don’t write in present tense.  Don’t start your book or story with dialogue.  Don’t use adverbs.  Don’t use said-bookisms.  Don’t switch point of view from one character to another in … Continue reading →

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Flash Writing Tip: Accepting Criticism from an Editor

Posted on April 6, 2012 by dbjackson

I’m here at Marcon, and it’s late.  I’ve had a full day — a long drive, a panel, a signing; I’m ready to go to sleep. But today’s panel was on “How To Be Edited,” and since I was the … Continue reading →

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Flash Writing Tips: What To Do When You’re Stuck

Posted on March 17, 2012 by dbjackson

I’m going to put the flash in “Flash Writing Tips” and keep this one really brief.  But just because this is short, that doesn’t mean that it’s unimportant. This is one of those things that happens to all writers at … Continue reading →

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Flash Writing Tip! Making Our Imagined Worlds Come Alive

Posted on March 13, 2012 by dbjackson

Okay, birthday is done, but I’m still on the road.  Time for another Flash Writing Tip.  Today’s topic:  Worldbuilding! The object of worldbuilding for writers of speculative fiction is really no different from the goal of mainstream writers setting up … Continue reading →

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Flash Writing Tip! Dialogue Attribution Exercise

Posted on March 10, 2012 by dbjackson

I’m about to be on the road for a while, taking my daughter on a college tour through the Southeast.  I’ll try to post regularly from the road, but I won’t have as much time for longer posts.  So, as … Continue reading →

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Writing Tips: Point of View and Voice, part III — Voice and Authenticity

Posted on March 8, 2012 by dbjackson

A couple of days ago, in the second installment of my Writing Tips series on Point of View and Voice, I focused on how I decide how many characters to use as POV characters, and how I choose which characters … Continue reading →

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Writing Tips: Point of View and Voice, part II — Choosing Your POV Character(s)

Posted on March 6, 2012 by dbjackson

Last week, I wrote the first installment in this series of Writing Tips posts on point of view and voice.  As I indicated in that post, writers trying to determine how to approach point of view for their particular projects … Continue reading →

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Writing Tips: Point of View and Voice, part I — Overview

Posted on March 1, 2012 by dbjackson

Today, I begin a series of posts on point of view and voice in storytelling.  This topic will take several posts, because it is arguably THE key element in storytelling.  We’ll kick off the discussion today with an overview of … Continue reading →

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Writing Tips: Writing Is Hard

Posted on February 21, 2012 by dbjackson

Sounds sort of weird, I know.  I mean, what kind of tip is “Writing is hard?” In all honesty, it might be the most important tip I ever post to this site. Let me start by saying that this is … Continue reading →

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Writing Tips: Trusting Your Reader

Posted on February 14, 2012 by dbjackson

Recently, while reading through a wonderful short story written by a Master’s student with whom I’m working, I found myself writing a comment in the page margin that rang all too familiar.  The student had just had one of her … Continue reading →

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