Paragraphing

Hi Folks, Despite what most of us heard in school (from non-writers, ahem), you don’t have to keep everything about a particular topic in one massive paragraph. Especially in fiction. And blog posts. In fiction, you should begin a new paragraph every time a different character speaks. Most everybody knows that. You should also begin a new paragraph when the scene or setting changes (even in the same setting, even a little). The primary benefit of … Read more

Let Your Characters Live Their Own Lives

Hey Folks, First, an excerpt from another professional writer’s post: “…writers should strive to make each plot point arise organically from character.” Later in the same post, the writer talks about a character living an “unauthentic” life. I don’t wonder. As I write this, I’ve seen too many Nationwide Insurance commercials lately. My first thought as I read the excerpt above was “Tiny baby shoes. So close.” (grin) If only the blogger had written “writers should … Read more

Human Traits and Human Parts

Hey Folks, Awhile back, I received an email from a long-time friend who’s also a professional writer. In his email, he wondered whether sometimes (maybe) it’s all right for writers to assign human traits to human parts: e.g., “His nose pressed up against the window” or “Her legs raced down the street” or “His eyes flew around the document.” Things like that. The short answer is, No, it isn’t. I mean, you’re the writer and the … Read more

The Importance of Paragraphs

Hi Folks, While glancing over the internet awhile back for items of interest, I checked in on a blog I’d saved in my bookmarks but hadn’t looked at recently. When I save one in my bookmarks, it’s because I hope it will provide valuable, or at least valid, information. A writer posed this implied question: I have trouble trying to figure out when to begin and end paragraphs and when to have dialogue included in the … Read more

Writing Prompts vs. Story Ideas

Hi Folks, Reedsy puts out a weekly newsletter with writing prompts. Sometimes, the prompt is an actual story idea. Other times, it’s only a prompt. What’s the difference? Here’s a story prompt: A person coming home late from a New Year’s Eve Party stops by a McDonald’s. A person staying home for New Year’s Eve goes to McDonald’s for a late night snack. And here’s a story idea: As the countdown on New Year’s Eve reaches … Read more

Writing Off Into the Dark, Take 2

Hi Folks, I did a post on Writing Off Into the Dark here some time back. Then recently (as I write this) I got into an email discussion with a fellow novelist who also writes off into the dark. The upshot was, he wondered whether maybe — when a character does something that’s unexpected and out of character — it’s all right or even necessary to create a history for that character that would explain the … Read more

On Readers’ “Taste” and Writers’ Ability

Hey folks, Recently I engaged in a disagreement with a bestselling writer who is also a mentor of sorts. The disagreement had to do with whether, when a reader is ejected from a story because of a fake detail or other inanity, that is the result of the reader’s taste. I argued that it’s the fault of the writer. I do understand my mentor’s point. If something simply isn’t to your taste as a reader, there’s … Read more

Pet Peeves That Matter

Hey folks, Pet peeves — you know, those little flaws and inanities that grind away on the nerves and cause me to close novels and put them in the Goodwill box? They’re horrible. Mostly because they keep me from continuing to read what otherwise might be a good story. I don’t look for problems while I’m reading. I just read for pleasure. Like any other reader, when I buy a book, I automatically suspend my sense … Read more

How to Write Like I Do

Hey Folks, Recently I received an email in which a writer wrote (toward the end of some lengthy praise of my “process”) “I only wish I could write like you.” During an exchange of emails, I eventually determined the writer was talking about my ability to turn out a lot of quality short stories and novels fairly quickly (though I’m pretty much a slug by old pulp standards). And what the writer really meant was that … Read more

A Rewriting Metaphor

Hey Folks, Today I feature a guest post from Dean Wesley Smith, republished here with permission. Enjoy. Say your goal is to walk across the United States. About 2,800 miles. So say your writing career (in a modern world) lasts over forty years like mine and gets you 280 books written. Got to make the numbers round for this metaphor. (grin) So every 100 miles is a novel in your hike across the United States. So … Read more