Tips on Writing…And Life:
Lazy Friday...my day to SHARE what great people have said, done, and talked about. From their brain to yours, here are 30 writing tips from great authors that you will recognize. But don't stop there, I have a second glint of inspiration below that. I'll warn you, this link is laden with graphics but well worth reading. Here's how it starts: Writing is easy: All you have to do is start writing, finish writing, and make sure it's good. But here's some vastly more useful wisdom and advice from people who seriously know what the hell they're talking about. Click on the following link to read the best parts: http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/writing-advice-from-famous-authors PLUS...I wanted to share one more insight. This excerpt is from a local High School coach to his freshmen athletes. I thought it so inspiring, I wanted to you to read it. Why? Because I feel pretty strongly about taking chances [...]
Beginnings and Endings are GREAT but where's the middle? I'll trade you stories…
When I come up with the idea for a new manuscript, I vividly imagine how it begins. I normally can also nail down the ending and several scenes down the road. But the part that comes right before is tough. How do I give the reader enough information about the characters to draw them in and keep the drama and intensity high? I always seem to stall somewhere between the third and fifth chapters. So, I've taken a few days to study some of my favorite authors and how they handle it. My brain is toast. I need something new, fresh. Something that really forces my readers to stay with me but doesn't sound predictable or trite. Kiss me, Kill me, Klobber me, but don't Walk Away! This is where I get stuck. Since there's always a love angle in my writing, and there has to be some sort [...]
Doing the Work of Lazy Words
Doing the Work of Lazy Words by Robyn Corum More and more you hear people preach against using adjectives and adverbs. Why? Because, typically, they are the lazy man’s way to decorate a page of prose. Certainly, precise and colorful adjectives and adverbs exist, but one must search far and wide to find them. For those who have been out of the classroom for a while, let’s review. Adjectives – words that describe or modify nouns. Adverbs – words that describe or modify verbs Examples: The pretty girl skipped merrily. The red rhinoceros ate the green leaves quickly. Harry walked around the snake carefully. ‘Pretty’, ‘red’ and ‘green’ are all adjectives because they describe or tell more about nouns in these sentences. ‘Merrily’, ‘quickly’ and ‘carefully’ are all adverbs because they modify or tell more about the verbs. You’ll notice that I used all –ly adverbs in this [...]
Eight Ideas to Add Conflict
Adding conflict in your manuscript is the key ingredient to keeping readers involved. No matter what genre you write, this is critical. Sometimes, though, you get stuck and just don't know what to do next. So, just for grins I've thrown together a list of suggestions. These aren't necessarily geared toward any specific genre and with variation could be used in any fiction piece. This isn't very complex or wordy and you can expand as you feel appropriate. Here are eight ways to add conflict to a manuscript when you're just not sure what to do: 1. A long lost relative shows up and wants to get to know your hero (or heroine) after a prolonged absence. This is always good, mainly because the motive for showing up is unknown and you can build on that to add to the tension. 2. Use the same scenario with a long lost [...]
Who wants a happy life anyway?
In a book, happines from start to finish is boring. No one wants to read it. Let's be honest, have you ever known anyone who's life is always perfect? Or at least they say so? Don't you really, really hate that because you know it can't possibly be true? No one has a perfect life. No one has a perfect relationship. And no one has a perfect job. There are good parts and bad parts, highs and lows, and each person manages to get their own mechanisms for coping. When you talk to a friend, you will often share the goods and bads and those honest interchanges make you like them even more. The stranger that just tells you how perfect their life is may annoy you, but often after you dig a little deeper (if they let you), you'll find there's a few pimples under all that makeup or a scar [...]
Ten Secrets: Writers, Books, Good and Bad
Good Post. Yes, the good in books equates to a lot of bad...or at least the ability write about it creatively. When you have good bad guys and good bad situations...that's a good book. People read it and stay involved. So, too much of a good thing really is bad for you? Or is it a lot of bad things can be good for you?
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