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# Unstressed Syllables

Writing advice for everyone

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## Posts

- [Re: Write - Backstory Exercise](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/re-write-backstory-exercise/) - We've been discussing backstory these last few weeks, and we'll be wrapping it up today. I hope that I've shown you how important backstory is and how carefully you need to handle it. We'll finish today with an exercise that I did with two other writers. You may remember Francesca from the writing sample she
- [Backstory: A Case Study (Cline vs. King)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/backstory-a-case-study-2/) - I'm a picky reader. I'm not shy about it. If I start a book and it doesn't grab me quickly, I'll put it down. I don't know where I get it from ; my dad feels duty bound to finish any book he picks up. Not me. Books need to prove they deserve my time.
- [Researching Your Setting](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/researching-your-setting/) - No matter what genre you're writing, you need to research your setting. Even if you're making that setting up.
- [Writing, (W)romance, and Wraiths](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/writing-romance-and-wraiths/) - To sex or not to sex? Today's post is all about paranormal and fantasy romance. Rawr.
- [C.R.E.A.M.](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/c-r-e-a-m/) - With special assistance from the Wu Tang Clan, I'm going to try and address one of the weirdest, most all-over-the-place topics in the ongoing, evolving mess that is indie and self publishing. What the HELL should these things cost? As far as advice, you've come to the wrong place because I HAVE NO IDEA. Race To
- [Backstory: A Case Study (Koontz)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/backstory-a-case-study/) - Last week I introduced the Biographical Priority Index. It's the handy-dandy system we can use to rate elements of a character's backstory based on whether and when to introduce them. Priority 1 information is stuff we need to introduce as soon as practical (note that says practical, not possible; it's awkward if you force information into scenes
- [What's in a Focal Point?](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/whats-in-a-focal-point-part-one/) - When you see a book, a photo, or a webpage, your eyes seem to instantly see it all. In reality, there's always something you look at first before moving onto the next object a millisecond later. Often our eyes start at the top left corner of the page because, through multiple millennia, we've trained most of the
- [What a Bunch of Characters!](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/what-a-bunch-of-characters/) - Today, we're going to talk about the lovely people who populate your stories and how you need to figure them out before you dive into their story. After all, you're going to have a much easier time staying in character and moving these characters along to the climactic conclusion of their tale if you've spent time beforehand figuring out who they are....
- [Love in an Elevator](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/love-in-an-elevator/) - We've had the pleasure of targeting (or, to be more realistic, eliminating) the largest swathe of readers with BISAC. We've also re-visited how cover and promotional copy will hook specific readers once your category has narrowed them significantly. Today, though, I want to talk about how to hook someone's interest. And this person doesn't necessarily
- [Backstory: The Untold Story](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/backstory-the-untold-story/) - One of my favorite things about being a writing coach is that I get to come up with my own terminology, and I can make it as serious or as frivolous as I like. My unofficial list of rules of writing, which I'll have to make official one of these days, is called "Thomas's Rules
- [Keeping It Consistent](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/keeping-it-consistent/) - We've covered and emphasized and delved into the whys of good book cover design for the individual book. But what about your second or third book? Even though you attracted readers to previous books, you can't slack off on the book cover design, hoping your name or your series' popularity will carry you along. But
- [What Is "Hidden Story," and Why Do You Need One?](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/what-is-hidden-story/) - Today we're going to discuss a part of your novel you might not even be aware exists. This elusive element of your writing is called the "hidden story," and it's essential to delivering a tale that will keep your readers up way past their bedtimes.
- [Guts and Bolts: An Immodest Proposal](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/an-immodest-proposal-non-fictional-marketing/) - As you've probably noticed, this month we're looking at non-fictional books quite a lot. This turned out to be a really spectacular marketing opportunity because, in looking at non-fic books, I discovered that they are the Holy Grail of book marketing how-tos. Do you disbelieve me? Let me take you on a tour through Wonderland.
- [The Characters in Flux](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/the-characters-in-flux/) - There’s a certain amount of method acting to the madness of creating our characters. We have to understand them inside and out, then embrace the actions and dialogue that fit their personalities even if they aren’t what we authors would necessarily want for them. This leads us to the most important aspect of character creation.
- [Who’s Your Reader? Designing Your Cover for Your Target Market (Part 2)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/whos-your-reader-designing-your-cover-for-your-target-market-part-2/) - Last week we scratched the surface of what a target market is. I introduced you to the concept of demographics and psychographics of finding your reader audience. But how does knowing your demographic info translate into a cover design? It's one thing to know who would be interested in your book, but another to translate
- [(W)riting, Relationships, and Romance](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/writing-relationships-and-romance/) - Greetings, lovely people! This week at Unstressed Syllables, we’re focusing on contemporary romance and chick lit. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that these aren’t my wheelhouse genres. So, I’m kicking off the romance by sharing with you a few tidbits I’ve picked up from expert Nora Roberts*. Just Tell the Story “My only
- [The Second Draft: The Beginning of Editing](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/the-second-draft-the-beginning-of-editing/) - Writing a novel is hard work, and it takes a lot of time. And by the time you're done with your first draft, you're going to have one of two thoughts: This is the best thing ever! I can't wait to share it with the world! This whole thing is crap. I should chuck it
- [Readers in the Reticle](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/readers-in-the-reticle/) - Recently, I talked about BISAC headers and their simultaneously freeing and restricting abilities to target broad swathes of readers. Broad Across the Beam How broad? How about things like Fiction or History or Humor? Yes, things as disparate as Dune is from Sense & Sensibility, or The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich is from Meet the Beatles: A Cultural History of the Band That
- [Re: Write - My Own Excerpt](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/re-write-my-own-excerpt/) - There's a certain amount of power in editing someone else's work. In that moment, you are the expert. It can, and should, be a much more humbling experience to edit your own. It took me a long time to learn to edit my own work effectively. And I realized a few weeks ago that, since
- [Who's Your Reader? Designing Your Cover for Your Target Market (Part 1)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/whos-your-reader-designing-your-cover-for-your-target-market-part-1/) - How often do you hear this from other authors: “Oh, I think everyone will like my book if they only read it.” Well, maybe nobody actually says it, but it’s tempting to think that anyone should enjoy your book if given the chance. In reality, however, different segments of the population enjoy definite types of
- [The One Where You Get to Be Pygmalion](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/pygmalion/) - Today we're talking about your Ideal Reader: why you want one, how you create one, and what he or she looks like.
- [Before You Hire an Editor](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/before-you-hire-an-editor/) - Recently I let you hear from one of my freelance editor friends, Laurie. One thing that she mentioned is that your manuscript (MS) needs to be in good condition before you send it off to your editor. Your manuscript needs to be polished and perfected, written at least four times, before you hand it over
- [The Magic of Marketing: A Cautionary Tale](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/the-magic-of-marketing-a-cautionary-tale/) - Once upon a time there was a man named Aaron Pogue. He worked every day as a writer, and yet he dreamed every day of working as a writer. You see, he worked as a technical writer translating Engineer into English. But he wanted to be a fiction writer so he could translate words into dreams. Then,
- [The Characters in Orbit](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/the-characters-in-orbit/) - Last week we talked about what it takes to make a realistic main character. We discussed how to start by making some decisions for him, but then letting him make other decisions for himself. We even went through the character creation process. The end result was Nathan, a 17-year-old boy with OCD who lives with
- [The Cover Uncovered: Shopaholic Edition](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/the-cover-uncovered-shopaholic-addition/) - “The Cover Uncovered” will be a monthly post where I dissect the cover of a relatively recent book and take a look at what works, what doesn’t, and what you can learn from it. Every month, we here at Unstressed Syllables are given a literary genre to loosely focus on in our work for that
- [Prewriting: Turn It Upside Down and Inside Out](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/prewriting-turn-it-upside-down-and-inside-out/) - Today we're going to discuss how to make a map work in your favor -- or, how you can use your prewriting material in a way that doesn't tie you down to structure.
- [Choosing Your Categories](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/choosing-your-categories/) - We spent the week discussing the role categories play in your books' success--from the initial story design through cover design and promotion. I'd like to wrap that up with a brief discussion of where the categories fit in your publishing plans. As Joshua pointed out on Thursday, the official category list provided by BISAC dictates
- [Three Common Grammatical Mistakes: Commas](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/three-common-grammatical-mistakes-commas/) - Commas are a tricky beast for everyone. There are so many uses for the comma, and many times it feels like you're just supposed to use your best judgment. But too often those pauses become unnatural and cumbersome, or, if you decide to be sparse, your readers feel like they're galloping through a sentence. How
- [Categorical Ground Zero](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/categorical-ground-zero/) - Part of marketing your book in this brave new world of self, indie, and e-publishing is targeting your category. Categories are what most people call genres, but I'm not going to get into the minutiae of which term is correct. I'm going to call it category for the duration of this post for clarity and
- [The Character in the Middle](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/the-character-in-the-middle/) - Fatherhood [fah-ther-hood] (n): The delicate balance between making a child into the person he is going to be and letting the child decide who he is going to be. You won’t find that at dictionary.com. But as my first child continues to grow and my second child has just announced his/her plans for imminent arrival,
- [How to Design a Cover by the Genre](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/cover-design-by-genre/) - At this point, you've thought about what type of cover you want based on what your competition is doing. But looking at your competition is a small step in the larger part of making sure your book stays relevant to its genre. Without a solid idea of how your book genre relates to your finished cover, you could
- [Don't Shoot Arrows at People](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/dont-shoot-arrows-at-people/) - Who are you writing for? What does your audience expect? Today we'll talk about choosing your target audience.
- [Using a Style Guide](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/using-a-style-guide/) - For many writers, the worst part of self-publishing is the technical aspect of (re)formatting their manuscripts. We all have slightly different habits (and slightly different inherited settings on our word processors), so it can be a challenge to “clean up” a document enough that an e-book retailer will even accept it (let alone make it
- [How to Use a Style Guide](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/how-to-use-a-style-guide/) - Hi! I'm back! I hope you learned a lot from Laurie's posts of the past couple of weeks. Now it's time to get back to something that I love very much: the rules. Last time I wrote here, I covered the different types of editing that an editor might be required to perform on your
- [Guts & Bolts: Have Dice Bag, Will Travel](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/guts-bolts-have-dice-bag-will-travel/) - I spent last month's Guts & Bolts being pretty hard on Epic Fantasy's promotional copy. That's not surprising: I have a complicated relationship with the genre, even going so far as to quit it entirely while I was in college. But I'm going to try and be nicer this time around by dealing with a
- [Internal Monologue](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/internal-monologue/) - Last week we discussed point of view. Today we’re going to cover a corollary question: Depending on which point of view you’ve chosen, what is the best way to explore the inner thoughts of your main character(s)? Many of you are probably familiar with internal monologue. It goes kind of like this. Rebekah ducked into
- [Scoping Out the Competition](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/scoping-out-the-competition/) - There’s not a profession that doesn't scope out their competition from time to time. Whether you’re a basketball team, a cereal company, or an internet giant, you need to know what your competition is up to in order to be relevant and on top of your book cover game. So head to your local bookstore (whether you buy
- [Kill Your Darlings: The Alpha and Omega of Stephen King](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/kill-your-darlings-the-alpha-and-omega-of-stephen-king/) - So, when I was pondering which part of Stephen King's On Writing to share with you today, for some reason my brain said, "FIRST! LAST! PAGING THROUGH BOOK TO FIND UNDERLINED THINGS!" And I said, "Huh?" My brain just rolled its eyes at me. But then it explained....
- [Technical Tip: Filling Out a Product Page](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/technical-tip-filling-out-a-product-page/) - Last week I talked about some of the different promotional material you'll need to develop for your book. This week I wanted to continue my "Technical Tip" feature with a little explanation of how you'll use that material. If you've already start self-publishing, you won't find much new here. Mostly, this post is intended for
- [How to Choose an Editor](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/how-to-choose-an-editor/) - Last time I helped you locate independent editors and, hopefully, encouraged you to actually use one for your next literary masterpiece. This time, I’d like to help you take the next step to actually choosing and using an editor. The most important thing to remember is that this relationship is a give and take. Just
- [Sharing the Burden](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/sharing-the-burden/) - Every now and then, I decide I want to be stylish. I'm able to dress myself reasonably well; it isn't all superhero emblem t-shirts and blue jeans. I have some nice dress shirts and good-looking sweaters. I've been known to rock the fedora and the newsboy cap. I own more than one pair of Chuck
- [Re: Write - Francesca's Excerpt](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/francescas-excerpt-a-case-study-in-rewriting/) - What follows is a short excerpt from a story. The author, “Francesca,” generously donated her work to be edited before a live audience (you). At my request, she made no edits to it. She simply typed the words that came into her head and let them be once they were down. I then edited her
- [Everything's Written. What Now?](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/everythings-written-what-now/) - You've written your book, taken it through the editing process, and you feel its finally time to send your hard work off into the world. Now you’re presented with a completely different task on the road to publishing your book--taking a snapshot of the world you've created and putting it on the front and center for
- [Your Prewriting Recipe for Mock Turtle Soup](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/your-prewriting-recipe-for-mock-turtle-soup/) - You've given your story a working title. You've honed your story question to a perfect, sharp edge. You've crafted a satisfying, useful short synopsis. That means it's time to sink your teeth into the Mock Table of Contents!
- [The State of Modern Publishing (Part 2)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/the-state-of-modern-publishing-part-2/) - Last week I established the terms of our discourse and came out strongly in favor of indie publishing. But choosing indie publishing is only the first step in doing it, and the rest of the steps can be twisty and uneven. In the interest of saving you from some sprained ankles along the way (even
- [How to Find an Editor](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/how-to-find-an-editor/) - Finding a freelance editor these days is pretty easy. We’re pretty much everywhere. Finding an editor who fits your needs, who is right for you, is the hard part. Yes, editors are everywhere, but let’s assume you’re not one of them. Let’s assume you’re a first time author publishing independently. Where should you begin? The
- [Weaponized Plot](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/weaponized-plot/) - In a couple of posts, I threw around the phrase "weaponized plot." This is a phrase that I invented (as far as I know). It's a phrase used often by me and by the staff at Consortium Books. But it occurred to me it might not be immediately obvious to everyone what it means. So,
- [A Matter of Perspective](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/a-matter-of-perspective/) - We need to have the talk. It’s time for us to define the relationship between your readers and your characters. I’m talking about point of view. Who gets point of view in your story, and how, is an important decision that you shouldn’t take lightly. For the purposes of time, I have to assume that
- [The Cover Uncovered: Quiet](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/the-cover-uncovered-quiet/) - “The Cover Uncovered” will be a monthly post where I dissect the cover of a relatively recent book and take a look at what works, what doesn’t, and what you can learn from it. Non-fiction book covers can be tricky beasts. Most times there aren't characters or scenery to show off, and it can be
- [The Short Synopsis (Or: Don't Fritz Your Circuits)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/the-short-synopsis-or-dont-fritz-your-circuits/) - Welcome back, dearest readers, to a brand new week of writerly fun! I hope that our posts thus far have got you excited about working on your story and working on your publishing. We here at Unstressed Syllables love to take the stress out of your "syllables" --whether you're reading dialogue aloud to yourself or
- [The State of Modern Publishing (Part 1)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/the-state-of-modern-publishing-part-1/) - My goal with this column is to share what I've learned about indie publishing and establish a place for us to discuss our experiences. To kick that process off, I thought it would be smart to provide a brief overview of my impression of the current state of indie publishing. That's definitely a moving target.
- [The Different Functions of an Editor](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/the-different-functions-of-an-editor/) - Hi! It's your editor again. Remember me? I'm the one that makes sure your book is actually ready to be read by your adoring fans. If you're confused about what an editor actually does, that might be because we do so many different things. Technically, everything we do is editing, but there's a lot that
- [Guts & Bolts: Epic Fantasy Promotional Copy Is Anything But](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/guts-bolts-epic-fantasy-promotional-copy-is-anything-but/) - Guts & Bolts is my catch-all dissection and deconstruction of various parts of book promotion. Since promotional copy is my theme this month and with Courtney's review fresh in mind, I decided to take a look at promo copy in one of the most beloved facets of the fantasy genre...Epic Fantasy. Most beloved by fantasy
- [May The Arc Be With You](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/may-the-arc-be-with-you/) - The student of writing can come up with myriad metaphors for what writing is like. Call it painting. Call it shipbuilding. Call it a political race. Let me tell you one of my favorites. Writing is like sculpting. You take this raw idea and you cut away the unnecessary, the amorphous. What is left is
- [Saving Sanity: How to Talk to Your Designer](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/saving-sanity-how-to-talk-to-your-designer/) - If life were simple, the design process would go something like this: You: “Hi, Designer. I want a book cover.” Designer: "Let me telepathically absorb exactly what you're looking for and add a couple things to make it better." The perfect finished cover is delivered in a day or two. Cue the high five. Everyone
- [Cut It Out! C.S. Friedman and the Dreaded Prologue](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/cut-it-out-c-s-friedman-and-the-dreaded-prologue/) - Welcome, dearest writers and readers, to my first feature post! This week we're on about prologues. Should we have them? Or should we cast them upon the cleansing fires of editing and rewrites, never allowing them to mar another of our manuscripts again? The Problem with Prologues Rumor has it that your editor (you do
- [Technical Tip: Tabs](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/technical-tip-tabs/) - For reasons that will soon become obvious, I've been spending a lot of time lately at Kindleboards. It's a fantastic forum for indie writers (as long as you don't let it use up your writing time). A lot of very friendly, very talented people hang out there, and they're generous about answering new writers' questions.
- [Why You Need an Editor](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/why-you-need-an-editor/) - Two weeks ago I introduced myself and explained that I'm the editor for Consortium Books. In the world of self-publishing, editors are more important than ever to add credibility to your work. Why? Let me tell you. Unless you're publishing your book to hold it in your hands, hug it, and then put in on a shelf
- [Pulp Ain't Just in Oranges: Remaking a Synopsis into Promo Copy](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/pulp-isnt-just-in-oranges-or-remaking-your-synopsis-into-promotional-copy/) - Last time I explained how unexpectedly good promotional copy caused me to be crowned King of Promotional Copy. (Kings and czars? I definitely have delusions of grandeur.) This time, I'm going to tell you how a really good job making bad copy led to discovering the Consortium Formula for promotional copy. But before that, you
- [Re: Write - Richard's Excerpt](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/richards-excerpt-a-case-study-in-rewriting/) - What follows is a short excerpt from a story. The author, “Richard,” generously donated his work to be edited before a live audience (you). At my request, he made no edits to it. He simply typed the words that came into his head and let them be once they were down. I then edited his
- [Why Your Book Cover Design is Important](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/why-your-book-cover-design-is-important/) - Imagine you’re meeting a friend for lunch. You’ve pulled into the parking lot and two restaurants stand in front of you: one is a well known, polished chain restaurant that has mediocre, but familiar, food. The one next to it is named Bob’s Extraordinary Kitchen. The exterior is far from extraordinary: the paint is faded,
- [Working Titles and Story Questions](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/working-titles-and-story-questions/) - In today's "Prewriting" post, we'll discuss working titles, short synopses, and the ever-elusive story question.
- [Promotional Materials](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/promotional-materials/) - I promised to talk about the new publishing marketplace here. I've said repeatedly that there has never been a better time to be a writer. But even as self-publishing opened the door for a lot of writers to make comfortable livings instead of papering their walls with rejection letters, one common refrain among writers wandering
- [Top Three Grammar Mistakes of Writers...and the Rest of the World](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/top-three-grammar-mistakes-of-writers/) - As an editor, a major part of my job is to correct a writer's grammar. This includes spelling errors, incorrect homophones (or words that sound similar but aren't if you think about it), punctuation, and word choice. Each month I'll share with you some common mistakes I find in the works that I edit and how you
- [Catching the Flipside: The Importance of Back Cover Copy](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/catching-the-flipside-the-importance-of-back-cover-copy/) - Rachel is dead on when she says creating a good cover is half the battle of hooking a new reader. The back cover copy is definitely the other half. I use the phrases "promotional copy" and "back cover copy" pretty much interchangeably. I probably shouldn't, if only because there are so many other areas of
- [Why Rewriting Is Part of Writing](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/why-rewriting-is-part-of-writing/) - If everything goes as planned, my first novel, a fantasy, will be published by the Consortium later this year. I’ve been working on it for nearly six years. I think it’s ready. You should have seen the first draft I wrote back in 2007. It was, in a word, awful. The main character was pathetic, his
- [The Cover Uncovered: A Game of Thrones Edition](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/uncover-the-book-a-game-of-thrones-edition-2/) - “The Cover Uncovered” will be a monthly post where I dissect the cover of a relatively recent book and take a look at what works, what doesn’t, and what you can learn from it. Because I like to make life easier for me, I'm zipping right past all the small fish and going straight for
- [The Benefits of Prewriting](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/the-benefits-of-prewriting/) - In last week's intro post, I posited that not prewriting your novel is like not taking a map on a quest (which happens to end with facing down a fire-breathing dragon). Today we're going to take a look at that metaphorical map and figure out just what it really is. Caveat Caveat emptor: Let the
- [Welcome to the New "Unstressed Syllables"](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/welcome-to-the-new-unstressed-syllables/) - It took a little longer than I'd expected, but I'm proud to share with you the all-new Unstressed Syllables. This site used to be a place for me to keep friends and family updated on my writing and other projects. About a year ago I moved all that stuff over to AaronPogue.com. I also tried
- [A Peek Behind the Curtain, or, A Word from the Editor](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/and-now-a-word-from-your-editor/) - Good morning, readers and writers! I'm Jessie Sanders. You may have heard of me. No? Well, that's probably becuase I'm the editor. I've been editing my own work since I was a teenager. I come from a family of perfectionists and English majors, so I would often craft a few pages of a story only
- [I Don't Care What They Say About Me, Just Make Sure They Spell My Name Right!](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/i-dont-care-what-they-say-about-me-just-make-sure-they-spell-my-name-right/) - Ladies and Gentlemen, please direct your attention to the CENTER RING! What’s up, party people? I’m Joshua Unruh, novelist and Czar of Marketing for Consortium Books. Here’s why you should care what I think. Crimes and Misdemeanors I’ve had a lot of jobs in my life. That’s pretty normal for everybody. But I’ve also had
- [Introduction](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/introduction/) - My name is Thomas Beard, and I know writing. See that up there? That’s my thesis statement. In the next 478 words, I’m going to develop it, flesh it out, then restate it in my conclusion. Then do you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to reread it. At least three times. On
- [Writing for Visual Purposes](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/writing-for-visual-purposes/) - Hi. Name's Rachel. Let's start off with a confession: I googled "how to write your first blog post." Why? Because, unlike the rest of the lovely people on this blog, I haven't written in the traditional, professional sense. The most fitting description of my writing career is "dabbler." The most I've written for a novel
- [Dragons, and Something to Blow Your Nose On](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2013/dragons-and-something-to-blow-your-nose-on/) - Author with Penchants Greetings, fellow writerly one! I'm Courtney Cantrell. You might know me from the column I used to write here at Unstressed Syllables, What I Learned About Writing This Week. Or you might have followed me over here from my own site, Court Can Write. In either case, you already know that I'm
- [Why Choose Draft2Digital?](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/why-choose-draft2digital/) - Unstressed Syllables has been on something of an unannounced summer hiatus. I've been unremarkably busy, and our Contributing Editor has just gone and had herself a baby. But don't think I'm done with Unstressed Syllables. In fact, we've got grand plans for the site that we intend to roll out this fall. We're hoping Unstressed
- [How to Write a Helpful Book Review](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/how-to-write-a-helpful-book-review/) - Here's the whole guide: Tell the world what you enjoyed about reading this book.
- [Book Reviewers Wanted!](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/book-reviewers-wanted/) - I've posted recently concerning the importance of fans in the success of a new writer's career. More specifically, I gave a laundry list of ways to support your favorite writer. Near the top of the list (and repeated more than once before the list was done) is the simple act of recommending the book to
- [Five Ways to Support Your Favorite Writer](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/support-your-favorite-writer/) - I've found self-publishing success without spending a dime on advertising. This is a brief overview of the many ways my fans have contributed to my success.
- [Some Simple Advice for the Novice Storyteller](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/some-simple-advice-for-the-novice-storyteller/) - Part of my job these days--my actual job, for which I get paid--is being a writing coach. Obviously that's most of the motivation for this site, too. And now that I'm finding some success as an indie writer, I even have fans contacting me to ask for tips on getting started as a storyteller. I
- [My Books and the Public Domain](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/my-books-and-the-public-domain/) - I've been kinda silent here for a while, mainly because I've been so busy finishing up my Master's degree and then planning a KickStarter campaign to change the world. Is this the first time I've mentioned the KickStarter campaign around here? Well, hang on to something, because I'm about to blow your mind. You might
- [On Self-Publishing: What to Start With](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/on-self-publishing-what-to-start-with/) - I've been talking lately about the publishing revolution. Last time, I drew it up in pretty dramatic terms and finished with a heartfelt call to action. If you can be satisfied with the promise of an income and an audience, you should be self-publishing. But there's a big difference between deciding to self-publish and actually
- [On Self-Publishing: Who Should Start](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/on-self-publishing-who-should-start/) - I started a brief series back in March on the topic of self-publishing. Those first two posts weren't really planned, but they did fall neatly into the beginnings of a pattern: Where to Get Started in Self-Publishing How to Get Started in Self-Publishing That asks for the obvious journalist's progression -- who, what, when, where,
- [On Self-Publishing: How to Start](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/on-self-publishing-how-to-start/) - Last week I started a series on self-publishing with a little bit of advice on where to start. It was primarily a list of links to the major digital distributors. I also promised to follow up with a post on how to start. The inspiration for that one came from an email my sister sent
- [Unstressed Syllables and AaronPogue.com](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/unstressed-syllables-and-aaronpogue-com/) - I've been talking a lot about my self-publishing success lately. The story of my experience is (I hope) interesting to all my readers. But one thing I've talked about often here is audience analysis. Every good writer needs to know to whom he's talking, and thanks to my recent success, my audience is starting to
- [On Self-Publishing: Where to Start](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/on-self-publishing-where-to-start/) - This post (or series) has been a long time coming. I've been talking for a while about the benefits of self-publishing, and I've spent the last several months bragging about my successes in the field. As a result, I've heard interest from a lot of you in doing it yourselves. I've gone through the same
- [The Big Reveal](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/the-big-reveal/) - Today saw the official release of the fourth book in my sci-fi series Ghost Targets. With that came the big reveal of our new cover design for the whole series. You can see it in the image to the right. I like the new look. I can't wait to see it in the context of
- [Writing Is Work (Guest Post by Ty Johnston)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/writing-is-work-guest-post-by-ty-johnston/) - Writing is WORK, whether traditionally or indie published, to be succesful (even just making it your living, not getting rich)
- [Self-Publishing Success](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/self-publishing-success/) - Last week I talked about what a successful self-published author I've become. I followed that up with a description of the strange stumbling block I've placed in my own path. I suspect some of you would be a lot more interested in knowing how I found that success in the first place. That's not so
- [The Sales Pitch](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/the-sales-pitch/) - On Tuesday I wasted some of your time bragging about how great I am. Right or wrong, I thought it would make a good foundation. Now I'll try to make it worth your while. This is what I really wanted to write about anyway. Shoulders to Stand On There's another foundational point I should make,
- [The Agents](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/the-agents/) - I'm a hot commodity these days. No, really. Little ol' me. You already know my books are selling well, but it gets bigger than that. Piper Back in January I received an email out of the blue. It came via the contact form here, and showed up in my Gmail. After some minor pleasantries, it
- [How to Write a Business Letter to Your Boss](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/how-to-write-a-business-letter-to-your-boss/) - This site started out as a writing advice blog, and in the earliest days I spent as much time offering Technical Writing advice as I did talking about storytelling. It's been long enough now that I suspect I've mostly lost the crowd that came around for tips on good professional writing, but today I want
- [Strong Enough for a Man, But Made for a Woman](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/strong-enough-for-a-man-but-made-for-a-woman/) - I've spent the last week now talking to you about Joshua Unruh, whether it was my role as his writing coach or his masterful answer to my writing challenge. Today, I'm going to give him a chance to speak for himself. Ladies and gentlemen, Joshua Unruh! I love Young Adult fiction. Most of the time
- [A Writing Challenge](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/a-writing-challenge/) - This blog post is coming to you extremely late. I'd have skipped it altogether, but I left you hanging last Tuesday and I really need to finish laying this foundation, because tomorrow we're going to build on it. For what it's worth: I've got a great excuse. I've just been so busy with the final
- [A Writing Coach](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/a-writing-coach/) - I wear a lot of hats. Metaphorically speaking. I'm a Technical Writer and a grad student. I'm a publisher and a husband and a father. I'm a CEO and an Executive Director and a President. I'm a programmer and a web developer and a blogger. And I'm a bestselling novelist. That never gets old. I'm
- [Advanced Fiction Writing (Part II of II)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/advanced-fiction-writing-part-ii-of-ii/) - On Tuesday I shared some insights from a short story class I took last semester. I talked about one line of characterization, and how it completely mischaracterized my character in the exercise's context. I said the single line got at the heart of what I learned, but in the end it was a really minor
- [Advanced Fiction Writing (Part I of II)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/advanced-fiction-writing-part-i-of-ii/) - Last semester I took a class at OU called "Advanced Fiction Writing." It's one course in the midst of an entire Master's degree that features only two classes not associated with advanced fiction writing, but that's beside the point. "Advanced Fiction Writing" is an English class. The rest of my Master's work has taken place
- ["Law and Order" Meets "Minority Report"](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/law-and-order-meets-minority-report/) - On Tuesday I took a little time to tell you how to submit a manuscript to Amazon imprint 47North. I talked about how it made me feel when I crept carelessly back into that miserable process. But I didn't tell you why I suddenly wanted to pursue a semi-traditional print publishing deal. I also didn't
- [Amazon Imprint Submission Guidelines](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/amazon-imprint-submission-guidelines/) - I'm going to start with the punchline today, and then backtrack to tell you where the information came from (and why it's interesting). I'll even explain why I told the story in reverse order. But first, the info. Submission Requirements for the Amazon Imprint 47North If you want to submit a novel for consideration by
- [Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2012/merry-christmas-and-a-happy-new-year/) - It seems I owe you an apology. I've been absent. I could offer the frantic bustle of the holiday season as my defense, but that's not really it. Honestly...I didn't realize I had let the blog lapse. I've been conscientiously working to improve my presence on social media in general (primarily through Twitter and Facebook),
- [Notes from a Thief](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/notes-from-a-thief/) - I've told the story before, but back when I was 22, just as I was graduating with a writing degree and heading out into the real world, I had a bad experience that left me with a startling insight: Fantasy is dumb. That concept rocked my world. I'd spent my whole life devouring fantasy literature
- [The Dragonswarm Is Live!](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/the-dragonswarm-is-live/) - In case you didn't already know, The Dragonswarm is now available! You can find it at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. These are currently just the digital editions, but the paperback should be available some time next week. I'll let you know when that happens. Status Update I know a lot of you are personally
- [The Trial of the ARCs](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/the-trial-of-the-arcs/) - As of yesterday afternoon, all the Advance Reading Copies of The Dragonswarm have been sent. Thanks to everyone who requested one! I can't wait to get your feedback. Encouraging Comments I've already heard from one satisfied customer. He must have read the book straight-through from the moment he received his email, because before I went
- [Dragonswarm News](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/dragonswarm-news/) - I've got a whole bunch of news concerning The Dragonswarm, including an update on the KickStarter campaign, an official release date, and a link to a live excerpt from the upcoming book. But before I get to that, I want to make an offer. Advance Reading Copies Taming Fire has seen extraordinary success, and The
- [Pre-Order The Dragonswarm and Support the Arts](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/pre-order-the-dragonswarm-and-support-the-arts/) - For all my fans and supporters, I wanted to share a real quick post reminding you about my next book's KickStarter campaign. It's a great way to help support my publisher, play a part in the release of The Dragonswarm, and get your pre-order placed for the book. We only have two days left on
- [Writing to the Deadline (A Dragonswarm Update)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/writing-to-the-deadline-a-dragonswarm-update/) - I'm a huge fan of GMail. Have I ever mentioned that before? I know I've talked about Google Docs, and you can probably take it for granted that anyone who raves about Google Docs appreciates the company's email service, too. Still. I'm a huge fan of GMail. I never delete anything. Everything goes in the
- [Help Release The Dragonswarm](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/kickstarter-campaign-for-the-dragonswarm/) - Incidentally, if you want to check out my KickStarter campaign, it's here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/consortiumokc/the-dragonswarm-the-dragonprince-trilogy-2 The goal of the campaign is to pay the production costs of publishing an indie novel. I won't beg and plead with you to share your hard-earned money, because I'll be publishing this book even if the campaign isn't funded. I've been
- [Supporting the Arts with a New Patronage](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/supporting-the-arts/) - About a month ago I got an email from an old friend and ended up posting my response here as an excellent summary of my plans for the Consortium. You might remember that. He wrote back right away to ask me for some more details, and it has taken me a month to answer. But
- [Work-in-Progress Update for November 2011](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/work-in-progress-update-for-november-2011/) - Tuesday I talked about being a publisher as well as a writer. I was a little surprised when no one (yet) piped up to complain, because I've had a lot of people asking me with vigorous interest, "When will book two be done?!?!" I always want to feign a little bit of bafflement at that.
- [On Being a Publisher](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-being-a-publisher/) - It's National Novel Writing Month. I'll have to do a post about my annual spreadsheet again this year, because (once again) it's a very interesting story. Alas, I'm not the story's hero this time. I'm still pretty thrilled with the plot developments, though. Here's what I'm getting at: I'm not getting much writing done. Most
- [Honors, Accolades, and Interviews](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/honors-accolades-and-interviews/) - I spent Tuesday telling you what you already know (about me, about my books, and about my publishing company). I figured maybe I should make up for that by spending today sharing some news. You might've already gotten a hint at some of it if you follow me on Twitter. This morning I posted: My
- [A Brief Summary of My Awesome Life](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/a-brief-summary-of-my-awesome-life/) - This post won't be news to most of you. If you already know everything there is to know about the Consortium, you can skip it altogether. But I got an email this morning from an old blogging buddy, checking in. He started the message off by asking, quite offhand, if I had any interesting projects
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Dreams, Redux](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-dreams-redux/) - I've had another confirmation that all of my conclusions about my dreams are true.
- [A Consortium of Worlds](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/a-consortium-of-worlds/) - I posted yesterday to complain about how busy I was. It'll probably take me weeks to show up and post again, but in the meantime I wanted to brag about a couple of those projects that did get finished: A Consortium of Worlds A Consortium of Worlds is the new quarterly speculative-fiction short story magazine
- [Work in Progress](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/work-in-progress/) - This morning I found time to make a Twitter post. That statement really ought to sound absurd. A Twitter post is barely a sentence. But I've made that one of my personal goals lately ("Make more Twitter posts"), and I've consistently failed at it. Maybe this morning's Twitter post will shed some light on why
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Being Irritable](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-being-irritable/) - If there's one thing I've learned from a myriad of sources over the past ten years, it's that I should never ignore myself when I feel irritable. I am not a person easily given to irritation. It takes a lot to push my buttons. Injustice is pretty much the only thing that can get me
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Kindle All-Stars](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-kindle-all-stars/) - So. Thanks to Josh and a rollicking romp of insanity, I somehow got myself involved with the Kindle All-Stars Project. In short, KAS is the brainchild of one Bernard J. Schaffer, who is putting together a short story anthology for Kindle of various independent authors. The proceeds of the anthology will go to the National
- [Taming Fire Sales Charts (2 of 2)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/taming-fire-sales-charts-2-of-2/) - Lately I've been talking the hard numbers of indie publishing. I shared a sales chart last week showing the rise and fall of my bestselling fantasy novel Taming Fire and discussing some of the factors that drove those trends. Then on Tuesday I took a little pause to tell you about my charitable publishing contract.
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Getting Published, Redux](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-getting-published-redux/) - You want to write a novel? Here is the only way you'll get what you want....
- [The Consortium Public Works Book Contract](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/the-consortium-public-works-book-contract/) - Over the last two weeks I've pulled aside the curtain and given you a peek into the nuts and bolts of my nascent publishing empire. I know it's considered uncouth to talk about money. (Sometimes it's considered dangerous, too, especially to talk about it on the internet.) But I also know where that particular bit
- [Taming Fire Sales Charts (1 of 2)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/taming-fire-sales-charts-1-of-2/) - Last week I left you hanging with the promise of a sad story and some detailed sales analysis. I know you've just been waiting on the edge of your seat ever since. Well...I'm more than a week late with the follow-up, but it kind of works out. Because I'm late, I can share all my
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from 42](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-42/) - If you've been paying attention, dear inklings (and I know you have, because that's just the sort of darling, attentive things you are), you already know that I harbor a love for all things sci-fi, and that this love includes a deep fondness for Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy....
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Facepainting](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-facepainting/) - What I learned about writing this week from facepainting for Fancy Faces at the Oklahoma State Fair is that facepainting is a fun, creative, interesting, and challenging job that makes me want to come home and curl up on the couch in blessed unconsciousness for twelve hours. I have also learned that composing coherent, cohesive,
- [5-Star Sales](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/5-star-sales/) - I just realized I haven't been talking about Taming Fire much recently. Well...not here. I can already hear Courtney and Joshua guffawing that I even dared to say that, because I talk about almost nothing else in real life. But somehow it hasn't shown up much on the blog. That's pretty odd. I'm going to
- [Sex and Violence](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/sex-and-violence/) - I started the week talking about my short story class, and some of the challenges that come with providing feedback to our peers. The worst of it was talking about a sex scene buried in one of the many stories we've read so far. And, mostly, it was a whole lot of worrying over nothing.
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Conan](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-conan/) - No, not Conan O'Brien. We're talking somebody a bit less civilized than that (although, I suppose that some of you might find this debatable). Today, my dear inklings, we're talking Conan the Barbarian, who is brought to you by the letter J. Why the letter J? Because if my friend and fellow writer Josh Unruh
- [Sex Scenes](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/sex-scenes/) - I'm taking a short story class out at OU this fall. It's the one I mentioned in the English department, where the professor claimed fantasy and science fiction stories don't feature complex, compelling characters. Bah. That still makes me angry. I'm going to get myself in trouble in that class if I'm not careful. Still,
- [Terror. A Poem.](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/terror-a-poem/) - It looks just like a rose. Smoky shadows sharp contrast within the blooms, Lines of black buried in rosy red, Skin-soft swells that curl upward, inward, then blossom out again. It sounds like summer thunder. One stark, still-shattering strum. It tastes like ash, bitter black, and smells like panicked fear. It feels like winter’s heart,
- [Write like Your Parents Are Dead](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/write-like-your-parents-are-dead/) - On Tuesday I wrote a little story about getting my mouth washed out with soap for singing some dirty words. I like that story. It characterizes me pretty clearly in a short scene or two. It also shows the inefficacy of corporal punishment (at least of the soap-based variety), because I've grown up to be
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from the Basics](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-the-basics/) - Being sick resets one's brain to the basics. In three brief points, lets discuss some basics of good writing. We'll look at story structure, rules for writing, and audience analysis.
- [Dirty Words](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/dirty-words/) - 1. I'm starting this week with a story set in our living room sometime last week. It was getting late at the end of a very long, very busy day, and Trish and I were on the two couches in our living room, working on our computers, while Annabelle entertained herself. She wasn't quite ready
- [Writing in the Mirror](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/writing-in-the-mirror/) - I started the week with fond remembrances of cliff-diving without the water. And I started that post with a link back to other stories from my childhood, exploring the far forested acres of my parents' farm. I blamed the recent nostalgia on my childhood buddy Josh, for mentioning some of those stories on Facebook, but
- [A Works-in-Progress Update](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/a-works-in-progress-update/) - WHAT?! NO WILAWriTWE?!? That's right, my dear inklings. Today, I shall give you a work(s)-in-progress update, which, if my calculations search functions are correct, I have not done since February. Fortunately for us all, a WsIP update also qualifies as a WILAWriTWe, because part of learning about writing includes all the doings of The Writing
- [On Being a Boy](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-being-a-boy/) - Once upon a time, I was a boy with nothing to do but explore the worlds I found in my imagination, and decorate them with little bits of mundane reality. I lived for free time and fairy tales. That doesn't really narrow the context at all, does it? Very well. Let's say once upon a
- [On Scheduling: A Quick Poll](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-scheduling-a-quick-poll/) - I know I said Tuesday that I'd probably be dropping down to one post a week now that school has started, but that wasn't a promise. Just my expectation. Besides, today's isn't really a post. It's a quick question (although it could have ramifications for Posts of Thursdays Future). See, my reasoning for cutting back
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from My Writer's Tribe, Redux](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-my-writers-tribe-redux/) - Two days ago, seven Consortium writers gathered in Aaron's living room to roundtable edit each other's short story submissions for the upcoming Consortium Worlds, Vol. 1 e-zine. I probably don't have to tell you how apprehensive I was, going into that meeting...
- [On Scheduling: Fall 2011](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-scheduling-fall-2011/) - As you're well aware, I'm halfway through my pursuit of a Master of Professional Writing degree at the University of Oklahoma. My classes start tomorrow. But I was on campus yesterday running hither and yon, signing up for tutorial time with the chair of my graduate committee, applying for a two-hundred-dollar parking pass, and picking
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from The Consortium](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-the-consortium/) - Aaron's new release and my final draft completion have me thinking airy thoughts about publication and book sales and promotion and what-hast-thou. Accordingly, I've been keeping an eye on our sales numbers...
- [On Writing Advice: Restraint](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-writing-advice-restraint/) - I've got a lot of brothers-in-law. I have two sisters, both married, so that gives me two. My wife has two brothers, too, so that brings me up to four. My wife also has three sisters, all of whom are married, for a grand total of seven brothers-in-law. One of my sisters is married to
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from King and Straub](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-king-and-straub/) - Mr. Stephen King and Mr. Peter Straub, that is. These two gentlemen co-wrote a couple books, if you didn't know. And I'm currently enjoying the second of that couple most muchly, yup. The first, The Talisman, I read years and years ago. So, before I started this new read, I hied myself to my local
- [On Backstory: Cut the Prologue](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-backstory-cut-the-prologue/) - On Tuesday I told a little story about showing up at work late on a Monday, then I flashed back to a fun weekend with friends, then I skipped to the middle and told a sad little story about my girl's first day at school. I was playing with narrative chronology. My inspiration for that
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Being a Business](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-being-a-business/) - Today's rant is brought to you by my most recent realization: namely, that I don't want to be a business. I am a writer. Hear me ROAR.
- [On Backstory: Preschool](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-backstory-preschool/) - Yesterday I didn't show up to work until after lunch. I was really dragging, too. I wandered down the row between offices and cubicles, waving a half-hearted response to my coworkers' enthusiastic greetings. I made my way to my desk, fell into my chair, and then started reading office email. It wasn't terribly interesting. I've
- [On Superhero Fantasy: Creating a Genre](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-superhero-fantasy-creating-a-genre/) - On Tuesday I talked about my fantasy problem, and the project proposal that solved it. The core of that project proposal involved taking comic book conventions and transplanting them into traditional fantasy novels. I've been thinking about that old project a lot lately, and one day it occurred to me that I've got a Director
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Agatha Christie](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-agatha-christie/) - I've spent the last few days getting scared out of my wits by a wholly unexpected source: Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.
- [On Superhero Fantasy: My Fantasy Problem](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-superhero-fantasy-my-fantasy-problem/) - A long time ago, my friend Dan and I got together to brainstorm a fantasy series. We did it for a handful of reasons (most of which weren't mentioned in that article). I saw an opportunity to work on an exciting new writing project with an old friend. Dan saw an opportunity to fix my
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Raymond E. Feist](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-raymond-e-feist/) - If you've been paying close attention, my dear inklings, you know that I've recently moved. What you might not know is that during the past week, I finally got all the books unpacked and shelved. OH HAPPY DAY. :D Well, I've shelved all the ones I'm keeping. In a masterful show of determination and strength
- [On Bookselling: Targeting Your Market](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-bookselling-targeting-your-market/) - This week I'm talking about turning Kindle-published books into bestsellers. I've done it, and I'm sharing some secrets to how you can, too. Essentially, they boil down to this: Get really lucky, and watch in astonishment as your numbers start to climb. Of course, if I really felt that way, I wouldn't be writing this
- [On Bookselling: Looking for Trends](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-bookselling-looking-for-trends/) - So! I told you Tuesday about my meteoric rise to bestseller status at Amazon. I showed you a screenshot of Taming Fire contending with Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson for the rank of 82. I told you about the productivity-killing curse of ever-changing sales numbers, and that I was over and done with it. I
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Dean Koontz. Again.](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-dean-koontz-again/) - This week's WILAWriTWe is brought to you by my bookshelf that broke during the move. Some poor soul had leaned it up against the side of the truck, that it might be loaded thereonto -- when lo! behold! a gust of wind blew the bookshelf over, smashing it into smithereens upon the pavement! Okay, okay,
- [On Bookselling: Distraction](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-bookselling-distraction/) - This year I've missed a lot of blog posts. I missed some because I was so busy with school work. I missed some because I was so miserably sick. And I missed some because I was so frantic finishing up novels or promoting them to an oblivious public. I've had lots of good reasons to
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Friends](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-friends/) - Last week, I read this blog post by The JackB. Jack talks about blogging because you're passionate about it and blogging what you're passionate about. He takes exception to bloggers who blog about things they don't really want to be talking about -- all for the sake of SEO, King Content, and headlining. Jack's post made me wonder if that's the trap I've been falling into lately...
- [On Self-Publishing: Contagion](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-self-publishing-contagion/) - There's a bug that's been going around recently. As a matter of fact, there's two. The first is a summer cold. An upper respiratory virus. Nothing terrifying or crippling, but just enough to take a man down for six to ten days. In this case, the grown man was me. That's only a small part
- [On Marketing: Product Descriptions](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-marketing-product-descriptions/) - This week we've got guest posts from my good friend and fellow Consortium Writer, Joshua Unruh. He's back today to talk about writing product descriptions, or back-cover copy for your books. Last time I gave you a bit of my career background to help explain why Aaron crowned me king of back-cover copy. (Kings and
- [On Marketing: Joshua Unruh](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-marketing-joshua-unruh/) - This week we've got a guest post from my good friend and fellow Consortium Writer, Joshua Unruh. I could tell you more about him, but he does a great job introducing himself below. Read on. Ladies and Gentlemen, please direct your attention to the CENTER RING! What’s up, party people? I’m Joshua Unruh, novelist and
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Becca J. Campbell](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-becca-j-campbell/) - What happens to a creative when she's not creating? She either wilts, or she gets restlessly itchy... .
- [On Storytelling Terminology: Hidden Story](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-storytelling-terminology-hidden-story/) - Yesterday's post on the narrative difference between conflict and adversity ended with some specific advice: Avoid adversity by putting malicious cause behind your protagonist's setbacks. The best way to do that is to make your antagonist responsible, but sometimes it can be a challenge to follow through on that. The trick is to manage your
- [On Storytelling Terminology: Conflict and Adversity](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-storytelling-terminology-conflict-and-adversity/) - Way back when, I tried to start a series around here on some of the specialized storytelling terminology I've been learning in my Master of Professional Writing course. I got into Plates and Hooks and Scene Questions and Story Questions, and that diverted me off into a separate series on Story Questions. I'm not complaining.
- [On Storytelling Terminology: Taming Fire](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-storytelling-terminology-taming-fire/) - I lived in Wichita, KS, for six years while I was growing up. That's where I attended middle school and high school. That's where I wrote my first fantasy story, and my first (terrible) novel. That's where I met my wife. That's where I made most of the friends who have shaped my life in
- [On Story Structure: The Story Question Worksheet](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-story-structure-the-story-question-worksheet/) - It was a couple weeks ago when I talked about the importance of designing good story questions. Since then I've talked about the diverse properties of bones, and some rules for using story questions to build a structurally sound novel. Leaving out the cute story about my kid, most of the discussion has been about
- [On Story Structure: Managing Multiple Points of View](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-story-structure-managing-multiple-points-of-view/) - I've spent a couple weeks trying desperately to finish up Taming Fire for publication this month. But last time we talked, it was about the questions that keep people reading your stories, and the big story question that drives your story forward. I said offhand that well-designed story questions and scene questions make it much
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Brent Weeks](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-brent-weeks/) - In the post, read about the three most important words in your novel.
- [On Story Structure: Look at the Bones](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-story-structure-look-at-the-bones/) - Way back in January I talked a little bit about playing karate with my little girl. At the time I had all kinds of things to say about her learning respect and trust and large motor skills all in one little activity. At the time, I referred to it as one of her favorite games
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Paint Samples](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-paint-samples/) - Characters are like the paint samples of the world. Some of them are vivid. Some are pale. A select few are restful and pleasant to the reader's eye the moment they step onto the page. Yet others look icky, no matter what light we cast them in. But they all need molding and clarifying, and that's where the hard work starts...
- [On Storytelling Terminology: Questions (2 of 2)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-storytelling-terminology-questions-2-of-2/) - This week we're talking about industry terms, and specifically focusing on the questions that keep people reading. Yesterday I talked about the gimmicks--hooks and plates--but today I want to talk about your load-bearing questions. These are the questions that form the foundation of your story. They're the questions that drive your protagonist through some pretty
- [On Storytelling Terminology: Questions (1 of 2)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-storytelling-terminology-questions-1-of-2/) - At long last, I'm going to fulfill a promise made weeks ago. I'm going to teach you some storytelling terminology. As I admitted to Joshua Unruh yesterday, I tend to work off a couple different writing glossaries that use some overlapping but non-identical terms. That means when I say "plot point" in one context it
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Tornados](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-tornados/) - Since Ed and I moved here three-and-a-half years ago, we've had a tornado scare every spring. And without fail, every time there's a tornado headed our way, it lifts somewhere west of us and passes us by. The same thing happened yesterday. We huddled in a basement for an hour, while the temperature rose, and the humidity increased...
- [On Storytelling Terminology: Covershoot](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-storytelling-terminology-covershoot/) - Last week I half-apologized for a temporary and unexpected hiatus due to my busy schedule, and then it went and got busier. The weekend featured the first major event by my publishing-company-slash-engine-for-world-change, the Consortium. You can read a summary of the event that I wrote for the official page, but you'll get a clearer image
- [On Temporary Hiatus](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-temporary-hiatus/) - Last Tuesday, I told a little story about unexpected delays, and then promised to follow up with a couple educational blog posts on Thursday. I talked about family medical emergencies and final homework assignments. I didn't really say much about my novel coming out in June. But I have a novel coming out in June.
- [What I Learned about Writing This Week...from WILAWritWe](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-wilawritwe/) - I've learned that I glean inspiration from about a kajillion more sources than I ever thought I did. To celebrate this cramazing realization, I shall now share with you a list (with headings, sha-ZAM!) of WILAWriTWe inspirations.
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from De-Crapping My Closet](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-de-crapping-my-closet/) - Greetings, dear inklings. Today's WILAWriTWe title comes to you courtesy of the German language, directly translated with love by Yours Truly. You see, in German, there is the word Mist. This word is what we in linguistics would call a "false friend": It looks like it means "fine spray of water," and yet, it means nothing of the sort...
- [On Storytelling Terminology: Alligators over the Transom](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-storytelling-terminology-alligators-over-the-transom/) - I've told the story before about the time I graduated from college, realized I needed to get a job (yes, in that order), freaked out, and then fell into a high-paying technical-writing position that was created just for me. My interview went, "Would you prefer to work in this cubicle, or that one?" And then,
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Jericho](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-jericho/) - When it comes to movies and TV shows, I am continually behind-the-times. I grew up watching AFN (American Forces Network, which, as I understand, bought shows from stateside networks. This meant we saw TV shows 6-18 months after they started airing in the US. The delay was only frustrating if you were someone who'd grown
- [On the Business of Writing: Stockholm Syndrome](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-the-business-of-writing-stockholm-syndrome/) - This week I'm talking about a series of lectures my Professional Writing professor taught on getting started in traditional publishing. In yesterday's article I talked about the hard work and the patience that has to go into making a career out of writing (even after you've put in the hard work and patience to land
- [On the Business of Writing: Breaking In](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-the-business-of-writing-breaking-in/) - One of the more interesting parts of my professor's lectures on the business of writing this week was what she called "career building." She started with a hypothetical first book, and worked it through a new writer's burgeoning career. That's the sort of long-term financial projection Konrath likes to work through from time to time
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Writing Horribly](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-writing-horribly/) - Having no idea whatsoever how long it might take to rewrite Legend's Heir (working title), and needing a writing project other than blogging (so that I wouldn't go crazy), I sat down this past weekend and started rewriting what I am now referring to as The Monster Epic Fantasy Novel (MEFaN) -- thereby proving that I have gone crazy.
- [On the Business of Writing: Alternatives](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-the-business-of-writing-alternatives/) - I've talked before about Deborah Chester, the core professor of my Master of Professional Writing program at the University of Oklahoma. She's a phenomenal teacher, and she consistently displays a deep understanding of the process of writing commercial fiction. That's a skill worth having, believe me. She also teaches several classes on the undergrad level,
- [On Kindle Publishing: Building Your Brand](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-kindle-publishing-building-your-brand/) - Today I'd like to wrap up my introduction to Kindle publishing. I've spent the last several weeks describing the kind of remarkable success indie authors can find self-publishing on Kindle, and why that success is suddenly possible. The key to it, as I explained yesterday, is the emergence of the global information network. As our
- [On Kindle Publishing: The Role of the Global Information Network](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-kindle-publishing-the-role-of-the-global-information-network/) - On Tuesday I interrupted a three-week introduction to the Kindle publishing phenomenon for a case study near and dear to our hearts: Courtney Cantrell's Kindle publishing success story. Now, admittedly she's no Hocking yet. She's a success regardless. She has already sold well beyond her immediate circle of friends and family, and even out past
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Taking A Break](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-taking-a-break/) - Greetings, my dearest inklings! I come to you today, having officially launched my novel Colors of Deception into the great wide world -- and having fried my brain in the process. The result of said frying is that I have no WILAWriTWe to share with you today. Aaron doesn't know this yet, so I hope
- [On Kindle Publishing: Courtney's Tweetlings](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-kindle-publishing-courtneys-tweetlings/) - Tonight is the official launch party for our own Courtney Cantrell's Colors of Deception. If you're in the Oklahoma City area, come join us at Vintage Timeless Coffee to celebrate her success. And, remarkably, it's already success. Even though the launch party is tonight, the book has been officially "launched" for a week now. That
- [On Kindle Publishing: Credibility (2 of 2)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-kindle-publishing-credibility-2-of-2/) - This week I'm continuing my series on Kindle publishing with a look at the credibility issues associated with self-publishing. Yesterday I talked about the perspectives of publishers (who hate it, with dollar signs in their eyes) and readers (who really don't care where a book comes from, as long as it looks and reads professional).
- [On Kindle Publishing: Credibility (1 of 2)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-kindle-publishing-credibility-1-of-2/) - Last week I started this series on Kindle publishing with a look at some of its biggest players (Konrath, Hocking, and Eisler), and then spent a while discussing the technological changes that have made this publishing revolution possible. But even with the technological shift well and firmly established, there's another shift that has to happen
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Allen Ginsberg](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-allen-ginsberg/) - That darkness inside me...dare I call it simple humannness? Isn't it nothing more than the gritty frailty within every human heart? If each of us were honest with ourselves, wouldn't we admit that we all harbor a streak of that inner moonlight? Don't we all harbor a streak of madness?
- [On Kindle Publishing: Colors of Deception](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-kindle-publishing-colors-of-deception/) - In the midst of all this talk about the Kindle publishing explosion, I get to take a break to provide one more case study. She's no Konrath or Eisler or Hocking (yet), but our own Courtney Cantrell has become a part of the phenomenon. Or perhaps I should say we've made her a part of
- [On Kindle Publishing: Technology](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-kindle-publishing-technology/) - Yesterday's post introduced three major case studies in Kindle publishing. Each of them came from a different background, and each approached (or is now approaching) Kindle publishing for different reasons. Measuring a Writer's Success The largest thing the three share in common is success. All three have reached a lot of new readers though Kindle publishing,
- [On Kindle Publishing: Konrath, Hocking, and Eisler](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-kindle-publishing-konrath-hocking-and-eisler/) - I started the week with a brief introduction to a long series on Kindle publishing. I finished that introduction with the promise of some case studies. If you're at all familiar with Kindle publishing or the indie publishing "scene" that's developing even as we speak, you probably could have guessed at least two of the
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Painting](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-painting/) - When Aaron first approached me about painting the cover for his fantasy novel Taming Fire, I was skeptical. "I paint for fun," I explained. "I've never undertaken a painting project so ambitious..."
- [On Kindle Publishing: Readings in Mass Communication](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-kindle-publishing-readings-in-mass-communication/) - In January of 2011, I started taking a class called "Readings in Mass Communication" in pursuit of my Master of Professional Writing degree at the University of Oklahoma. It's an interdisciplinary theory course that combines lectures and select readings in the academic literature to explore the changing role of mass communication in society, its withering
- [On Writing Technique: Building Characters through Sequel](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-writing-technique-building-characters-through-sequel/) - In yesterday's article I introduced the concept of sequels in classical scene structure. They act as a kind of transition, a moment of reflection, and (as I said at the end) they provide your protagonist with a critical opportunity to shine. I described the sequel as a progression: It starts with an emotional reaction to
- [On Writing Technique: Scene and Sequel](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-writing-technique-scene-and-sequel/) - Last week I told you all about classical scene structure for novels. The core of it is that the scenes driving your story should always be tightly focused on a direct conflict between two characters, and the scene should end in catastrophe for the protagonist. One More Word on Catastrophe Now...there is a great range
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Perfectionism](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-perfectionism/) - There are some things about which I cannot be perfectionist. Not because I don't want to be. But because I simply can't. The situation is so far beyond my control, there is no possibility at all of my getting my perfectionist way about it. One of these things is my hair...
- [On Writing Technique: Annabelle's Magic](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-writing-technique-annabelles-magic/) - Last week Trish went to book club which meant that, for just one evening, I had to watch the kids all by myself. It was terrifying. Now don't get me wrong, I love my kids. They're astonishingly smart and absolutely adorable, and I have a lot of fun playing with them when I get home
- [On Writing Technique: Chasing Catastrophe](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-writing-technique-chasing-catastrophe/) - I started the week talking about writing 17,000 words in three days...and all the catastrophes that made it necessary in the first place. Then yesterday I talked about a new writing technique I've been studying in class that pushes a novel toward lots of conflict and catastrophe. Today I want to make the connection. And
- [On Writing Technique: Conflict and Catastrophe](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-writing-technique-conflict-and-catastrophe/) - Okay, I've been mentioning my Master of Professional Writing program left and right, but I want to say up front that full credit for the information in this week's and next week's posts goes to Deborah Chester. She's the professor teaching my Writing the Novel class, and a lot of these ideas come straight out
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Whining, Wherefores, and Whatnots](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-whining/) - Two days ago, I sat with Becca in Aaron's living room and bewailed to them the fact that I hadn't yet decided on a topic for this week's WILAWriTWe. Two days later, dear inklings, I must admit to you: I still got nothin'. But I showed up to write, anyway...
- [On Writing Technique: 25,000 Words](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-writing-technique-25000-words/) - I'm pursuing a Master of Professional Writing degree at the University of Oklahoma. This semester, I'm taking one of the program's three keystone classes, "Writing the Novel." It involves two lectures on writing technique every week, but the core of it is the semester project. Over the space of just four months (almost five), I'
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from C. S. Friedman](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-c-s-friedman/) - We're talking prologues, my dear inklings. Should we have them? Or should we cast them upon the cleansing fires of editing and rewrites, never allowing them to mar another of our manuscripts again?
- [On Publishing: Getting It Out There](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-publishing-getting-it-out-there/) - This week I'm describing how Consortium Books makes books. In yesterday's post I talked about the setup -- acquisitions, editing, layout, and design. Today I want to talk about production and distribution. Publishing In the olden days, the "publishing" bit involved taking an edited manuscript, typesetting it, offsetting it, then running tens of thousands of
- [On Publishing: Making It Pretty](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-publishing-making-it-pretty/) - I started the week with the story of the evolution of Unstressed Syllables -- which was significantly driven by the birth of Consortium Books -- and ended that post with the promise that I'd tell you how Consortium Books does what it does. I'm dividing that into two parts: "Making It Pretty" and "Getting It
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Getting Published](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-getting-published/) - Two days ago, Becca and I made a trip to the salt plains of Oklahoma to scout out likely locations for my cover art photoshoot. It was an adventure, and we found some likely spots, but I won't regale you with that tale. Right now, the adventure is beside the point. The point, my dear inklings, is that now my worries have set in...
- [On Publishing: Writing for Work](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-publishing-staff-writer-for-dr-wordpress/) - In the fall of 2009, I started a grand experiment. The English department at my alma mater lost their Tech Writing professor at the last minute, and the chair of the department asked me to step in and teach the class for a semester. I agreed, and then scrambled to put together a lesson plan
- [On Self-Publishing: E-Books through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-self-publishing-e-books-through-amazons-kindle-direct-publishing/) - I've spent a couple weeks now talking about self-publishing. This week I promised to talk about my actual experiences with the process, and so I started that yesterday with a little bit of a grumpy glimpse into CreateSpace's print-on-demand operation. I still use CreateSpace, though, and I still recommend it. You should go in with
- [On Self-Publishing: Print-on-Demand with Amazon's CreateSpace](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-self-publishing-print-on-demand-with-amazons-createspace/) - As promised, I'm going to tell you how we actually go about publishing a book to Amazon. I'll save some of the "how to" aspect of it for next week, when I discuss Consortium Books processes. First, I want to describe some of my experiences with the distributors. It might help to briefly explain the
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Dean Koontz, Redux](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-dean-koontz-redux/) - I love my job. Have I mentioned that? Well, let me mention it here and now: I love my job. I get to write, I get to read what my Writers Tribe writes, and I get to read all sorts of books in all sorts of genres. It's exactly the job for me, and I
- [On Self Publishing (cont.): Consortium Time](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-self-publishing-cont-consortium-time/) - You almost certainly already know this about me, but I'm a captain of industry. I'm a prince of the new media. I'm a president, CEO, and executive director of a small business registered with the State of Oklahoma (national tax exempt status...pending). I'm talking about the Consortium, a cooperative of artists dedicated to an industrious
- [On Self-Publishing: The Life-Cycle of Created Content](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-self-publishing-the-life-cycle-of-created-content/) - I'm a week late posting this, and you've all got my apologies for that. I ended last week's conversation on self-publishing with Thursday's claim that it's an author's responsibility today to learn the hard work of publishing. Here's the thing: it's tough work. I'm a week late posting this because I've been in a steady,
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Getting Edited](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-getting-edited/) - Ohhhh, my dear inklings. I did a scary, scary thing. I let go of my baby, my precious, my sweet toddling kiddo. I sent my tender little one out into the world, went back into the comfort of my home, and closed the door. And then, I sat back and waited in agony. What is
- [On Self-Publishing: Controlling the Medium](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-self-publishing-controlling-the-medium/) - On Tuesday, I published the second book in my series. I posted the same little sales blurb in half a dozen different places, but around here I gave a little something extra. I told you about the process of writing the series, and my plans going forward. That's not necessarily something I talk about a
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from My Writers Tribe](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-my-writers-tribe/) - When we writers mention "social writing," what we think we mean is getting together to encourage each other and spend several hours working on our projects in the same location, one which most likely involves food and copious amounts of coffee. But "social writing" consists of far more than that...
- [On Self-Publishing: Ghost Targets](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-self-publishing-ghost-targets/) - First things first, I need to take care of a little business. You might have already seen this on one of my other sites, but I've got three significantly different audiences across all three and, y'know, I really need to let all of them know. After all, it's a good book. You should read it.
- [On Editing: What Editors Are For](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-editing-what-editors-are-for/) - This week has been a lot of talk about surprises, whether it's the unexpected catastrophes that derailed both of my meticulously-planned covershoots so far, or the sudden and unfortunate realization a week before a book is supposed to go to press that it has a gaping flaw in one of the most important scenes. It's
- [On Editing: Expect the Unexpected](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-editing-expect-the-unexpected/) - I started the week with the story of my two novels: Gods Tomorrow and Ghost Targets: Expectation (in stores February 15th!). Specifically, I talked about the covershoots for both books, and the surprises they held for us. Those little surprises are pretty troubling, especially when the book is so close to being published, but they're
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Stephenie Meyer, Redux](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-stephenie-meyer-redux/) - If you peruse the articles in which Aaron and I reference Stephenie Meyer, you might pick up on the fact that neither of us are necessarily favorably disposed toward her writing. Neither of us, however, has gone into much detail on the basis of our opinion. I, for my part, am about to change that.
- [On Editing: Expectation](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-editing-expectation/) - Five months ago, with Gods Tomorrow poised on the brink of publication, I brought my awesome photographers (Julie and Carlos of Julie V. Photography) to town to shoot some art for the cover. I made arrangements with our model, scouted locations, and put together a whole covershoot in the space of about a week. I
- [On Inspirational Writing: Writing for Readers](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-inspirational-writing-writing-for-readers/) - I've spent the last month talking about books I read in a Category Fiction class and everything I learned from reading them. The class was designed perfectly to create that experience, and I knew it from the very first day, when Professor Chester said, I want you to analyze these books critically. I want you
- [On Inspirational Writing: Die, Dragon, Fink, Games, and Curse](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-inspirational-writing-die-dragon-fink-games-and-curse/) - At last, I’m ready to talk about the books I liked. Of course there were books I liked! In fact, I mentioned some of what I'm about to say right here back in October when I first read one of them. Among them, these five books taught me one of the more valuable lessons I
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Jack L. Chalker](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-jack-l-chalker/) - Greetings, my dear inklings! I come to you today bearing tidings of the sci-fi nature. "Sci-fi nature" -- is that an oxymoron? No matter! (Anti, dark, or otherwise.) What's on my mind today is that I'm reading a terrific book right now, and I'm going to attempt to tell you about it without giving away
- [On Dramatic Action: Open Season and The Dead Cat Bounce](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-dramatic-action-open-season-and-the-dead-cat-bounce/) - Yesterday I talked about one of my shortcomings as a writer: I pull my punches. I claimed that I learned that from two atrocious, miserable books my professor made me read. So what were the two books I hated so much? Open Season and The Dead Cat Bounce. Open Season Open Season by C. J.
- [On Dramatic Action: Pulling My Punches](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-dramatic-action-pulling-my-punches/) - This month I've been talking about the books I read and the lessons I learned during a Category Fiction class last fall. One of the things I admire most about the structure of the course is the way the professor managed to turn profoundly bad books into brilliant educational opportunities. So far I’ve had a
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Christmas Decorations](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-christmas-decorations/) - I love my Christmas stuff. But after awhile -- especially after New Year's -- it starts to become just that: stuff. It turns into clutter, and I can't see my life through it anymore. Sometimes, dear inklings, our writing is like that...
- [On Dramatic Action: Playing Karate](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-dramatic-action-playing-karate/) - I've got a nephew with Sensory Deprivation Disorder. It's an uncommon phenomenon, and a strange one at that. Basically (as I understand it), his body has trouble recognizing the physical impact of his environment. That kinda sounds like the making of a sci-fi novel, or like some dreadful problem. It's really not that bad. His
- [On Reader Expectations: Carpe Demon and The Second Opinion](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-reader-expectations-carpe-demon-and-the-second-opinion/) - Yesterday I talked about some of the things I learned about reader expectations in my Category Fiction class. By way of example, I mentioned some techniques for building suspense in Thriller novels. There was more, though. To my horror, I realized after six months of promoting my suspense series as a Thriller that it’s a
- [On Reader Expectations: Genre Conventions](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-reader-expectations-genre-conventions/) - Last week I started reviewing some of the novels we read in my Category Fiction class with a pretty brutal panning of our Women's Fiction samples. Along the way, I mentioned a startling similarity in their plots -- not just in those two books, but in all Women's Fiction novels. I was genuinely surprised to
- [What I Learned about Writing This Week...from Mark Twain](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-mark-twain/) - You know how we speak of someone's being well-read? In some circles, I'd be the opposite of that: terribly-read. I can hold forth on plot and character of a great many classics so convincingly, you'll come away from our tête-à-tête thinking I'm all sorts of brilliantly literate. You won't know that when it comes to classic literature, I'm kind of a fake...
- [On Reader Expectations: Las Vegas, NV](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-reader-expectations-las-vegas-nv/) - A couple weeks ago, Trish took the kids to Wichita for a weekend and left me home alone. And, no, I'm not talking about my lonely Christmas. This was a few weeks after that. It was on the calendar as an opportunity for me to get some work. I tend to do that when Trish
- [On Other People's Books: The Cinderella Deal and First Lady](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-other-peoples-books-the-cinderella-deal-and-first-lady/) - This month we're talking about a Category Fiction class I took last fall, and some of the things I learned from reading eleven novels along the way. The novels, I should mention, were hand-picked by our professor. She said she wanted us to see published books -- successful books, many of them books with movie
- [On Other People's Books: Wide Exposure](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-other-peoples-books-wide-exposure/) - I started this week with a brief description of the Category Fiction class I took last fall. One of the big surprises in that story was how much I enjoyed the class. The class’s merit wasn’t the only thing that caught me off-guard. I’d spent some time dreading all the driving I’d have to do,
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Starting A New Blog](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-starting-a-new-blog/) - Many moons ago -- before Facebook became open to the general public, when “twitterpated” was still a Bambi and not a social networking reference, and before YouTube made movie stars out of all of us -- I started a blog. I don’t remember why I did it. I plunged into writing my first post without giving it any real thought before I started. I hadn’t the foggiest idea what I was doing...
- [On Other People's Books: Reading like a Writer](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-other-peoples-books-reading-like-a-writer/) - In the fall of 2010, by decree of my graduate advisor and in support of my pursuit of the Master of Professional Writing degree at the University of Oklahoma, I was required to take the “elective” course Category Fiction. I was less than thrilled. From the course description it was clearly a lecture-based, informational class,
- [On Collaborative Writing: Prewriting Packages](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-collaborative-writing-prewriting-packages/) - Yesterday I laid out my plan for a collaborative writing project based on some prewriting packages. Today, I'd like to talk about those packages. The Civilization Book This one actually started as a suggestion from Toby. It's not a new idea, but it's a fun idea, and it could give rise to something very cool
- [On Collaborative Writing: Dividing It Up](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-collaborative-writing-dividing-it-up/) - I started the week with the story of my lonely, zombie Christmas. Some of you might have guessed where the series was going based on comments I've made before -- that writing is a really lonely profession. More of you might have figured it out by looking at the series title, "On Collaborative Writing." That's
- [What I Learned about Writing This Week...from Taking a Shower](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-taking-a-shower/) - Sometimes, a writer’s just gotta get clean. Sometimes, fellow writers, what we need is a shower.
- [On Collaborative Writing: Zombie Christmas](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2011/on-collaborative-writing-zombie-christmas/) - I've made no secret around here of my struggles with social anxiety. I've made some major strides in the last year, but I've still got some work to do. And, even once that's done, I'll always be an introvert. That means I have trouble in highly social situations. Even when they're fun, and packed with
- [On Rewriting Your Manuscript: Beautiful Storytelling](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-rewriting-your-manuscript-beautiful-storytelling/) - Yesterday I talked to you about your book's big, bad rewrite. I gave you one example of how it might go, and then started into a bit of a pep talk. Now it's time for me to tell you about application, to tell you how to do your rewrite. That's a tricky task. I don't
- [On Rewriting Your Manuscript: Everything Changes](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-rewriting-your-manuscript-everything-changes/) - At last we've come to the rewrite. The big one. The end of the line. If you've really been thinking it through, you might have a question about the way I've arranged things. It might seem strange that I had you fix sentences before I let you go in and move paragraphs around (inevitably breaking
- [What Courtney Learned about Writing this Week from...the Christmas Flu](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-courtney-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-the-christmas-flu/) - Courtney asked me regretfully to inform you that a Christmas flu has quite thoroughly humbugged her. For the first time in her long tenure here at Unstressed Syllables, we'll have to go without a WILAWriTWe. Alas. Send her your well wishes, and know that she'll be back to educate us all just as soon as
- [On Rewriting Your Manuscript: My First Book Club](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-revising-your-manuscript-my-first-book-club/) - For nearly a year now, Trish has been participating in a monthly book club with our friend Becca and several other ladies I don't happen to be familiar with. She has really enjoyed it, as much for the opportunity to get out on her own and hang out with grown-ups at least once a month,
- [On Reworking Your Manuscript: Shaping a Story](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-reworking-your-manuscript-shaping-a-story/) - So. We're reworking your novel. What exactly does that entail? It entails voice and style. It entails characterization and foreshadowing. It entails hooks and cliffhangers, suspense and resolution. This is the point in the story where you put in all the beautiful little things that will go unnoticed by your reader even as they work
- [On Reworking Your Manuscript: Adding Some Flavor](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-reworking-your-manuscript-adding-some-flavor/) - I started this week with a story about my creativity in the kitchen. It all really boils down to finding a prepackaged dish I really like, and adding some chili powder. Usually black pepper, too, but that didn't make it into Tuesday's story. It's a solid metaphor for what we're doing with our novels, now.
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from the Dark Stuff](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-the-dark-stuff/) - I’m not afraid of the Dark. But this past Sunday, I got to a point in the story where I knew the Dark Stuff was coming. I looked at my computer screen, watched the cursor blink at me a few times, and said aloud, “I don’t want to write this.” I closed the file and walked away. I was in dire need of rescue...
- [On Reworking Your Manuscript: Chili Powder](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-reworking-your-manuscript-chili-powder/) - I like to cook. Sometimes. To a limited extent. Well...no, not really. Let me start over. I'm a notoriously picky eater, so for the most part I don't love to eat what I know objectively to be delicious foods. I have a limited repertoire of things I like, and I like them prepared my way.
- [On Revising Your Manuscript: Plot Your Plot](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-revising-your-manuscript-plot-your-plot/) - So now that you know what you're supposed to be changing, and what you're supposed to watching for, you're ready to get started revising your manuscript. Dive into a second read-through, and start making your book better. You do know what you're supposed to be doing, right? I only ask because I understand the whole
- [On Revising Your Manuscript: Looking at Language](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-revising-your-manuscript-looking-at-language/) - Okay, if you're following orders then at this point you've read through your finished book, cover-to-cover, and discovered the story you actually ended up telling. Maybe you read through it with a red pen, maybe you fixed some things, but your primary focus was on discovering what was there. Now it's time for revision. That
- [What I Learned About Writing This Year...from Unstressed Syllables](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-year-from-unstressed-syllables/) - Today, my snippet of courage has come to you in the form of a poem: my attempt to convey via symbols the intangible emotions -- the happiness, the wonder, the impish delight -- I feel at the realization that Unstressed Syllables will be a year old tomorrow...
- [On Revising Your Manuscript: Looking Back](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-revising-your-manuscript-looking-back/) - Today is December 14th. That means Thursday is going to be December 16th. I know, I know...I've just demonstrated that I'm a brilliant mathematician. Or...calendarist. Something. There's a special significance to December 16th, though. Around here, anyway. Thursday will be the official anniversary of Unstressed Syllables. One year ago Thursday, I wrote my first post
- [On Reviewing Your Manuscript: Postwriting Your Novel](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-reviewing-your-manuscript-postwriting-your-novel/) - We've been talking about "debugging" your book -- about committing to a cover-to-cover review that will make up the first stage in your document's rewrite. With any luck you've had enough time by now to catch your breath. With any luck, opening up the book no longer feels you with the anxiety and frustration it
- [On Reviewing Your Manuscript: The Marble Statue (Once Again)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-reviewing-your-manuscript-the-marble-statue-once-again/) - I started the week with a story about learning to program, about learning the difference between typing computer code into a machine and actually writing a game. The difference (in case you skipped the story) is called "debugging." And that's where we are now with our novels. November's done, our first draft is done, and
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Twitter](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-twitter/) - I follow several writers on Twitter, and because I'm a fiend for collecting quotes, I've discovered Twitter's a source for oodles and gobs of great writing material. I would be remiss in my responsibilities if I didn't share some of that goboodled wealth with my precious inklings! So here ya go...
- [On Reviewing Your Manuscript: Videogames](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-reviewing-videogames/) - I started playing videogames at the age of six or seven. Within a year, I was programming them, too. Now that's not to say I was exercising my creative genius way back then. (Not in that medium, anyway.) No, my dad had a Commodore 64 and a subscription to Compute! magazine, which came with 5-10
- [On Revision: Follow Through](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-revision-follow-through/) - This week we're talking about what comes after NaNoWriMo. We're talking about looking ahead. We're talking about finishing a book and revising a book and being a writer. That's three different processes, but all of them share the same three core, critical steps: Write. Take stock. Follow through. November made you write. Yesterday I talked
- [On Revision: Take Stock](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-revision-take-stock/) - At this point, you've got my NaNoWriMo review, and you've got Courtney's, and if you're following any other writers' blogs (as you probably should be), you've got a lot more. NaNoWriMo is all about not looking ahead, and not looking back, but just looking right at the blinking cursor at the end of your document.
- [NaNoWriMo Update, Conclusion](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/nanowrimo-update-conclusion/) - I just finished a jolly good, pell-pell, crazed romp through November, wot wot. Somehow, I've emerged victorious from the jumble of letter, words, strikethroughs, wordcounts, agonized screams, cups of too-strong coffee, and zombie-induced mayhem. NaNoWriMo 2010 is over...
- [On Revision: NaNoWriMo 2010](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-revision-nanowrimo-2010/) - November's finally at an end. So far I've loved every NaNoWriMo I've participated in, and I've been intensely grateful when each one of them ended. It's part of the process. I had a good year in 2010. That sentence is true all on its own, but I mean it here particularly as a comment on
- [On Distraction: Finding Your Spot](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-distraction-finding-your-spot/) - This week we've been talking about writing setbacks, and the biggest setback of all: not wanting to write. It's part of the process, but that doesn't mean it's pleasant, and it certainly doesn't mean it's productive. (Alliteration is fun.) As I said yesterday, every writer occasionally feels that sense of ultimate distraction. It's a blinding
- [On Distraction: The Writer's Plight](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-distraction-the-writers-plight/) - This week I shared a story of a major writing setback when I outran my own scene list. I've also told stories before about losing pages, chapters, books. The writer's life is tragedy. Partly, that's because of the unpredictable nature of the process. Mostly, it's because writers spend so much of their time wallowing in
- [NaNoWriMo Update, Part 4](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/nanowrimo-update-part-4/) - I've been writing about zombies, so the details are gory. And I know some of my darlingest inklings don't care to read about pus, blood, and guts. So all you need to know is that I've had a fairly miserable writing week. But. Friday and Saturday, I did something that I knew I needed to do and that a conversation with the writing group reinforced to me that I needed to do...
- [On Distraction: My 3-for-1 Deal](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-distraction-my-3-for-1-deal/) - I'm a big believer in prewriting. I design my stories, building them with care before I even start writing. Somebody once said even the best battle plan only lasts until the first shot is fired (or something to that effect). It certainly applies to writing. Stories change in the telling. It's just part of the
- [Site Hosting and Downtime](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/site-hosting-and-downtime/) - I just wanted to share a little technical note. Unstressed Syllables is currently undergoing a little bit of site maintenance, so you might see some availability issues in the next week or so. I'm moving the site to a new webhost. We actually started last week, and it shouldn't take too long, but if you
- [On Persistence: Planning Ahead](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-persistence-planning-ahead/) - Yesterday we talked about the slow process of writing a book in a hurry. About achieving something great six months from now by doing something pathetic and tedious today. National Novel Writing Month is a crash course in precisely that process. It's something on the order of 20+ days of pathetic and tedious, crammed into
- [On Persistence: Worthless Words](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-persistence-worthless-words/) - This week I started with a story about trying to get started jogging again. I almost didn't post it. I felt like maybe it was a little too personal, and I wasn't sure you'd much care. But one of the things I'm learning as I study writing this fall is that good storytelling is always
- [NaNoWriMo Update, Part 3](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/nanowrimo-update-part-3/) - We are now in Week Three of NaNoWriMo, and because I enjoy not conforming, I've apparently picked Week Three in which to have my Week Two crisis. Nothing like frecking fashionably late into the party.
- [On Persistence: Walking Again](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-persistence-walking-again/) - It's been four and a half months since I talked about my passion for walking, and all the clear and obvious benefits I'd gotten from the simple act of going out every day and exercising. That was a popular post back then, and getting in that habit was one of the best things I've ever
- [On Determination: 6,000-word Days](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-determination-6000-word-days/) - I've said this before, but it bears repeating for some context. I'm a 3-time NaNoWriMo winner (although last year's probably deserves an asterisk, because I made up my own rules). 2009: 51,242 words (spread across three books and a short story) 2008: 60,080 words (Gods Tomorrow) 2007: 121,958 words (Sleeping Kings: The Shepherd) That's quite
- [On Determination: Understanding Scale](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-determination-understanding-scale/) - I talked on Tuesday about climbing mountains -- about facing and overcoming an arbitrary challenge in an arbitrary amount of time, just to become a better person. And now...welcome to NaNoWriMo Week Two. For the productive among us (or just the prepared) Week One was all about the pell-mell rush into productivity, and Week Two
- [NaNoWriMo Update, Part 2](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/nanowrimo-update-part-2/) - The infamous, oft-dreaded, murky march of NaNoWriMo Week Two is well underway. We cannot always see the path before us, and the songs are starting to fade to snatches of tune hummed nervously to the light of flickering torches...
- [On Determination: Wilderness Trek](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-determination-wilderness-trek/) - I once said that I used to try, at least once a year, to go skiing or mountain climbing. I'm finding my unwritten memory as unreliable as ever, but to my best recollection, I've climbed four mountains. Walker and Wheeler in New Mexico (both peaks a one-day climb out of Red River), and two more
- [On Inspiration: Making the Most of Week One](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-inspiration-making-the-most-of-week-one/) - Yesterday I talked about some of the pitfalls of chasing inspiration, and the importance of finishing projects. That might seem like a premature topic, less than a week into a month-long marathon, but Week One is the foundation or your noveling month. That's why I was thanking Courtney yesterday for her comments on Wednesday. She
- [On Inspiration: Gookstuhgraw!](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-inspiration-gookstuhgraw/) - I'm quite lucky to be surrounded by the kind of creative talent I am, and quite conniving to get all that talent working on my behalf. That's something I think (and am told) fairly often, but in this case it's because of yesterday's guest post. With no prompting whatsoever, Courtney wrote a perfect introduction to
- [NaNoWriMo Update, Part 1](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/nanowrimo-update-part-1/) - In which pre-writing is my BFF 4-EVAH.
- [On Inspiration: Category Fiction](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-inspiration-category-fiction/) - NaNoWriMo is always a busy time of year, even without the 50,000 word commitment, and as my fourth NaNoWriMo kicks into gear I find myself halfway through the first semester of a graduate degree at the University of Oklahoma. I'm taking "Writing the Screenplay" which requires me to write a feature-length movie by mid-December, and
- [On Scene Lists: What Your Story Needs](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-scene-lists-what-your-story-needs/) - We've been talking about long synopses and scene lists this week. Yesterday I went into some detail on what scene lists are for. Today I want to tell you how to write one. It shouldn't be hard, but it's definitely going to take some time and thought. So let's get started! Meat on the Bones
- [On Scene Lists: Building a Novel](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-scene-lists-building-a-novel/) - This week, your big NaNoWriMo prewriting assignment is to develop a long synopsis, or scene list. I've talked before about writing a plot synopsis (and all its various forms), and tucked in there is a brief description of a scene list: A scene list is primarily useful as a prewriting or editing tool. It forces
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Disappointing Reads](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-disappointing-reads/) - I’m a quitter. I’ll admit it. I’ve decided that I don’t have time to finish books I’m not enjoying. Over the last month, I have picked up and almost immediately set down again two novels in particular...
- [On Scene Lists: Complications](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-scene-lists-complications/) - As my sister so kindly pointed out, I've fallen a bit behind on the blog posts lately. And that's after cutting my weekly commitment by half. I still mostly blame schoolwork, but that's really just my temporary excuse. Give me a week, and I'll be able to blame NaNoWriMo for a full month. After that...well,
- [On Narrative Scenes: Writing a Scene](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-narrative-scenes-writing-a-scene/) - This week we're talking about narrative scenes -- the storytelling elements that clarify your characters and progress your plot. How Scenes Work As I said yesterday, every scene in your story must move your story forward. That can consistent of character-building, occasionally, and really only in the first act, but in most genres you want
- [On Narrative Scenes: Choosing Your Scenes](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-narrative-scenes-choosing-your-scenes/) - This month we're reviewing all the parts and processes that go into developing a story. Our goal is to put together a complete prewriting package to do some of the heavy lifting for you when it comes time to write a novel in November. So far, if you've been following along, you have Characters, you
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Making New Writing Friends](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-making-new-writing-friends/) - Once upon a time, there was a highly intelligent, gifted young writer who lived in a far away land and didn't have any writing friends...
- [On Narrative Scenes: My Best Break-Up](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-narrative-scenes-my-best-break-up/) - I'm not at all sure it's a good idea to tell this story. No one's ever called me "discerning," though. So I'm going to tell it anyway. I've spent most of my life trying (successfully, for the most part) to win the love of the woman who most loves Gods Tomorrow. That's a writer's fairytale,
- [On the Conflict Resolution Cycle: The CRC Worksheet](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-the-conflict-resolution-cycle-the-crc-worksheet/) - Okay, for a week now I've been talking about the Conflict Resolution Cycle worksheet. It's a questionnaire/assignment I cooked up a couple years back to force a writer through the questions necessary to convert a story idea into an actual narrative. Most of the questions explain themselves, so instead of opening with a big long
- [On the Conflict Resolution Cycle: Designing a Narrative](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-the-conflict-resolution-cycle-designing-a-narrative/) - Earlier this week I told a story. It was one I had to tell, under the circumstances. On the day I launched Gods Tomorrow to the public, you'd better bet I was going to talk about my novel. It works well as an illustration for the writing principles I want to talk about this week,
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Seeing a Friend Get Published](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-seeing-a-friend-get-published/) - I've just returned home from a celebration honoring a guy you might have heard about before. His name is Aaron Pogue, and he is a published author...
- [On the Conflict Resolution Cycle: Gods Tomorrow](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-the-conflict-resolution-cycle-gods-tomorrow/) - A week and a half ago -- Friday, October 1 -- I was at work when I got a call from Trish. She could barely talk, she was so excited. She finally found the words, though. "Aaron...a package just arrived. I think it's your book." I wanted to shout, "Well what are you waiting for?!"
- [On Narrative Structure: The Mock Table of Contents](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-narrative-structure-the-mock-table-of-contents/) - Okay, October is already washing out from under us like sand in the surf, right? Next thing we know, we're going to be caught in an undercurrent and sweeping toward Christmas without a lifeguard in sight. (I may have gotten lost in my metaphor there.) That's okay. I don't know how closely you looked at
- [On Narrative Structure: Outlines](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-narrative-structure-outlines/) - On Tuesday I told the story of the time I learned why I was such an awful baseball player: I only learned after it was over that I was severely nearsighted. I suspect my lone experience with team sports would have gone a lot differently if I'd played the season in glasses. I'll never know,
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Observation, Redux](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-observation-redux/) - Watch them when they don't know you're watching.
- [On Narrative Structure: Timing](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-narrative-structure-timing/) - I mentioned before that I grew up with no great love for team sports. To some extent that was inevitable, as I spent my early years living on a little country farm -- my closest playmates a mile and a half down a dirt road, and neither of them my age. I learned to love
- [New Weekly Schedule](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/new-weekly-schedule/) - Well, as I said last Thursday, in light of my ridiculously busy fall schedule, I've been toying with the idea of dropping my weekly Technical Writing series here at Unstressed Syllables. At the same time, I said I thought I'd probably have last week's series for you this week. I don't. I received a proof
- [On Prewriting: Assignments](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-prewriting-assignments/) - Yesterday I talked about the benefits of prewriting when it comes to your NaNoWriMo novel, and I listed some of the assignments I like to go through (and give out). In the coming month I'll go into pretty close detail on the most important ones -- the ones I haven't already covered, anyway. The ones
- [On Prewriting: A Schedule](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-prewriting-a-schedule/) - This month I've been talking about NaNoWriMo, and how I bullied my dad and sister into writing their first novels, and my own glorious experience writing Gods Tomorrow a couple years back. There's nothing quite like the thrill of writing a novel. Well...actually, that's not true. There's definitely another thrill that matches it: Holding a
- [On Prewriting: The Story of GODS TOMORROW](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-prewriting-the-story-of-gods-tomorrow/) - You may or may not have missed it, but I didn't post a Tech Writing series this week (Sunday-Tuesday). That wasn't deliberate -- and I apologize for ending last week's series with a promise of information that didn't get delivered. I'll probably go ahead and post that series next week. That'll probably be the last
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Zombies](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-zombies/) - Zombie stories aren’t about scary grossness -- they’re about characters. The survivors and how they overcome or succumb to hardship: that is what zombie stories are about. And that, gentle readers, is what each of our stories should be about, no matter what our chosen genre...
- [On Reading Like a Writer: How to Write within Your Genre](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-reading-like-a-writer-how-to-write-within-your-genre/) - This week we're talking about becoming a better writer through your reading, and yesterday I talked about a college class I'm taking on that very topic. So far we've read How to Train Your Dragon, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, The Cinderella Deal, and First Lady. I don't really read much young adult
- [On Reading Like a Writer: Every Page Counts](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-reading-like-a-writer-every-page-counts/) - I've got to make an admission before I get too far into this topic, because there are just too many of you who know me in real life. I don't really read a lot. Well...not a lot of books, anyway. I'm sure I spend 80% of my waking hours reading, but it's far more likely
- [On Reading Like a Writer: Better than Expected](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-reading-like-a-writer-better-than-expected/) - It's time for another post about my dad. Before we dive in, let's have a brief review: He's an accomplished debater, and wins every fight with sheer Dadness He's always been a natural storyteller He spent a long time wanting to write a book, and I spent a long time telling him he should Today's
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Georges Polti](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-georges-polti/) - Georges Polti's The thirty-Six Dramatic Situations serves as interesting reference material because of his basic premise: that there’s no such thing as an original plot. Humankind exhausted its store of fresh, new situations long ago; “there is nothing new under the sun...”
- [On Document Style: How to Use Section Breaks in Microsoft Word](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-style-how-to-use-section-breaks-in-microsoft-word-2/) - Here we go again, diving back into Microsoft Word and the murky world of section breaks with the next-to-last week in our month-long look at professional document formatting. This week we've been talking about page setup, and -- like headers and footers and text columns before -- page setup is a per-section setting. Changing Orientation
- [On Document Style: Page Layout](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-style-page-layout/) - I started yesterday with a story about getting the most out of every page of my scribblebook. These day I actually do something pretty similar at work, twisting and reflowing thousand-page instruction books in an effort to shave printing costs while maintaining as much usability as possible. Your tax dollars at work. Paper Size One
- [On Document Style: My First Scribblebook](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-style-my-first-scribblebook/) - I've waxed romantic around here before about scribblebooks, but that's always been late in the week when I was talking to my creative writers. Scribblebooks are great for the Art School types, but they don't have a lot of appeal for serious business writers. And actually...I complain sometimes about my day job, but I've always
- [On Needing to Write: How to Write When You Really Don’t Want To](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-needing-to-write-how-to-write-when-you-really-dont-want-to/) - This week I've been talking about my experience with National Novel Writing Month in 2007. Thursday featured a big bragging story about my 120,000-word month, and yesterday I gave some useful advice about how to handle too much of a good thing. Nobody's really coming here looking for advice about that, though, are they? Too
- [On Needing to Write: Feeding the Hunger](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-needing-to-write-feeding-the-hunger/) - I talked yesterday about my amazingly successful first NaNoWriMo -- in terms of word count, anyway. It's hard for me to give myself too much credit for the book, though. It's still in its first draft state, and sitting in limbo as the third book in a four-part series that's still missing a decent introduction,
- [On Needing to Write: My First NaNoWriMo](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-needing-to-write-my-first-nanowrimo/) - Last week I haunted you all with threats of the pending National Novel Writing Month, stating a little prematurely that "Next month, you're going to write a novel." I watched (and even commented on) your public reactions to that claim, and some of you were rightly terrified at the time investment looming oh-so-near. Others of
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Sybil and Dexter](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-sybil-and-dexter/) - Part of my joy in writing has always been finding out what makes people tick and integrating that knowledge into my characters. I also wanted to use my talents to help others, so psychology seemed a great fit. Much to my dismay, I discovered fairly early on that to pursue this vocation to its fullest, I would need at least a master’s degree, if not a doctorate...
- [On Document Style: How to Use Section Breaks in Microsoft Word](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-style-how-to-use-section-breaks-in-microsoft-word/) - No, you're not mistaken -- that's a title you've seen before. It was the title of the application article on my last Document Style series, and it'll probably be the title of the third article in next week's, too. Because that's what we're doing. Whether you're trying to manage text columns, headers and footers, or
- [On Document Style: Headers and Footers](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-style-headers-and-footers/) - Yesterday I told a story about Annabelle playing pretend, whether that meant announcing herself to be a ferocious dragon to scare off things that go bump, or an innocent young babe to get away with outright disobedience. Either way, there's magic in a little bit of delusion. And if you read the article when it
- [On Document Style: Declaring Your Variables](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-style-declaring-your-variables/) - As I'm sure all three-year-olds do, our precious little Annabelle has an incredible imagination, and she puts it to great use. As a storyteller, of course, I've cherished every moment of that. Or...well, nearly all of them. I don't know if I've mentioned it here, but one of my proudest moments as a father so
- [On NaNoWriMo: How to Get the Most Out of National Novel Writing Month](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-nanowrimo-how-to-get-the-most-out-of-national-novel-writing-month/) - Hmm...I seem to have started something of a panic among those of you who already know NaNoWriMo. Take a deep breath. You've got a month and a half still before you're even supposed to start. I started discussing it now for those who haven't done it before, though. It can take some convincing, especially if
- [On NaNoWriMo: Writing a Book](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-nanowrimo-writing-a-book/) - Yesterday I told you how I bullied my dad and older sister into writing their first novels. I'm pretty sure both of them would jump at the chance to thank me for it. I can't do that for you. I'm going to do my best to try -- as Unstressed Syllables lumbers toward its first
- [On NaNoWriMo: Next Month, You're Going to Write a Novel](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-nanowrimo-next-month-youre-going-to-write-a-novel/) - I've talked before about my miserable years in Tulsa, and how they coincided with my failed efforts to shop my novel to publishers. Essentially, I spent my first year out of college rewriting Taming Fire, and then my second year shopping it around. Now, while I was shopping that novel, I did what every writer
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week...from Stephenie Meyer (sort of)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-stephenie-meyer-sort-of/) - I am technologically illiterate. I am not up on the latest gadgets, gizmos, whizgigs, and whatsits. Facebook was around a good five years before I even heard of it, and I resisted Twitter for as long as I possibly could. Printer cables mystify me... So when this fellow writer, she of the sparkly vegetarian blood-suckers, confronted me with this alien creature known as playlist.com, I almost didn’t know what to do with myself...
- [Holiday Weekend](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/holiday-weekend/) - I hope you'll forgive me, but between the start of classes (and a major paper and presentation already due on Thursday), and family plans for the holiday weekend, I've elected to grant myself a 3-day weekend here at Unstressed Syllables. This week's Tech Writing article on headers and footers in Microsoft Word, will run next
- [On Writing What You Know: How to Write What You Know](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-writing-what-you-know-how-to-write-what-you-know/) - This week I stopped complaining about restrictive writing rules in favor of more generous advice. It's really a continuation of the same theme, though. Write what you know. and Tell your readers what they need to know. The trick to both of those, really, is knowing what you know (and, of course, what you need
- [On Writing What You Know: You're Not Too Boring to Tell a Story](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-writing-what-you-know-youre-not-too-boring-to-tell-a-story/) - Yesterday I told the story of my second novel...again. I'm well aware that I've talked about that book several times around here (and I'm certain I will again). In fact, the last time I mentioned it previously, I described it like this: The Poet Alexander is basically the 180,000-word story of my adolescence, chronicling my
- [On Writing What You Know: High School](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-writing-what-you-know-high-school/) - I wrote my first novel in high school, and it was a very high school sort of book. I spent a lot of time back then priding myself on being above the stupid high school drama going on all around me...and, of course, I was completely full of it. I've already introduced you to Trish.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Sestinas](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-sestinas/) - ...After I read Aaron’s comment, I realized that here, at Unstressed Syllables, I have, in fact, not been talking about sestinas at all. What a horrid oversight on my part. I do believe it’s high time I rectified this. At first glance, a sestina is nothing more than a rhyming poem of six six-line stanzas with a tercet...
- [On Document Styles: How to Use Section Breaks in Microsoft Word](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-styles-how-to-use-section-breaks-in-microsoft-word/) - I spent yesterday explaining why technical writers use text columns, providing some specific examples along the way. What I didn't provide was any kind of instructions. I hope to remedy that today. I'm going to walk you through the basics of setting up columns in Microsoft Word. Setting Up a Columned Layout The easiest way
- [On Document Style: Text Columns](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/2473/) - Yesterday's story about carving out the blackberry bush, while carefully leaving load-bearing columns in the heart of it, would make for an excellent post on document structure. Wouldn't it? Maybe I'll have to tell it again sometime when you're not looking.... Today I want to talk about a different type of columns, though: text columns,
- [On Document Style: Building Forts](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-style-building-forts/) - I've used today's photo before, but it's so adorable I just had to drag it out again. That's not the only reason, of course. It's also incredibly appropriate to the story I want to tell. I don't know if it's readily apparent in that image, but we were building a fort in that photo. I
- [On Visual Storytelling: How to Write a Visual Scene](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-visual-storytelling-how-to-write-a-visual-scene/) - With all these posts lately on writing rules, I'm becoming quite the party pooper, aren't I? That's no fun. My goal isn't to limit you as a writer, though -- it's to help you grow as a storyteller. Yesterday's discussion of late attribution and flickering perspective was meant to help you spot the really cool
- [On Visual Storytelling: The Camera Lies](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-visual-storytelling-the-camera-lies/) - Yesterday I told a story about a high school ski trip that ended with a Goofy-esque pratfall on the slopes at Aspen, Colorado. It was one of those moments too perfect to believe, and I've cherished it in my memory ever since. A couple years ago I got to relive the experience when Dad shared
- [On Visual Storytelling: Aspen Extreme](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-visual-storytelling-aspen-extreme/) - Hmm...I really need to tell the story of the time I played Little League baseball. That's not today's tale, but it's one worth telling. Suffice it to say, for now, that it ended catastrophically, and that at the tender age of six or seven, the end was enough to obliterate any interest in team sports
- [WIHTLAWriTWe...from You](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/wihtlawritwe-from-you/) - It's your turn! Get into the commenting action and treat us to a writing tidbit you've picked up recently. Tell us the tale of writing battles past, whether you fought and won or fought and learned...
- [On Text Editing: How to Modify HTML and CSS in EditPad Pro](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-text-editing-how-to-modify-html-and-css-in-editpad-pro/) - Yesterday I took some time to try to tell you what's so great about the humble text editor. Or, more to the point, what it has to offer us as writers. There's a trick I mentioned in passing, and I feel like I should bring it up again just to make sure you pick up
- [On Text Editing: Getting to Know Your Notepad](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-text-editing-getting-to-know-your-notepad/) - I started this series with a story about the time I color-coded myself, and some poetic language about the value of color-coding in a text editor. I also mentioned "Notepad" as a text editor, but that was probably unnecessarily misleading. I'm not talking about Microsoft's built-in Notepad tool, here. I'm not even talking about Wordpad,
- [On Text Editing: My Colors](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-text-editing-my-colors/) - I grew up surrounded by books. Despite my mom's best efforts to find room for critical necessities like furniture and open doorways, my dad has managed to pack an amazing number of books into every livingspace he's ever called home. For eighteen years, those included mine. And for many of those years, I considered his
- [On Writing Rules: How to Build Suspense the Right Way](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-writing-rules-how-to-build-suspense-the-right-way/) - As Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe have both toiled to teach us, suspense in storytelling mostly comes from the things you don't say. However, as I pointed out yesterday, every storyteller has a stern obligation to provide readers with everything they need to know to understand what's going on. Walking the thin line between
- [On Writing Rules: Creating Suspense without Your Abusing Readers](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-writing-rules-building-suspense-without-abusing-your-readers/) - Yesterday I told the story of a math teacher who kept me in suspense, and ultimately spared me the nightmare of taking more math classes. I also talked about how little I liked math in the first place because it was just a set of soulless rules. And then I promised you another creative writing
- [On Writing Rules: Waiting](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-writing-rules-waiting/) - Not too long ago, I unleashed some pretty harsh words on math. (If you don't feel like following the link, the harsh words were "dang you.") I didn't excel at math in high school -- not because I didn't get it, but because I didn't care. With the strange exception of factoring polynomials, I was
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Stephen King, Redux](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-stephen-king-redux/) - Above all, the first draft of a story is meant to be an icky, gloopy mess. And when you’ve completed it, you do, indeed, have an honest-to-gobstoppers gen-yoo-ine story on your hands. But. You still need to shape that amorphous blob of words into something approachable, let alone digestible, for anyone else. And that is where your toolbox comes in...
- [On Getting Better: How to Write in the Deep End](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-getting-better-how-to-write-in-the-deep-end/) - So...a conversation that started out with my gross negligence as a father has now become an essay on expertise. I guess I'm telling you to fake it 'til you make it. The sentiment has been much on my mind recently, as I just finished reading No Plot, No Problem, the NaNoWriMo handbook. It's heavy on
- [On Getting Better: Writing in the Deep End](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-getting-better-writing-in-the-deep-end/) - Yesterday I told a story about throwing my daughter into the deep end of the pool. It wasn't intentional, but it was astonishingly effective. Funny enough, I'd been thinking about that metaphor a lot lately. In the last year I've been thrown into the deep end at work, building incredibly challenging documents on impossible deadlines
- [On Getting Better: In Too Deep](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-getting-better-in-too-deep/) - I've been bragging recently about my daughter's early education. (Joyful, joyful! The girl is learning to read!) We've also been trying to teach her some other skills -- things like self-control, critical thinking, and fingerpainting. Last weekend, though, it was too hot to spend any time time learning (or teaching, for that matter). Summer has
- [On Story Structure: How to Design and Write a Plot Point](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-story-structure-how-to-design-and-write-a-plot-point/) - Yesterday I explained why you need to know the plot points in your work-in-progress. If you use them right, they can make your story easier to tell and for more compelling to read. Design a Plot Point Like most aspects of writing, all that power and convenience while you're writing comes directly from the amount
- [On Story Structure: What is a Plot Point?](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-story-structure-what-is-a-plot-point/) - Yesterday I told a story about my rites of passage, about the moments in my life when I grew up. They were turning points in my personal history, and both of them significantly changed my plot. Today I want to tell you a little bit about the ways writers capture that slice of the human
- [On Story Structure: Buried Treasure](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-story-structure-buried-treasure/) - I've talked before about arguments I lost to my dad (the expert debater) back in high school. I can vividly remember the last of those. Well...not the last argument I lost to my dad (which is, God willing, still many, many years in the future), but the last argument I lost in high school. It
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Drawing Trees](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-weekfrom-drawing-trees/) - Last month, I spent an indeterminate, yet still large number of hours drawing trees for Julie of Julie V. Photography... The experience left me ruminating upon some of the clear parallel between my drawing craft and my writing craft. Gather 'round, my dearest inklings, and I shall share with you the wisdom the aforementioned parallel doth impart...
- [On Programming Language: Diving into Python](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-programming-language-diving-into-python/) - This week I'm talking about scripted solutions and the power of programming for a writer. I know it might sound intimidating, but learning a programming language isn't that much harder than learning any other kind language, and in the same way, some are easier than others. I almost want to say, "Learning Python is like
- [On Programming Language: The Advantage of Scripted Solutions](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-programming-language-the-advantage-of-scripted-solutions/) - Writers are not naturally programmers. I'm certainly aware of that. In fact, I resisted becoming one for years even though all my friends were. When I finally broke down and accepted some lessons from my friend Toby, though, it changed the way I approach everything I do on the computer. Some tasks require a lot
- [On Programming Language: Asterisks](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-programming-language-asterisks/) - Last fall I walked into my first ever teaching experience, with that junior-level Technical Writing course at Oklahoma Christian University that I've mentioned a time or two. I faced a room full of Computer Science and Information Systems students who were all within sight of their graduation, and faced with the first English class they'd
- [On Writing Rules: How to Maintain Verisimilitude](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-writing-rules-how-to-maintain-verisimilitude/) - This week I'm talking about inviolable writing rules (and ranting against the storytelling in The Da Vinci Code). Yesterday I provided a list of rules that I said you should never break, then I admitted that most books break at least one of those, and I closed by saying, "Well, fine, you can break any
- [On Writing Rules: Fair Play in Storytelling](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-writing-rules-fair-play-in-storytelling/) - Okay, first things first, I keep forgetting that I've got readers who have never taken a Creative Writing class. If you missed out on that (and, I guess, Latin classes too), then yesterday's post ended with a much more mysterious cliffhanger than I intended. And, worse, I'm not actually going to get into detail on
- [On Writing Rules: Watching Trish Watch The Da Vinci Code](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-writing-rules-watching-trish-watch-the-da-vinci-code/) - One lazy Saturday a couple months ago I emerged from a couple hours of writing in the office to find Trish sitting on the couch in the living room watching The Da Vinci Code. She'd seen it before -- I'm pretty sure I went to see it at the theater with her -- and she's
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Sewing](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-weekfrom-sewing/) - We of the storytelling craft often use the term “thread” when discussing the thematic elements that hold our tale together. It’s a perfect metaphor, because we do, indeed, weave those elements in and out of the plot, binding characters and events together into a unified whole. But problems arise during the weaving because we use the wrong threads...
- [On Getting It Right: How to Write a Grant Application](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-getting-it-right-how-to-write-a-grant-application/) - I've been investigating document types for a while now, and this week I've been talking about grant writing -- the common name used for writing grant applications. It's enough of a complicated process that it does have its own name (albeit a slightly confusing one). It's not that writing grant applications is puzzling. Virtually every
- [On Getting It Right: Grant Applications](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-getting-it-right-grant-applications/) - Yesterday I told a story about my little girl learning to read. She hasn't got the patience to read a whole block of text yet, though. She'll start at the beginning, and if she doesn't recognize the first word, she says, "I can't read this page!" And that's it. She pushes the book away and
- [On Getting It Right: Oh Look, Annabelle! See Max?](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-getting-it-right-oh-look-annabelle-see-max/) - When my daughter was born, everyone told me she was adorable. When she started smiling, everyone said she was charming. When she started crawling (early for her age), everyone said she was so smart! I kept waiting. She was a wonderful baby, and I was awfully proud of her when she fell off the couch,
- [On Art: How to Join the Consortium](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-art-how-to-join-the-consortium/) - So there you have it. The Consortium, in all its glory. It took me a month of posts to make the case for it (and right at my 800-word limit just to share the executive summary of my business plan yesterday), but I hope among them all you've got a pretty good idea what my
- [On Art: Supporting the Artists to Support the Arts](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-art-supporting-the-artists-to-support-the-arts/) - The Consortium is an Oklahoma City-based non-profit organization that provides serious, talented artists with all the benefits of a traditional career path, so they can afford the time necessary to perfect their craft, and produce high-quality artwork for the public. Our Business The Consortium is founded on the systems of patronage and master craftsmanship that
- [On Art: The Academy of the Arts](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-art-the-academy-of-the-arts/) - I've said several times that I started writing when I was twelve. While I was in eighth grade I finished a first novel, The Scorekeeper, which is tragically lost to the sands of time. My next effort, though, is preserved in all its emo glory. The Poet Alexander is basically the 180,000-word story of my
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Dean Koontz and Kevin J. Anderson](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-weekfrom-dean-koontz-and-kevin-j-anderson/) - That title might be slightly misleading. Mr. Koontz's and Mr. Anderson's writing is, indeed, the foundation upon which this particular article rests. But there are several additional authors whose works would make great building blocks for the ideas I'll endeavor to convey to you today. I'll mention some of them later. But Dean Koontz's Frankenstein
- [On Document Types: How to Write a Sales Plan](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-types-how-to-write-a-sales-plan/) - This week I'm diving into document types with a case study in sales pitches and business plans. Yesterday I talked about the purpose of a business proposal and gave you a brief glimpse at the people who will be reading it. Today I'm supposed to tell you how to actually write one. The good news
- [On Document Types: Building a Business Plan](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-types-building-a-business-plan/) - Yesterday I talked about my incredibly depressing sales pitch for the Consortium, which has somehow achieved a 100% conversion rate.... I can't promise you those kind of results, but I do want to teach you how to build a business plan of your own. Finding Firm Foundations Last week I told you that my first
- [On Document Types: A Sales Pitch](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/2108/) - If you've been paying attention this month, you can clearly see I'm building up to something. It's a business model, a major social change, a grand vision. In other words, it's a daydream and a penniless non-profit. It's a good daydream, though, and it attracts amazing people like moths to a flame. Seriously, I've watched
- [On Patronage: How to Become a Master Artist](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-patronage-how-to-become-a-master-artist/) - All month I've been talking about how to get paid for your writing, and this week I'm talking about how things were done in the crude, primitive days of yore -- such as, for instance, the astonishing beauty of the masterworks made in the high Renaissance. That age of high artistry wasn't an accident. It
- [On Patronage: Patrons, Artists, and the Public Renaissance](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-patronage-patrons-artists-and-the-public-renaissance/) - Yesterday I told the charming story of my opportunity to become a full-time artist on the charity of a noble patron. It was an arrangement built on bad information, but without it, you'd probably have one fewer writing advice blogs to help put you to sleep. You certainly wouldn't have this month's creative writing series
- [On Patronage: Kris Austin](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-patronage-kris-austin/) - There's nothing quite as motivating to an artist as having someone say, "I'll pay you to create art. That's what you're supposed to be doing." Meet my patron.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Being an Expert](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-being-an-expert/) - When a friend of mine asked me what he should do about his writer's block, I thrilled at the chance to help out a fellow writer while re-teaching myself a very needed lesson. My answer to his query went something like this...
- [On Document Templates: Searching for Sample Docs](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-templates-searching-for-sample-docs/) - One of the best things you can do to improve any technical document you're writing is compare and contrast against good documents of the same type. Here's how.
- [On Document Templates: Finding Firm Foundations](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-templates-finding-firm-foundations/) - You've heard of document templates before, but what do they really do? Get to know the moving parts, and you'll learn how to interpret (and use) new templates.
- [On Document Templates: The Wall that Made Me Sad](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-templates-the-wall-that-made-me-sad/) - I made a fake image in Photoshop--my fantasy world map hanging above the mantle in a fancy frame--and it reveals a surprising amount about document templates.
- [On the Public Domain: How to Use Free Art in Your Writing](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-the-public-domain-how-to-use-free-art-in-your-writing/) - Free art provides opportunities for artists to effectively illustrate new works, but it also provides an incredible opportunity for new creative expression.
- [On the Public Domain: The Value of Free Art](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-the-public-domain-the-value-of-free-art/) - Copyright is a new concept. For most of human history, artists have borrowed from each other to develop and learn their crafts. Get to know the public domain.
- [On the Public Domain: Twilight…and Vampires!](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-the-public-domain-twilight-and-vampires/) - For Memorial Day this year, we threw a big party. Actually...I should rephrase that. For Memorial Day this year, my wife threw a big party. All I did was mow the lawn, and that begrudgingly. She was still kind enough to invite me, though. Anyway, it was a bit of a last-minute thing, but we
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Words](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-words/) - When you write, you are negotiating a connection with your readers. You're taking your idea, converting it into written language, and presenting it in words you want your readers to understand. If you don't choose your words wisely, that understanding won't take place. You won't forge the connection...
- [On Word Count: How Long Should It Be?](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-word-count-how-long-should-it-be/) - We spend a lot of time talking about word count, but what number is a good number? It depends on your genre, topic, style, and audience, but here are some tips.
- [On Word Count: Why Writers Care about Word Count](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-word-count-why-writers-care-about-word-count/) - People in the writing world--writers, editors, and publishers--are all obsessed with word count, and for good reason. It allows us to compare and to plan ahead.
- [On Word Count: e-Reading Ivanhoe](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-word-count-e-reading-ivanhoe/) - I sat down to read the last little bit of Ivanhoe as an e-Book, and was surprised to learn later that the "last little bit" was over a hundred pages long.
- [On Copyright: How to Protect Your (C) (and Why You Shouldn't)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-copyright-how-to-protect-your-c-and-why-you-shouldnt/) - This week we're talking about getting paid for your writing, and yesterday I mentioned that copyright was originally created to promote creative expression -- that basically the government established an artificial monopoly to an intangible good, and they back it up with (legal) force. They earnestly believed a system like that would encourage young people
- [On Copyright: How Copyright Works](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-copyright-how-copyright-works/) - Yesterday I talked a little bit about how I got paid to write -- both the method that paid me $200 to do something fun, and the method that has paid me...well, considerably more to do something tedious and practical. And, really, that's the issue. It's easy for my bosses to evaluate the value of my documentation
- [On Copyright: Eschaton](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-copyright-eschaton/) - I've already told the sad story of how I graduated, gave up on my dream, and took a day job. I've also since admitted that it wasn't really all that bad, thanks to some dedicated friends -- including one who came to Tulsa to work with me. That was Toby, and before he came to
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Jeff Long](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-jeff-long/) - As of this writing, I am just over halfway through The Descent by Jeff Long. ...Don't expect Verne-esque dinosaurs and giant mushrooms; Long's below-ground world is more reminiscent of a place where Gollum might feel at home...
- [On Microsoft Word Styles: How to Generate a Table of Contents](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-microsoft-word-styles-how-to-generate-a-toc-and-smart-headers/) - This week we've been talking about styles in Microsoft Word, and I've been promising for two days that setting up your styles would pay off when you got to make a Table of Contents. I won't make you wait any longer. That wouldn't be fair. Also...well, this is going to be a little involved, and
- [On Microsoft Word Styles: Using and Customizing Paragraph Styles](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-microsoft-word-styles-using-and-customizing-paragraph-styles/) - Yesterday I told the story of a time I demonstrated the raw, unrestrained power of paragraph styles in Microsoft Word. In case you don't want to go back and read that, it amounted to a gasp and what was probably a sarcastic comment. Even so, paragraph styles are quite cool. Before you can see their
- [On Microsoft Word Styles: “You Cheated!”](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-microsoft-word-styles-you-cheated/) - It can take some effort to get your styles set up right, but as my Tech Writing students learned last fall, once that's done, you can do magic in MS Word.
- [On Writing in Drafts: How to Finish Writing a Novel](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-writing-in-drafts-how-to-finish-writing-a-novel/) - People are creatures of habit, and that includes writers. Distraction is a habit. So is daily writing. Which pattern are you caught in, and which do you want?
- [On Writing in Drafts: Rough Drafts and Good Foundations](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-writing-in-drafts-rough-drafts-and-good-foundations/) - Good stories don't have to start with a perfect foundation or rigorous prewriting. Even the ugliest rough drafts can be fixed, if you adopt some healthy habits.
- [On Writing in Drafts: Starting with Purpose](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-writing-in-drafts-starting-with-purpose/) - I've admitted recently that I'm a little broken, but I'm getting better. After years of living with crippling anxiety, I finally started trying to improve.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from the Kitten.](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-the-kitten/) - In its early stages, say, the first couple drafts, your story is rambunctious. You try to impose limits on it, but it's mostly out of your control, skittering hither and yon and making a complete nuisance of itself...
- [On HTML Heading Styles: How to Export Your Google Docs Beautifully](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-html-heading-styles-how-to-export-your-google-docs-beautifully/) - When you use standard HTML styles in Google Docs properly, it's incredibly easy to change your document's format to match a publisher's submission guidelines.
- [On HTML Heading Styles: How to Customize Paragraph Styles in Google Docs](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-html-heading-styles-how-to-customize-paragraph-styles-in-google-docs/) - Yesterday I told you about BookMaker and the publishing model I built on Google Docs heading styles. Maybe my account made it all feel a little grandiose (and I haven't even gotten started telling you about my long-term plans), but really what I described is the whole point of templates and standard styles: generalization. If
- [On HTML Heading Styles: A BookMaker Story](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-html-heading-styles-a-bookmaker-story/) - Once or twice now I've mentioned the program I wrote to grab my Google Docs novels and cram them into Word templates so I could pretty them up for submission. That was a fairly humble little Python script that I ran on my laptop maybe five or ten times. When Courtney asked me to help
- [On Style: Master Your Writing Style](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-style-master-your-writing-style/) - As I was getting to know Julie Roads through her blog, I remember a couple relatively innocuous or offhand comments that stuck out to me. That's one of the strange things about blogging -- you never know where a reader's going to start. So it's easy to make an offhand reference to something you may
- [On Style: Deconstructing the Blogstory Style](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-style-deconstructing-the-blogstory-style/) - The blogstory is powerful writing, a carefully-crafted experience that's the perfect marriage of storytelling and the blog environment. Julie Roads has it down.
- [On Style: Julie Roads, e-Friend #2](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-style-julie-roads-e-friend-2/) - I went looking for a good place to advertise my blog, and accidentally discovered an astonishingly good writer and, ultimately, a new friend. Meet Julie Roads.
- [On Markup Languages: How to Use Heading Styles](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-markup-languages-how-to-use-heading-styles/) - This week I'm talking about document formatting through markup, and specifically the difference between applying labeled styles to your document and just using formatting effects. When you do it right, a little bit of work beforehand can make all your writing easier. If you've set up a WordPress blog, you've probably seen this in effect.
- [On Markup Languages: Labels vs. Effects](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-markup-languages-labels-vs-effects/) - Yesterday I talked about my social anxiety and how it broke me. And I promised that it had applications to tech writing. The problem I ran into was that I could clearly, directly see the effects in my life without so much as a clue what the causes were. That's pretty typical of anxiety. It's
- [On Markup Languages: My Crisis of Faith](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-markup-languages-my-crisis-of-faith/) - Years ago my lifelong faith faltered because of effects in my life that I couldn't explain. Here's how a simple label fixed me, and can fix your writing, too.
- [On Story Structure: Guiding Your Readers to the End](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-story-structure-guiding-your-readers-to-the-end/) - Good storytelling, just like a good maze, has to have a path from start to end. You don't have to make it obvious, but make sure readers can find a way through.
- [On Story Structure: What a Maze Can Teach You about Fixing Rough Drafts](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-story-structure-what-a-maze-can-teach-you-about-fixing-rough-drafts/) - When I was young I spent a year learning to draw mazes, and found a strong parallel to writing. It's all about structure, decoration, and a clear path through.
- [On Story Structure: Ariadne's Thread](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/maze-can-teach-about-fixing-rough-drafts/) - I've tried my hand at drawing mazes, and it's a tough gig. It takes skill (and a few clever tricks) to make challenging mazes without succumbing to the tedium.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Trusting My Brain](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-trusting-my-brain/) - Don’t trust your brain – your brain’s not trustworthy. It’s got too much going on in it already. It’s trying to remember to pick your kids up from school or to balance your checkbook or to call your mother. You can’t expect it to remember brilliant flashes of creativity...
- [On Document Outlines: How to Use the Standard Outline Format](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-outlines-how-to-use-the-standard-outline-format/) - Write a strong blog post, essay, or book by perfecting your document structure. The easiest way to do that is with a formal outline. Here are the rules.
- [On Document Outlines: Visualizing Underlying Structure](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-outlines-visualizing-underlying-structure/) - Yesterday I told a terrifying story about someone who used the outline format as a vicious weapon. Even without experiencing that trauma, many of us find outlines intimidating (or, at best, tedious). When you learn how to use them, though -- and if you only outline when you really need to -- a good document
- [On Document Outlines: My Great Debate](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-document-outlines-my-great-debate/) - The value of a well-made outline is keeping you on topic. An outline isn't just a summary, it's a structure, a map of the relationships between ideas. That's incredibly valuable when you're trying to perfect a document, because it lets you see how each piece of it is connected to the document's purpose (and by how far removed).
- [On Serial Fiction: How to Write a Serial Novel](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-serial-fiction-how-to-write-a-serial-novel/) - Ready to try your hand at serial publication? I've got some tips on getting the most out of it, and some easy places to get started.
- [On Serial Fiction: A Brief History](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-serial-fiction-a-brief-history/) - Some of the great works of Western Literature were written as serial novels, and there are valuable lessons for any storyteller to gain from that style.
- [On Serial Fiction: Unkilling Athelstane](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/on-serial-fiction-unkilling-athelstane/) - Writing serial fiction can teach you some important lessons about storytelling, like flexibility in your plot when unexpected events force you to make changes.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Cause and Effect, Redux](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-cause-and-effect-redux/) - Once again, I'm encouraging you to play. Forget what really happened; change cause and effect to suit yourself, to suit your story, to suit your characters. For the love of gobstoppers, have fun!
- [Researching Your Writing](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/researching-your-writing/) - Learning how to ace my AP History test taught me how to use good research -- not as a foundation, but as structural support. It's better, faster, and stronger.
- [The Right Way to Do Research](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-right-way-to-do-research/) - Writing research is more than just finding information--it's also analyzing the information for relevance to your topic, dangerous bias, and final implications.
- [The Right Way to Learn](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-right-way-to-learn/) - Two of the best classes I took in high school were AP English and US History, and both of them taught me how to improve my writing with quick, easy research.
- [Your Stories](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/your-stories/) - Learn to handle Chronic Project Accumulation. Everyone has to deal with the flash of inspiration in the middle of other projects. Capture ideas for later use.
- [My Stories](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/my-stories/) - An overview of the stories I have to tell, from finished books like Taming Fire and Gods Tomorrow, to the standalones and sequel trilogies in those universes.
- [A Story Worth Telling](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/a-story-worth-telling/) - Once upon a time a man went in search of a single story worth telling, and soon found his whole life flooded with drama, overwhelmed by characters and conflict.
- [WIDAWriTWe](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/widawritwe/) - If someone had told me five years ago that at this point in my life, I would have more time to write than I could ever wish for, I would have fallen to my knees, sobbing with joy whilst flailing about with my arms. But I never dreamed that my writing craft would involve so much else that is not writing....
- [My Readers](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/my-readers/) - Unstressed Syllables is a site for writers--bloggers, students, businessmen, novelists, poets, and storytellers of all types. Mostly, though, it's for readers.
- [My Message](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/my-message/) - Good audience analysis starts with careful consideration of the info you're trying to convey. Before I talk about my readers, I need to talk about my message.
- [My Friends](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/my-friends/) - Once upon a time, a terrible thing happened: I graduated. I had to get a job and leave amazing friends behind. They were too amazing to stay behind, though.
- [How to Use Google Wave to Collaborate on a Project](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/how-to-use-google-wave-to-collaborate-on-a-project/) - Google Wave is a little quirky and thin on users, but it's still an indispensable tool for writers. Here's how to make it work without getting too frustrated.
- [Why You Need to Check Out Google Wave](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/why-you-need-to-check-out-google-wave/) - Good writing needs conversation. With powerful collaboration tools, Google Wave enables, enriches, and preserves conversations. Every writer should try it out.
- [The Walk-and-Talk](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-walk-and-talk/) - Good writing needs conversation, whether it's a talk with a friend, a debate with a copyeditor, or a negotiation with your own subconscious. Capture discussion.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Julia Cameron](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-julia-cameron/) - You believe the lie that following your dreams is selfish. You believe the lie that going after your creative passions is wrong. You believe the lie that says you can't. The lie is insidious, and it numbs you to who you truly are. You don't have to listen to it. You don't have to let it continue spreading through your soul. You have the right to protect your creative self -- and that right is sacred.
- [How to Use Google Docs Templates to Make Writing Amazing Documents Easy](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/how-to-use-google-docs-templates-to-make-writing-amazing-documents-easy/) - A good template isn't exciting or fun. It's just a convenient tool that makes it easy for you to build a professional-looking document with little extra effort.
- [Why You Need to Use Google Docs Templates](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/why-you-need-to-use-google-docs-templates/) - A good template isn't exciting or fun. It's just a convenient tool that makes it easy for you to build a professional-looking document with little extra effort.
- [Pre-Cut, Interlocking Pieces](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/pre-cut-interlocking-pieces/) - A good template isn't exciting or fun. It's just a convenient tool that makes it easy for you to build a professional-looking document with little extra effort.
- [How to Find a Good Writing Group](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/how-to-find-a-good-writing-group/) - Writing is a lonely pastime, full of experiences most people will never encounter, let alone comprehend. The best way to handle that is joining a writing group.
- [Why You Need a Writing Group](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/why-you-need-a-writing-group/) - Writing is a lonely pastime, full of experiences most people will never encounter, let alone comprehend. The best way to handle that is joining a writing group.
- ["This is Going to Sound Strange...."](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/this-is-going-to-sound-strange/) - Writing is a lonely pastime, full of experiences most people will never encounter, let alone comprehend. The best way to handle that is joining a writing group.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Dreams](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-dreams/) - When I sleep, my brain goes to the place where creativity flows. When I sleep, my conscious self gets out of the way, and my mind goes down to the pool and drinks deep. I am a writer, and I thirst. Constantly. I'm willing to be that you do, too....
- [Your Blog Posting Schedule in Google Docs (Redux All Over Again)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/your-blog-posting-schedule-in-google-docs/) - Now that you're familiar with the Google Docs word processor, we turn our attention to the spreadsheet tool with some example uses and a writing exercise, too.
- [Working with Google Docs and Spreadsheets](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/working-with-google-docs-and-spreadsheets/) - Use Google Docs to create a new Document, and share it with reviewers or collaborators.
- [My First Mob Hit](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/my-first-mob-hit/) - How I used a Google Docs Spreadsheet to master the Mob Wars real estate game, invalidate Farmville's progression, and prove that I'm an unrepentant nerd.
- [The Week in Words (May 15)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-week-in-words-may-15/) - The Week in Words is a weekly roundup of my active projects, review of the site's activity, and links to interesting writing articles that caught my attention.
- [Giving Up on the Gatekeepers (3 of 3)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/giving-up-on-the-gatekeepers-3-of-3/) - What should an aspiring writer do while the publishing industry tumbles? Improve fundamentals, build a strong blog, and try things out. Me, I'm self-publishing.
- [The Changing Face of Publishing](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-changing-face-of-publishing/) - The writer's path to publication used to lead through literary magazines to submissions editors. Today it goes through a platform to an agent, but what's next?
- [Giving Up on the Gatekeepers (1 of 3)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/giving-up-on-the-gatekeepers-1-of-3/) - What does it take for a writer to get published? The path today isn't the same as it was yesterday, and it'll probably be something different tomorrow.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Yann Martel](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-yann-martel/) - I'm not terribly interested in penning critiques week after week; I'm way too much into Read-It-For-Fun for that. However, upon occasion I do come across a story I enjoy so much that I want to delve more deeply into it by analyzing, speculating, ruminating, and other gerunds of a thoughtful nature. Yann Martel's Life of Pi is one of those stories that makes me want to write about it and write about it, and then write about it some more...
- [How to Write, Share, and Review with Google Docs (Part 1)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/how-to-write-share-and-review-with-google-docs-part-1/) - Learn how to get started with Google Docs, so you can take advantage of free cloud storage and easy collaboration and review tools for your documents.
- [Pitch and Tagline (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/pitch-and-tagline-technical-writing-exercise/) - This week's technical writing exercise asks you to prepare short descriptions of what your unwritten e-Book would be about, and why it would be worth reading.
- [The Week in Words (May 8)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-week-in-words-may-8/) - The Week in Words is a weekly roundup of my active projects, review of the site's activity, and links to interesting writing articles that caught my attention.
- [My Felony (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/my-felony-creative-writing-exercise/) - This week's creative writing exercise is a writing prompt. Tell us about your big brush with the law. What's the most interesting trouble you've been in?
- [How to Build an e-Book from Your Fiction](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/how-to-build-an-e-book-from-your-fiction/) - I just launched an e-Book full of Tech Writing tips for the business writers, but there are useful technical processes that apply to creative writing, too.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Aaron Pogue, Redux](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-aaron-pogue-redux/) - ...There's this thing we writers are supposed to have...a thing about reading our work out loud. Oh no. By all the gods of menthol tissue and postnasal drip, please no...
- [How to Build an e-Book from Your Blog](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/how-to-build-an-e-book/) - Most professional bloggers recommend writing and selling e-Books to get the most out of a professional blog. As a Tech Writer, I wrote an e-Book explaining how.
- [About Page (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/about-page-technical-writing-exercise/) - This week's Technical Writing Exercise calls on your to create an About page for your blog (real or hypothetical) to help focus your planning and development.
- [How to Build an e-Book -- Time's Running Out on Reader Discount](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/how-to-build-an-e-book-times-running-out-on-reader-discount/) - I just wanted to post a quick reminder that there's a 40% discount for you, my loyal readers, on How to Build an e-Book. I don't know if any of you are interested (and it doesn't hurt my feeling if you're not), but if you are, you should get it now. The 40% discount expires
- [The Week in Words (May 1)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-week-in-words-may-1/) - The Week in Words is a weekly roundup of my active projects, review of the site's activity, and links to interesting writing articles that caught my attention.
- [How to Launch an e-Book](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/how-to-launch-an-e-book/) - As I prepare to launch my site's first product, How to Build an e-Book, I wanted to let my regular readers know what to expect in the coming week.
- [About the Author (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/about-the-author-creative-writing-exercise/) - This Creative Writing Exercise calls you to improve your blog: Write your About page to start building your platform. Sell yourself, get started with Wordpress.
- [Why You Need a Professional Blog (Part 2)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/why-you-need-a-professional-blog-part-2/) - It's been nearly three months since I told you that you should start a blog to become a better writer. My attitude hasn't changed a whit, but my advice has. You see, when I was...let's say twelve, I decided I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I liked writing well enough, I
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Writing Time](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-writing-time/) - Alan Alda said, "Laugh at yourself, but don't ever aim your doubt at yourself." Humor is a writer's best friend. We need to laugh, because the action of laughing pulls the lid off that well of creativity, giving us access to our most important and abundant resource. Yes, we need to take our craft seriously...but we need to learn not to take ourselves too seriously...
- [Why You Need a Professional Blog (Part 1)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/why-you-need-a-professional-blog-part-1/) - The economy of the '90s is already obsolete, outsourced, and we find ourselves once again with an abundance of free time. What are we filling it with? Words.
- [Formatting Worksheet (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/formatting-worksheet-technical-writing-exercise/) - This Technical Writing Exercise calls for paragraph styles: Learn how to style paragraphs and headings in Word or Google Docs using our custom worksheet.
- [The Week in Words (April 24)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-week-in-words-april-24/) - The Week in Words is a weekly roundup of my active projects, review of the site's activity, and links to interesting writing articles that caught my attention.
- [One Scribbly Snapshot (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/one-scribbly-snapshot-creative-writing-exercise/) - This Creative Writing Exercise calls you to christen a scribblebook: Fill a full page with gibberish, and free yourself from the need for perfect first drafts.
- [Get a Scribblebook](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/get-a-scribblebook/) - There are incredible benefits to writing a novel by hand, including easier and better first drafts, and a more powerful reader experience. Get a scribblebook.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Cause & Effect](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-cause-effect/) - The adventure is the effect; your readers want to know the cause. They will find that cause not within the events of the story, but within the characters themselves. Why does Alice follow that rabbit in the first place? Why does Oliver have the gumption to ask for more? Why does Edmond keep scraping away at that wall...?
- [How to Choose Your Writing Software (Part 2)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/how-to-choose-your-writing-software-part-2/) - The most important features for creative and technical writers in word processing software, with a checklist so you can pick just the ones that matter to you.
- [Side-by-Side Table (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/side-by-side-table-technical-writing-exercise/) - This Technical Writing Exercise calls for embedded tables: Learn how to build a table in your writing software of choice, and compare features of various tools.
- [Courtney's Work-in-Progress Update](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/courtneys-work-in-progress-update-5/) - Behold! The game is afoot, and The Second Draft loometh ahead, apparently precipitous but in reality more easily ascendable than its predecessor. In this, my most excellent beta reader = Mom = my climbing buddy, having scouted ahead and come back to me with a report of the obstacles and pitfalls I shall face. And so, knowing that forewarned is forearmed...
- [The Week in Words (April 17)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-week-in-words-april-17/) - The Week in Words is a weekly roundup of my active projects, review of the site's activity, and links to interesting writing articles that caught my attention.
- [Market Research (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/market-research-creative-writing-exercise/) - This Creative Writing Exercise calls for market research: Choose the target audience for a work-in-progress and evaluate the document against its expectations.
- [The Ideal Reader](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-ideal-reader/) - Once you've got good feedback, you still have to figure out what to do with it. Luckily, those who have gone before have provided an answer. What you need, they teach us, is a tool to convert wrong words into right words, a working model that you can test your story against. It's super useful, and it's got a name: The Ideal Reader.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Heroes](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-heroes/) - In Heroes, Claire is changing as a result of growing up. That change is necessary and good. So why am I perturbed over her relationship with her roommate?
- [How to Choose Your Writing Software (Part 1)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/how-to-choose-your-writing-software-part-1/) - Last fall, as I've said before, I had the opportunity to teach Technical Writing to a bunch of Computer Science students. It was what we called a "hybrid online course" -- a Tuesday/Thursday class, but we only met in the classroom on Tuesdays. Then on Thursdays they would visit the class's website, get the week's
- [Blog Schedule (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/blog-schedule-technical-writing-exercise/) - You've had most of a week now to get started on your blog posting schedule. If you've followed through on that, today's writing exercise will take you five minutes. If you haven't, today's writing exercise is another kick in the pants to get you started.
- [Pitch and Tagline (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/pitch-and-tagline-creative-writing-exercise/) - Your writing exercise this week is to write the pitch and tagline for your story. That should be the most interesting, energy-packed version of your story description. Tell us, briefly, what your story is about. What makes your story special? What about it is going to grab our interest? You've got two to four paragraphs (fewer than 200 words), so keep it focused.
- [The Art of the Plot Synopsis](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-art-of-the-plot-synopsis/) - Your book needs a good description. In fact, it needs several. In this article you'll learn about the purpose and construction of a scene list, a long synopsis, a short synopsis, a pitch, a tagline, and a formula compare. When you're done, you'll be ready to describe your story to anybody, under any condition.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Cormac McCarthy](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-cormac-mccarthy/) - As I read McCarthy's The Road, I just had to drop my jaw at how the man uses words. McCarthy is a master of vivid detail and excellent characterization in a minimalist style. Talk about stripping your prose -- McCarthy even does away with quotation marks and apostrophes, which I'm sure has all you purists out there howling with indignation. (I whimpered a bit at first, myself.) Still--if you're looking for fiction trimmed of all fat and frills, I doubt you'll find a leaner example than McCarthy's bleak post-apocalypse.
- [Take Control of Your Blog Posting Schedule](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/take-control-of-your-blog-posting-schedule/) - I've said before that one of the biggest challenges of blogging is writing to a regular deadline. It wears you down. You want to know the answer? The trick? If you've read my updates on the Challenge, you already know. For that matter, if you just read the section headings for this article, you know. The answer is to take control. Take control of your blog posting schedule, instead of drifting helplessly into your deadlines, and your blog will blossom and grow again, both in quality of content and in your affection as well.
- [Extended Metaphor (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/extended-metaphor-technical-writing-exercise/) - This week, I want you to develop an excellent example of an extended metaphor. You'll have to deal with all the problems I mentioned in last week's article, but it gets harder because you'll have to deal with them again and again, every time you go back to that well. You can do it, though. The whole trick is to spend some serious time thinking about your metaphor before you start, pick one that really works, and only talk about the aspects of it that do work.
- [Act it Out (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/act-it-out-creative-writing-exercise/) - All this talk of document structure has me thinking back on some of my older projects. As I said in yesterday's article, the series I'm working on now is highly structured -- every book packed with three acts, five chapters per act, two scenes per chapter. My older work isn't really like that, though. My first effort at including any sort of structure in a story was King Jason's War, and that was my fourth novel. I wonder what I'd find if I looked really closely at Taming Fire, or even The Poet Alexander....
- [The Three-Act Narrative](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-three-act-narrative/) - In that thought, I found my answer. The Ghost Targets series isn't formula, it's structured. Structure is a good thing. I still needed some comforting, though, so I found myself chasing down that path, thinking of all the creative document types that thrive under intensive structure. I said to myself, "What about haiku? What about sonnets?"
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week…from Graphic Novels](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-graphic-novels/) - Graphic novels engage parts of my mind that standard novels don't. Not only am I reading a story, I'm seeing it unfold; in a way, this is counterpart? companion? to watching a movie with subtitles. Not only do I get the pleasure of piece-by-piece revelation, I can take the delightful time to admire the artistry of characters brought to life in color, line, and shading.
- [Manage Your Metaphors](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/manage-your-metaphors/) - Every document is, essentially, a phone call -- a conversation between you and your readers, and you've got to establish a connection before you can start talking. I've said that before, haven't I? I've also said a good first draft is a block of marble, from which to carve that glorious statue known as a final manuscript. Oh, and telling instead of showing is the same thing as playing a game of poker with your cards on the table. Good document structure is a tower of red, yellow, and blue blocks. Poetry is magic, punctuation is alchemy, and so is blogging about your life.
- [Band Poster (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/band-poster-technical-writing-exercise/) - Remember last week's article about the shape of a document? Remember that hideous image growling out at you halfway down the scroll? Well, this week your assignment is to do one better.
- [Write a Sonnet (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/write-a-sonnet-creative-writing-exercise/) - This week you're going to write a sonnet. Some of you just rolled your eyes, because sonnets are child's play. Some of you just gripped at a failing heart, because sonnets are Shakespeare-level expert stuff. If you're in either category, you missed the point of yesterday's post. That's okay. I'll say another word or two about it next Tuesday, but for now I want you to humor me.
- [Loving Language (The Purpose of Poetry)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/loving-language-the-purpose-of-poetry/) - When I was in third grade (or maybe it was second), I wrote a poem about sunset, and rest. I did it in number 2 pencil on a sheet of wide-ruled paper torn out of a 78-cent spiral notebook. I illustrated the edges, with an angry sun and an optimistic moon, and my best effort at a seagull. I can remember this in such clear detail, because I've still got that page. It's creased with folds, and the pencil's faded, but I've still got it, tucked away somewhere. The meter is awful.
- [What I Learned About Writing This Week…from Mark Z. Danielewski](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-mark-z-danielewski/) - If memory serves (and, sometimes, it does--wearing a get-up not unlike that of a roller-skating carhop), I first came across Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves in a Facebook® ad. Yep, that's right: I succumbed to a social networking site's shameless commercial lures. I went with the flow, I yielded to temptation, I clicked a click that click-clicking clickers should refuse to click. Shame on me.
- [The Shape of a Document](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-shape-of-a-document/) - Last fall I taught my first college-level writing course -- Technical Writing at Oklahoma Christian University (my alma mater). My class consisted of a bunch of computer science and information technologies students, and a handful of English majors. It was an interesting mix. I wasn't out to teach them how to do my job. I did ask, first day of class, how many of them had considered becoming a Technical Writer after graduation. The answer (quite predictably) was none. When I got around to asking what they were planning on doing, every one of them named a profession that would require some proficiency with technical writing, even if it wasn't their main job description.
- [Strip Poem (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/strip-poem-technical-writing-exercise/) - Later this week, I'm going to spend a lot of time talking to the creative writers about poetry, and on Friday they'll get to write sonnets. I wouldn't expect sonnets out of my technical writers, but I still recommend that you take the time to read Thursday's article, when it comes around. Poetry is language distilled, and technical writing is all about efficiency, brevity, and impact. The approaches are different, but the destination is the same. So this week I want you to be poetic, too.
- [My Experience with the Conscious Me Pre-Writing Challenge](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/my-experience-with-the-conscious-me-pre-writing-challenge/) - This year, I participated in the first annual Conscious Me Pre-Writing Challenge. Not only did I participate...I won it. This challenge is all about Writing it Early, which I talked about at the start of the challenge. That's something you need to work on, whether you're a blogger, a novelist, or anyone else who has to do serious writing from time to time. It always feels like a hassle, a necessary evil -- or maybe you see it as a luxury you can't afford -- but it's one of the best things you can do to make your work better (and, ultimately, to make it easier and less stressful).
- [Pre-Writing Challenge Weekly Updates](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/pre-writing-challenge-weekly-updates/) - I've mentioned it a couple times, and even devoted a whole page to a detailed description, but I'm participating in the Conscious Me Pre-Writing Challenge. It's all about Writing it Early, which I talked about a couple weeks ago, just as I was getting started. I thought it might be beneficial to you guys, my readers, to know a little bit more about the challenge, and about my experience with it.
- [The Creative Copy Challenge (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-creative-copy-challenge-creative-writing-exercise/) - Today's exercise barely deserves a blog post at all, since I already spilled the beans in yesterday's article. Still, in case you didn't make it to the end, I'll say it again: Go over to the Creative Copy Challenge blog, and write a short story. Use all the words, format them so we can find them, and then come back here and post a link to your comment (once it gets approved by the moderators).
- [Writing Prompts](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/writing-prompts/) - When I was in fifth grade my teacher gave us an assignment to write a one-page story using at least half of our spelling words for the week. That's what we call a "writing prompt." Writer's Digest offers regular writing prompts, and most creative writing courses are built at least partially around them. The goal is to get you out of your languishing manuscript and just get you writing. They usually do that by creating a scene you haven't thought about before, forcing you to start fresh, make something happen, and then get on with your work.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Stephen King](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-stephen-king/) - To writers and/or Stephen King fans, his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (a title I do hope is self-explanatory) might seem the most obvious source of WILAWriTWe material. Yet nay, my dearest inklings, my King-related thoughts for today come not from his how-to, but rather from one of his how-dids. Or maybe I should call it a how-didn't. By the time I finish writing this, I might have a clearer picture, and so might you--but I'm still not going to change my previous sentence, because I like it, and this is my article, and I don't have to kill my darlings if I don't wanna. Nyah.
- [The Point of Punctuation](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-point-of-punctuation/) - I've talked about finding balance in descriptive detail before, just as an example, but there's certainly many more ways it's true: balancing exposition against narrative, technical accuracy against brevity, clear prose against a finished draft. Those are pretty big-picture concerns, but it gets down to the fine details, too. Word length, sentence composition, punctuation marks....
- [Everyone's a Critic (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/everyones-a-critic-technical-writing-exercise/) - Your assignment this week is to provide me detailed feedback and practice borrowing others' inspiration, all at one go. I want you to pick an article on UnstressedSyllables.com and critique it on your blog. Write 300-900 words analyzing the presentation, the content, the readability, the skimmability, the applicability, even the statistical distribution of non-E vowels. Go back to my advice in "What Should You Write About?" and figure out what you should write about, when you're describing my blog.
- [Inquisition Exposition (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/inquisition-exposition-creative-writing-exercise/) - For your exercise, I want you to write a scene that's all dialogue. The gameshow featured two characters, but you can put as many as you want in the scene. They're only allowed to ask questions. That's the gimmick. You've got to convey information (and do your best to make it feel natural) with nothing but questions.
- [Reader Response Questions](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/reader-response-questions/) - Today's post is more a story than a lecture, but it's a story rich with writing advice. It harkens back to a creative writing exercise from January, and foreshadows a worthwhile topic for future discussion. It's also a pretty sweet story, when it comes right down to it.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Sue Monk Kidd](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-sue-monk-kidd/) - This week, my dearest inklings, I find myself seventy-four pages into Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees and enjoying it beyond words. But since the point of this article is to share with you--in words, no less--what I am learning from what I am reading, I give you here my attempt to coalesce
- [Accurate Descriptions](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/accurate-descriptions/) - My first job out of college, I was a Technical Writer for a small manufacturer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that produced some of the world's best fish finders. I spent several years writing user manuals for gadgets. Then I took a new job working for the Federal Aviation Administration, where I wrote maintenance instructions for the field technicians who service and maintain our nation's long-range radars.
- [Describe Your Reader (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/describe-your-reader-technical-writing-exercise/) - Whoever it is you're writing for, their needs and their expectations become vital ingredients of your document, so take some time to figure it out. I'm sure you already do that, probably subconsciously, every time you write anything, but let's formalize it. Write a page describing your readers. Tell us how technical they want your material to be, how much they're willing to read at a time, which topics matter to them, and just what it is you have to offer.
- [An Undercover Agent in the Gender Wars (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/an-undercover-agent-in-the-gender-wars-creative-writing-exercise/) - So your assignment is to craft a scene showing a strong character of the opposite sex. Give us 300-900 words, and show your work. Whatever aspect of gender writing troubles you, face it head-on, and then polish it up until you get it right. Or, as close to right as you can manage, anyway. A couple hours getting into that character's head could make worlds of difference in your writing, and help you connect with readers who wouldn't have given you a chance before.
- [Boys and Girls](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/boys-and-girls/) - Julie read my whole novel, and told me the female character was flat. Five hundred pages of adventure, magic, politics, armies at war and dragons in the air, and all she wanted to talk about was the love interest. The girl barely had two dozen pages! She barely had a backstory! But that's all Julie wanted to talk about. I rolled my eyes at my "feminist friend," but her comments bugged me.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Elmore Leonard](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-elmore-leonard/) - We writers are people with ideas...except when we're not. The initial sit-down-and-start-scribbling-like-mad ideas are not a problem. If you're reading this blog, chances are you've got that covered. But what happens after the first bout of hectic, joyous franticness fizzles out?
- [Audience Analysis](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/audience-analysis/) - My dad is in his first Creative Writing class, as I've mentioned before. His first assignment was to write something for the class to review. The assignment was vague, but its destiny was clear: the whole class would pass judgment on whatever it was he wrote.
- [Interesting Things (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/interesting-things-technical-writing-exercise/) - I said as much a couple weeks ago, but one of the biggest challenges of blogging is making your deadline. Last week I talked about finding topics, but the best way to make an interesting document (whether it's a blog post or a business report) is to write about something you're interested in. So that's your assignment this week. You're going to write a blog about everything you're interested in.
- [Character Record Sheet (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/character-record-sheet-creative-writing-exercise/) - Anyway. Write a Character Record Sheet. If you're working in fantasy, dig up an RPG CRS like I was talking about yesterday (and you can email me if you don't have one handy). If you're working mainstream, or really any other genre, you'll have to settle for real life. Develop a Facebook profile for your character. Either way, I want physical descripti0n, relationship status, family background, core beliefs, profession, and personal interests. Give me at least a full page of information.
- [Role-Playing Games and Character Profiles](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/role-playing-games-and-character-profiles/) - Maybe you don't care at all about role-playing games. Maybe you rolled your eyes and growled "Nerd!" when I mentioned Dungeons and Dragons. It doesn't matter. As a storyteller, that last paragraph should have your mouth watering. The job of the storyteller is to create characters that adhere to certain rules, that behave consistently and believably, that create a cohesive and rational experience out of of a bunch of people doing things their own way.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Aaron Pogue](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-aaron-pogue/) - Last week, Aaron posted an article on writing and procrastination and the benefits of not procrastinating on your writing. On Monday, he followed up with a writing exercise designed to help us writers write without procrastination. In keeping with that theme, I am going to share with you my story of How I Beat The System And Gave Myself A Migraine. I shall also attempt to refrain from starting every sentence with an adverbial phrase.
- [What Should You Write About?](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-should-you-write-about/) - I'm writing to the bloggers, the business writers, and for you guys, "Write what you know" is your bread and butter. "Write what you know" is the answer to questions you haven't even considered yet. Technical writing is all about translating understanding -- it's about converting expert information into a more easily accessible format. Whenever you're writing, your job is to take the things you understand, that your readers don't, and help your readers understand them.
- [Memoirs of a Procrastinator (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/memoirs-of-a-procrastinator-technical-writing-exercise/) - Tell us about a time when you barely finished a project (bonus points if it was a writing project, but it doesn't have to be). We've all got our war stories, and they're usually pretty fun to drag out from time to time. This week you've got a good excuse. Brag about the one you got away with. Make it a post on your blog, 300-900 words, and share a link with us here in the comments.
- [Courtney's Work-in-Progress Update](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/courtneys-work-in-progress-update-4/) - I'm almost finished with Chapter 8. I am so close to finishing this first draft, I can almost taste it!!! I'll keep you posted!
- [Start at the End (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/start-at-the-end-creative-writing-exercise/) - Maybe you've written a dozen novels already, or maybe you're still toiling toward the end of your first one. Either way, take some pleasure in the experience of finishing a story. Hit us with a climax, tie up some imaginary loose ends, and then follow it up with the two most satisfying words in all of writing.
- [Satisfying Resolutions](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/dramatic-conclusions/) - Last week we talked about the Conflict Resolution Cycle, and the structure of a story. So what's missing? The end. Every story is a contractual agreement between the writer and the reader. Your readers give up their valuable time to read your story, and in exchange they expect you to give them a story -- a satisfying beginning, middle, and end. That means you've got to do more than make interesting characters and conflict. You're responsible for building a valuable conclusion, too.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Observation](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-observation/) - Her mouth opens wide in a huge smile that draws every eye in the room. His nervous habit: narrating for everyone in the room what's happening on the TV screen. When she feels melancholy, she hums "Amazing Grace" and Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters." When she feels happy, she hums '80s rock ballads. His right eyelid
- [Write it Early, Review it Late](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/write-it-early-review-it-late/) - That's the biggest challenge of any blogging project: keeping up with the blog's posting schedule. Really, it's just a regularly recurring version of what is the biggest challenge for every writer: writing to a deadline. There are techniques for handling that last minute writing, skills you can learn to make it as good as possible, but in the end that's all just damage control. You cannot write your best quality work unless you write it early.
- [To-Do List (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/to-do-list-technical-writing-exercise/) - One of the rules of good technical writing goes, "Always include a paragraph of normal body text after every heading." We're going to get that practice this week with a good old-fashioned To-Do List. Make a list of all the projects you're working on right now, all the stuff you need to get done, but spend some time formatting it and packing in information to make it useful to a reader other than you.
- [Courtney's Work-in-Progress Update](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/courtneys-work-in-progress-update-3/) - For my Work-in-Progress Update, I decided to take the list from my last update and...um...update it. Yeah.
- [The Big Event (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-big-event-creative-writing-exercise/) - The big event. Something happens, something bold and dramatic, to derail your protagonist's life. That's the impetus of every story, and it's usually a lot of fun. I've been haranguing you to get to your big events early. First page, I'm always saying, and first paragraph if you can manage it. So let's practice. This week's writing assignment is one to three pages (300-900 words), and in that space I want you to start a story. Give us a character, give us a glimpse -- the barest hint -- of what his or her life is like beforehand, and then mess it all up.
- [Storytelling](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/storytelling/) - At some point, we've got to move the discussion from, "How do you make a really great sentence?" to "How do you make a really great story?" There's lots of milestones along that path -- descriptions of setting, descriptions of events, compelling dialogs, scenes, chapters, acts, it goes on and on. But before you can really make much progress on any of those intermediate things, you've got to understand your ultimate goal -- you have to understand exactly what a story is.
- [A Matter of Voice](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/a-matter-of-voice/) - Weak verb forms will have been murdered by this blog post.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Laundry](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-laundry/) - That's right. You heard me. Laundry. Did you know laundry has lessons to teach about writing? I didn't--until a particular inconvenience of apartment life thrust my preconceived laundry notions into tumble-dry-high. You like that apropos imagery? Yea verily, I thought so.
- [Strong Sentences and 3D Storytelling](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/strong-sentences-and-3d-storytelling/) - I've mentioned this before, but my dad is (among many other things) a speech professor and an accomplished storyteller. I was talking with him last week about some difficulties he's had in his creative writing, though, trying to achieve the sort of impact and effect he can get effortlessly with the spoken word. The problem,
- [Editorial Post (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/editorial-post-technical-writing-exercise/) - I've talked about which conclusions work best for essays, for arguments, or for short stories. Today you're going to work on a document type that combines them all. Your assignment this week is to write an editorial. Write an opinion piece concerning something of interest to you.
- [Blog Story (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/blog-story-creative-writing-exercise/) - Tell a story. Work that weird alchemy I waxed poetic about yesterday, and turn the events of your life into a true tale. Think about something that happened yesterday, or this week, and make a story out of it. Don't just tell us what happened, craft it.
- [Why You Should Keep a Blog (Part 2)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/why-you-should-keep-a-blog-part-2/) - You've heard it before, in any writing class you've ever taken. You've heard it from Nathan Bransford and Writer's Digest and from me. You know it, you've always known it, but you've never really been able to follow through. Still, the fact remains: if you want to get better at writing, you need to practice writing every day.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Writing Itself](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-writing-itself/) - Over the past two-and-a-half weeks, I have written five posts (counting this one) for UnstressedSyllables. What I've been writing for this blog is not fiction. But. Since I joined Unstressed Syllables, I have added 6,000 words to my work-in-progress, a paranormal novel entitled SHADOWS AFTER MIDNIGHT. That's compared to the preceding six weeks of teeth-pull-writing that garnered me a measly 7,000 words. Now, I find myself putting together story scenes in my head when I'm away from my computer.
- [Why You Should Keep a Blog (Part 1)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/why-you-should-keep-a-blog-part-1/) - You should keep a blog. And, yes, I mean you personally. Today's post is for everybody. Today's post is about the benefits of blogging to casual writers just trying to get simple ideas across. Today's post could just as easily be named, "How Not to Look Like an Idiot."
- [I Am a Writer (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/i-am-a-writer-technical-writing-exercise/) - Write up a short autobiography of you as a writer (300-900 words). Make it three sections, with appropriate headings, and generally answer the questions above. Tell us where you're coming from, so we can better help you get where you need to be.
- [Reader Response Questions (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/reader-response-questions-creative-writing-exercise/) - Sit down and think about what it is you want your writing to do, and then make a list -- ask your readers if you've succeeded. Make your questions open-ended, encouraging longer and thought-out answers, but make them specific, too. Some of my favorites are, "What was your favorite scene? What's something from the story that you've found yourself thinking about even when you weren't reading? Which character did you find the most engaging, and why?"
- [Keep it Yours](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/keep-it-yours/) - As a new writer ready to start on revision, it's difficult to know what's wrong with your story, and sometimes even more difficult to know why it's wrong. A good mark-up will reveal both of those things, but then it's still up to you to figure out what to do with them.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from Brandon Sanderson](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/wilawritwe-from-brandon-sanderson/) - Once upon a time, I started reading the epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time (WoT) by Robert Jordan. Sadly, Mr. Jordan passed away before he could complete the series; however, author Brandon Sanderson is in the process of carrying on Jordan's work. I have yet to read anything Sanderson has written for WoT, but
- [Make it Better](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/make-it-better/) - I met my little sister for dinner recently and said, "It's time for you to start taking your writing seriously. It's time for you to start proofreading!" She just frowned and said, "But I do! That's the thing. I don't know how to make it better!"
- [Document Critique (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/document-critique-technical-writing-exercise/) - The assignment this week is to critique one of your own documents. Pick something you've written recently and write a short analysis of the document's quality and craftsmanship.
- [Playing Cards (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/playing-cards/) - Sit down at the poker table with four of your characters -- whether you make up new ones for this assignment or mix and match from your works in progress. In 300-600 words, tell us about one hand, maybe just one round of bidding, but make it intense.
- [Courtney's Work-In-Progress Update](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/courtneys-work-in-progress-update-2/) - Moments ago, I finished mapping out what I have left to do before I have a complete first draft of SHADOWS AFTER MIDNIGHT. Or whatever the working title is.
- [Cards on the Table](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/cards-on-the-table/) - Writing advice can often feel a lot like that cruel little game. You might have run into that yourself, from time to time. One person tells you to use strong and varied language, but someone else exhorts you to throw your thesaurus in the trash. One person tells you to develop your unique voice, make your prose conversational, but someone else tells you to fix your comma splices and get rid of those awful sentence fragments.
- [What I Learned about Writing this Week...from…well, Me](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/what-i-learned-about-writing-this-week-from-well-me/) - Right now, I'm approximately ninety pages from finishing Koontz's ODD HOURS, the fourth novel in a series spun around a psychic young man appropriately named Odd Thomas. Describing Odd as a character would be yet another blog post in its own right; suffice it for now to say that I find him fascinating, amusing, heart-warming, endearing, and many other positive words suffixed with -ing. What I'm currently interested in, and WILAWritWe from Mr. Koontz's novel is something to which I myself am not adhering as I write what you are reading now, and that something is this: Simplicity.
- [Finish Strong](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/finish-strong/) - How's that for a happy ending? After fifteen weeks of teaching these kids -- guiding them from total obliviousness through all the major topics, techniques, and types of technical writing -- I got to their most important class (grade-wise), and my final, lasting impression, and let them fall flat on their faces. How often have you made the same mistake, in your writing? You figured you'd explained the issue well enough in your introduction, you'd provided all of the relevant information in your body paragraphs. Your readers could figure it out, right? They're all smart people. So what's the point of laboring over a conclusion that's probably not even necessary?
- [Outline an Argument (Technical Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/outline-an-argument-technical-writing-exercise/) - This week we finish our series on document structure, so I'd like us to take a moment to remember what that structure looks like. For your writing exercise this week, I want you to outline an argument. This argument can be the thesis of an essay or a defense of your position vis a vis
- [Courtney's Work-In-Progress Update](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/courtneys-work-in-progress-update/) - A Sucker Born Every Minute When Aaron and I were discussing in what way I would be contributing to this blog, I told him he was allowed to give me one (1) assignment. He acknowledged this, seemed to agree to my terms--and then proceeded to give me assignments numbering two. That's (2), if you were
- [Introductions Are in Order](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/introductions-are-in-order/) - Or perhaps I should call it a Character Description. Whatever the case, I'm proud to announce UnstressedSyllables.com's newest contributing author, Courtney Cantrell. Courtney is the co-creator of our Facebook writer's group, Mightier than the Sword, and one of my dear friends. Though we'd run in overlapping social circles for years, I met her through her
- [Chart Your WIPs (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/chart-your-wips-creative-writing-exercise/) - WIPs, or Works-in-Progress, are often the favorite topics of creative writers. I realize now I was a fool to wait so long to invite you to talk about yours! That's this week's Creative Writing exercise, though. In light of our recent discussion of the various stages of manuscript development, I want you to tell me
- [Writing in Drafts](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/writing-in-drafts/) - Back in 2008, I was talking my good friend Julie into participating in National Novel Writing Month, and she expressed some concern that her writing wouldn't be good enough. I thought about it for a moment, trying to figure out how to encourage her enough that she would go ahead with it, and at the
- [Stressed and Unstressed Syllables](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/stressed-and-unstressed-syllables/) - There are basically two standard ways of indicating stressed syllables: by adding a vertical stress mark after each stressed syllable, or by making each stressed syllable bold or UPPERCASE (or BOTH). You can see an example of the stress marks at Dictionary.net, and you can see an example of the bold syllable at Dictionary.com.
- [Organize Your Ideas](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/organize-your-ideas/) - About a year ago my wife informed me we were going to have a second child. It was something we'd been talking about for a little while, but then in an instant it became real. Immediately my heart was flooded with one, overwhelming emotion. I looked my wife in the eyes and said tenderly, "Well,
- [Email Context Audit (Business Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/email-context-audit-business-writing-exercise/) - I talked last week about the importance of writing good introductions to establish context (especially for readability down the line), and that message is never more important (or overlooked) than when you're sitting down to write an email. We still occasionally run into the big formal business letters and memos on company letterhead, and so
- [Start a Story (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/start-a-story-creative-writing-exercise/) - You had to see this one coming! After a week spent discussing introductions, it's only logical to make that the assignment. But, more than that, it's fun. Today you get to start a story you'll never have to finish. Give it flash, give it bang. Promise big, and use up your entire special effects budget
- [The First Page](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/the-first-page/) - It was a dark and stormy night, when a couple of guys who were up to no good started making trouble in my neighborhood. True story. Nearly everything I said about introductions in Tuesday's post, Negotiating a Connection, applies to Creative Writers just as much as it does to the Business Writers. The big exception
- [Negotiating a Connection](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/negotiating-a-connection/) - Once upon a time, you had to write an intro. Maybe it was for a business letter (probably a query letter, if you're one of my Creative Writing readers). Maybe it was for a memo you had to write at work. More likely it was for an English class, or the essay portion of an
- [Structured Resolutions (Business Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/structured-resolutions-business-writing-exercise/) - We're in the midst of a conversation about document structure, and in the first week of the new year, so let's take this opportunity to combine two useful self-improvement exercises in one. Have you figured out your resolutions for the new year? Do you even do that sort of thing? If so, are you in
- [Dream Sequence (Creative Writing Exercise)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2010/dream-sequence-creative-writing-exercise/) - This week I talked about document structure and got into detail on chronology and point of view, and now it's time to stop talking and start doing. Your assignment this week is to write out a dream sequence. Of your own. This should be as close to non-fiction as you can manage. If at all
- [Simplify Your Storytelling](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2009/simplify-your-storytelling/) - I've got a couple really simple rules for most of the new writers that I work with: tell your story from start to finish, and tell it from the narrator's point of view. That sounds obvious, right? Well you'd be amazed how much my writers hate to hear it. My dad wrote his first book
- [Building with Words](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2009/building-with-words/) - My two-year-old daughter got a set of building blocks for Christmas, and that got me thinking about how to make you a better writer. No, really. One of her favorite games for a long time now has been "stack and smash." She started doing it with empty thread spools, putting two or three together in
- [Weekly Writing Exercises](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2009/weekly-writing-exercises/) - Our first writing exercises focus on the Christmas holidays! Head over to the new forums to write a fake complaint letter to Santa Claus, or practice with point of view by writing a blog post about Christmas from someone else's perspective.
- [Tricks Writers Know (or "Whom Cares about this Stuff?")](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2009/tricks-writers-know-or-whom-cares-about-this-stuff/) - I've been writing for a week now, and I haven't given you one word of practical advice, have I? Oh, sure, there's promises aplenty, and I do need to spend some time negotiating a connection before I can start transferring knowledge, but when it comes right down to it, you're here to learn how to
- [Practicing Humanity (or The Storytelling Process)](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2009/practicing-humanity-or-the-storytelling-process/) - Your job as a person is to examine and understand the world around you, to empathize with new people in a way that lets you see them as real people (not just extras in your life story), and to comprehend the short- and long-term ramifications of events both in and out of your control. Your job as a person (no matter who you are, or what you do) is to be an observer, a communicator, and a creator, and every moment you spend writing you're working on those things. Usually you're working on all of them on every page.
- [Filling in the Blanks](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2009/filling-in-the-blanks/) - Between my About page, my introductory article, and just the name of the website, I've already made a lot of big promises. Turning Technical Writing into a simple, stress-free task is no small feat, but we're going to get started right now. While reading that introductory material, you may have noticed that I referred to
- [What's in a Name?](https://unstressedsyllables.com/2009/whats-in-a-name/) - I have just made the startling discovery that I can turn you into a better writer. As you may have seen in my About page, I've recently become a Technical Writing professor. There's an old saying some of you are probably already thinking about that goes, "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." I've

## Pages

- [E-Book Formatting](https://unstressedsyllables.com/products/e-book-formatting/) - Are you interested in self-publishing? Looking for help with the technical stuff? If so, you've come to the right place. If you've been visiting this site for long, you'll know a couple things about me: I like telling stories and giving advice. I've got a knack for technical formatting and document design. I'm a big
- [Should I Self-Publish?](https://unstressedsyllables.com/should-i-self-publish/) - An Introduction to Kindle Publishing In January of 2011, I started taking a class called "Readings in Mass Communication" in pursuit of my Master of Professional Writing degree at the University of Oklahoma. It's an interdisciplinary theory course that combines lectures and select readings in the academic literature to explore the changing role of mass
- [tags](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tags/)
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- [HTML Copy](https://unstressedsyllables.com/press/how-to-build-an-e-book/html-copy/) - If you'd like to create a blog post or sales page like the Press Release for this product, simply copy and paste the text below into your blog as HTML. NOTE: Be sure to replace the plain link to my sales page at the bottom with your affiliate link, or you won't get credit for
- [Affiliate Program](https://unstressedsyllables.com/products/affiliate-program/) - Thank you for considering our affiliate program! We use e-Junkie for all of our digital sales. Some of the policies below are our own, but most of them are the direct result of e-Junkie's accounting and payment processes. Payment Policy Our affiliate program provides you a 50% commission on all sales you generate. Just place
- [Subscription Complete!](https://unstressedsyllables.com/subscriptions/email/subscription-complete/) - Thank you for your interest in our newsletter! Here's What You Can Expect We'll use the newsletter to keep you up-to-date on everything going on at Unstressed Syllables, including weekly blog posts, new and ongoing projects, and extra, short writing tips just for the newsletter subscribers. We'd Like to Recommend These Links If you're new
- [You Can Build and Sell an e-Book from Your Blog like a Professional Writer](https://unstressedsyllables.com/products/how-to-build-an-e-book/) - If you don't have a blog and don't intend to make one, this product isn't for you. I mean, sure, it's full of solid advice on designing a professional-looking document, excellent examples of good Technical Writing in practice, and easy guides to do the same thing in your own writing. Still, some of the chapters
- [Illustrations and Logos](https://unstressedsyllables.com/press/how-to-build-an-e-book/images/) - The e-Book Challenge Logo Available Sizes: 592x545 (original) 300x276 (shown) 150x150 100x100 How to Build an e-Book (cover art) Available Sizes: 612x792 (original) 232x300 (shown) How to Build an e-Book (promotional art) Available Sizes: 332x435 (original) 356x459 (with border) 228x300 (shown) How to Build an e-Book (sales banner) Available Sizes: 800x200 (original) 600x150 (shown)
- [Illustrations and Logos](https://unstressedsyllables.com/press/unstressed-syllables/images/) - Unstressed Syllables logo image Available Sizes: 264x100 (original shown) Site Logo Available Sizes: 424x430 (original) 295x300 (shown) Unstressed Syllables FavIcon Available Sizes: 610x610 (original) 300x300 (shown) Unstressed Syllables banner image Available Sizes: 800x183 (original) 300x68 (shown)
- [Unstressed Syllables](https://unstressedsyllables.com/press/unstressed-syllables/) - Aaron Pogue is the creator and main writer at Unstressed Syllables, a general writing advice site that features interesting, accessible articles on topics ranging from business writing to storytelling. He brings decades of experience in creative and technical writing to his articles, and works hard to make good writing easy for you. New Site Unstressed
- [Products and Services](https://unstressedsyllables.com/products/) - Unstressed Syllables is pleased to recommend the following products and services to our readers. From the Editor's Desk We here at Unstressed Syllables are writers first and foremost, and you can count on us to provide high-quality, helpful content for all your writing needs. If you want to know when Aaron Pogue's new books come
- [How to Build an e-Book](https://unstressedsyllables.com/press/how-to-build-an-e-book/) - Aaron Pogue, of the general writing advice site Unstressed Syllables, turns his attention to the professional blogging community with his new product, How to Build an e-Book. Drawing on years of experience as a professional Technical Writer, Aaron provides the techniques and the understanding you need to convert your blog's archive into a professional-quality e-Book.
- [Promotional Materials](https://unstressedsyllables.com/press/) - Welcome to the Unstressed Syllables press page. Below we've gathered some helpful resources for anyone developing articles or blog posts about this site, its authors, or any of their major projects. You can find illustrative images and logos, custom bios tailored to specific projects, and complete press releases about our biggest news. All material on
- [The Conscious Me Pre-Writing Challenge](https://unstressedsyllables.com/the-conscious-me-pre-writing-challenge/) - I've mentioned Carlos more than once over the course of this blog, most notably in a recent post about getting your writing done early, when I also mentioned the Conscious Me Pre-Writing Challenge. As I said in that post: My friend Carlos is working on a personal development blog that he started around the same
- [Subscriptions](https://unstressedsyllables.com/subscriptions/) - If you just want to know when Aaron Pogue's new books come out, sign up for new release notifications. But UnstressedSyllables.com updates often, and absolutely every word of it is gold. Pure gold. So keep up-to-date with any of these handy subscription methods. RSS / Atom Feeds Receive the full text of our articles in
- [Contact](https://unstressedsyllables.com/contact/)
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- [About the Site](https://unstressedsyllables.com/about/) - Unstressed Syllables is a writing resource for everyone. If you're fascinated by writing, this is the place for you. If you're frustrated, frightened, or just plain freaked out by writing, this is the place for you. Our goal is to take the stress out of writing, whether you're doing it for work or for play,

## Categories

- [Uncategorized](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/uncategorized/)
- [Cover Design](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/cover-design/) - Tuesdays our Cover Design posts. Currently they are being written by Rachel Giles.
- [Cover Review](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/cover-design/cover-review/) - Monthly feature where Cover Design shows examples of good and bad traditionally published covers.
- [Editorial](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/editorial/) - Fridays cover the Editorial posts. These cover freelance editing, copyediting, and final touches on your manuscript. Currently these are being written by Jessie Sanders.
- [For Fun](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/cw/) - Articles in this category help you improve your creative writing, either by providing exercises and methods for training your creative muscles, or by providing advice to improve the quality of your polished work.
- [For School](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/aw/)
- [For Work](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/tw/) - Articles in this category help you simplify your everyday business writing, either by teaching you the right way to use a common template, or by teaching you tips and tricks to improve the way you compose and style technical information.
- [Prewriting/Story-Telling](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/prewritingstory-telling/) - Mondays are Prewriting and Story-Telling. Currently these are being covered by Courtney Cantrell.
- [Publishing](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/publishing/) - On Saturdays, Publishing delves into the more technical aspects of getting your manuscripts published and into the different sales outlets. Currently these are being written by Aaron Pogue.
- [Rewriting](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/rewriting/) - Wednesdays cover Rewriting posts, or conceptual editing. Currently they are being written by Thomas Beard.
- [Sales](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/sales/) - Thursdays posts are for Sales and Marketing. Currently these are being written by Joshua Unruh.
- [Technical Tip of the Month](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/publishing/technical-tip/)
- [Top Grammatical Mistakes of Writers](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/editorial/top-mistakes/)
- [Weekly Review](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/weekly-review/)
- [What I Learned About Writing This Month](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/prewritingstory-telling/wilawtm/)
- [Editorial Review](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/rewriting/editorial-review/)
- [Product Description Analysis](https://unstressedsyllables.com/category/sales/product-description-analysis/)

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- [The Consortium](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-consortium/)
- [The Count of Monte Cristo](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-count-of-monte-cristo/)
- [The da Vinci Code](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-da-vinci-code/)
- [The DaVinci Code](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-davinci-code/)
- [The Dragonprince](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-dragonprince/)
- [The Dragonprince Trilogy](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-dragonprince-trilogy/)
- [The Dragonprince's Heir](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-dragonprinces-heir/)
- [The Dragonswarm](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-dragonswarm/)
- [The Duchess of Devonshire](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-duchess-of-devonshire/)
- [The Elements of Style](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-elements-of-style/)
- [The Elevator Pitch](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-elevator-pitch/)
- [The End](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-end/)
- [The First Myth](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-first-myth/)
- [The FirstKing's Universe](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-firstkings-universe/)
- [The Four Lords of the Diamond](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-four-lords-of-the-diamond/)
- [The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-girl-who-kicked-the-hornets-nest/)
- [The Girl Who Stayed the Same](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-girl-who-stayed-the-same/)
- [The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-girl-with-the-dragon-tattoo/)
- [The Good Guy](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-good-guy/)
- [The Hardy Boys](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-hardy-boys/)
- [The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy/)
- [The Hobbit](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-hobbit/)
- [The Host](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-host/)
- [The Human Condition](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-human-condition/)
- [The Hunger Games](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-hunger-games/)
- [The Innovator's Dilemma](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-innovators-dilemma/)
- [The JackB](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-jackb/)
- [The Lion King](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-lion-king/)
- [The Lord of the Rings](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-lord-of-the-rings/)
- [The More You Know](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-more-you-know/)
- [The Name of the Wind](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-name-of-the-wind/)
- [The Nanny Diaries](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-nanny-diaries/)
- [The Night Angel Trilogy](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-night-angel-trilogy/)
- [The Office](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-office/)
- [The Other Stuff](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-other-stuff/)
- [The Plundered Parent Protocol](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-plundered-parent-protocol/)
- [The Poet Alexander](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-poet-alexander/)
- [The Pool](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-pool/)
- [The Prince and the Pauper](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-prince-and-the-pauper/)
- [The Princess Bride](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-princess-bride/)
- [The Riftwar Saga](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-riftwar-saga/)
- [The Scorekeeper](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-scorekeeper/)
- [The Second Opinion](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-second-opinion/)
- [The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-short-second-life-of-bree-tanner/)
- [The Sound of Music](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-sound-of-music/)
- [The Talisman](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-talisman/)
- [The Thief of Baghdad](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-thief-of-baghdad/)
- [The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-thirty-six-dramatic-situations/)
- [The Way of Shadows](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-way-of-shadows/)
- [The Writing Business](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-writing-business/)
- [The Writing Life](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/the-writing-life/)
- [Thomas Beard](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/thomas-beard/)
- [Thriller](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/thriller/)
- [Time Magazine](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/time-magazine/)
- [Tips and Tricks](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/tips-and-tricks/)
- [Titanic](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/titanic/)
- [Toby Nance](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/toby-nance/)
- [Tony Romo](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/tony-romo/)
- [Top Gun](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/top-gun/)
- [Tornado](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/tornado/)
- [traditional publishing](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/traditional-publishing/)
- [Triad](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/triad/)
- [trib](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/trib/)
- [Trish Pogue](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/trish-pogue/)
- [Truth](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/truth/)
- [Tulsa](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/tulsa/)
- [Turabian](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/turabian/)
- [Turner Falls](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/turner-falls/)
- [TV](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/tv/)
- [Tween Spy-fi](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/tween-spy-fi/)
- [Tweets](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/tweets/)
- [Twilight](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/twilight/)
- [Twilight series](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/twilight-series/)
- [Twitter](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/twitter/)
- [Twitterpated](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/twitterpated/)
- [Ty Johnston](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/ty-johnston/)
- [typographical cover](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/typographical-cover/)
- [Typography](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/typography/)
- [UAF](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/uaf/)
- [University of Oklahoma](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/university-of-oklahoma/)
- [Unstressed Syllables](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/unstressed-syllables/)
- [Urban Dictionary](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/urban-dictionary/)
- [Urban Fantasy](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/urban-fantasy/)
- [V for Vendetta](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/v-for-vendetta/)
- [Value](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/value/)
- [Vampires](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/vampires/)
- [vanity publishing](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/vanity-publishing/)
- [Verisimilitude](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/verisimilitude/)
- [Vishakadatta](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/vishakadatta/)
- [Vivian Norby](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/vivian-norby/)
- [weaponized plot](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/weaponized-plot/)
- [Weird Western](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/weird-western/)
- [Wendy Mass](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/wendy-mass/)
- [Wheel of Time](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/wheel-of-time/)
- [Wikipedia](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/wikipedia/)
- [WILAWriTWe](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/wilawritwe/)
- [Wilderness Trek](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/wilderness-trek/)
- [Wile E. Coyote](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/wile-e-coyote/)
- [Winnie the Pooh](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/winnie-the-pooh/)
- [Word 2010](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/word-2010/)
- [Word Count](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/word-count/)
- [Words](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/words/)
- [Work-in-progress](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/work-in-progress/)
- [Working Title](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/working-title/)
- [working together](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/working-together/)
- [World of Auric](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/world-of-auric/)
- [World War Z](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/world-war-z/)
- [Worldbuilding](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/worldbuilding/)
- [Write What You Know](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/write-what-you-know/)
- [Writer's Bible](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/writers-bible/)
- [Writer's toolbox](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/writers-toolbox/)
- [Writer's Tribe](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/writers-tribe/)
- [Writing Advice](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/writing-advice/)
- [Writing Exercise](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/writing-exercise/)
- [Writing Genders](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/writing-genders/)
- [Writing Groups](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/writing-groups/)
- [Writing Processes](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/writing-processes/)
- [Writing Prompts](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/writing-prompts/)
- [Writing Rules](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/writing-rules/)
- [Writing Software](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/writing-software/)
- [X-Men First Class](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/x-men-first-class/)
- [Xander Pogue](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/xander-pogue/)
- [Xena: Warrior Princess](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/xena-warrior-princess/)
- [Young Adult](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/young-adult/)
- [Your Unique Voice](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/your-unique-voice/)
- [your vs. you're](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/your-vs-youre/)
- [YouTube](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/youtube/)
- [Zeus](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/zeus/)
- [Zombieland](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/zombieland/)
- [Zombies](https://unstressedsyllables.com/tag/zombies/)