Tweet 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 […]
Tweet 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 […]
Tweet 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 […]
Tweet 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, […]
Tweet 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 […]
Tweet 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 […]
Tweet 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, […]
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…
Tweet 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 […]
Tweet 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 […]
