Category: writing
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The Value of a Skillful Writer
A paragraph struck me while I was reading an open letter by Joss Whedon about the writers’ guild strike: Writers can be replaced, as we […]
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Is my story cliché and contrived?
An actual question asked on one of the writer’s boards. An aspiring author gave a two-paragraph summary of his plot idea. He said he feared […]
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100 Free Fictional Character Ideas
… a tiny sample from 1001 Character Quirks for Writing Fiction. Literally, the full list is more than 10 times as big. Of course, the […]
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Free Newsletter from a Long-time Published Author
I’m going to let you in on a brand-new, free writer’s resource that has really impressed me for the quality of tips, tricks, and sage […]
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The Real 7 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer
Getting caught up on my RSS feeds, I saw Brian Clark’s 10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer. He didn’t make up this advice. It […]
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When to Use Character Quirks
I’ve read plenty of writing advice to improve your fictional characters using quirks, or hooks, or tags. That is, make the character more interesting by […]
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Mixing the Ridiculous with the Sublime
How do you tell a joke about something serious and make it funny? This is something I’ve been pondering lately, because I’m gearing up to […]
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Here’s Why Rushing the Ending Would Save Gilmore Girls
As one fan put it to me recently, “I thought you would like to hear of the extremes that people love this show.” She then […]
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What Is a “Story”?
What is a story? That’s a good question. For a good answer, let’s look at the traditional short story. It follows a standard pattern, because […]
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Fourteen-Day Screenplay Starts Saturday
Two Weeks, One Screenplay, Are You Up To The Challenge? It’s “the NaNoWriMo for screenwriters,” the 14-day screenplay, and it’s almost upon us, June 3 […]
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