Characters are the key to your story. You want readers to connect with your main characters as quickly as possible. They should be able to see them, know them and be interested in them.
If you want the character to really make a strong first impression you need to find a way to get under the reader’s skin. How do you do that? Via mooderino 
There are plenty of successful authors of gripping, bestselling novels whose writing, if you look at it in technical terms, is crappy. But having an excellent grasp of grammar does not guarantee a good story, either.
So, does that mean learning the ins and outs of show versus tell and passive versus active writing is a monumental waste of time? Via mooderino 
If you want to hook your readers, you’ll need a character that leaps off the page. A good character is believable and interesting... 
Readers enjoy the unexpected. Not knowing what’s going to happen is part of the pleasure of hearing a story. But just because you don’t know something doesn’t mean you want to know. Via mooderino 
I’ve just returned from a five-day Writing Retreat at the Arvon Foundation’s centre at Totleigh Barton in Devon.... 
Whether you’re a dedicated outliner or you wing it with no idea where your story might take you, the first complete draft you produce will have problems.
A lot of the time you will know a section isn't working before you even reach the end of the paragraph. Just not good enough.
You can stop and fret and worry about how to make it better, or you can keep going.
Via mooderino 
Today’s guest is Sarah Pekkanen, the internationally bestselling author of three novels. Her latest, These Girls, a richly woven tale of friendship, was released April 10th and has received praise from authors Jodi Picoult and Jen Lancaster. 
I’m around 25% of the way through possibly the most poorly written novel I’ve ever read... 
Writers, said the science fiction author Isaac Asimov, fall into two groups: "Those who bleed copiously and visibly at any bad review, and those who bleed copiously and secretly at any bad review." Via Elle Amberley, Michelle Bishop 
Inflate Your Characters by Walking a Mile in their …. 
There are numerous ways to get the creative juices flowing for writers.
Via Laura Brown 
Jeffrey Littorno asks: I have been a high school English teacher for most of the last twenty-five years, so I know that sentence fragments are to be avoided at all costs. However, I have gotten into the habit of using them regularly in my writing to convey the seed of a thought or impression. What is your opinion on breaking the rules of grammar by utilizing fragments? Via mooderino |
I wonder, am I optimistic or naive when I permit myself to think I may just have the makings of a good read on my hands? When I allow myself to dream that I can smell the freshly printed pages...
In creative writing, we talk about form and genre. Form is what we write: fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. Genre is how we further classify each of these forms.
In fiction writing, there’s literary fiction and everything else. Via mooderino 
(This is the third post in the Flip the Script series: check out the previous installments here and here.) More so than some other cliched writing advice we’ve discussed in this series, “kill your darlings” sometimes makes sense. 
We've all heard it. "Don't judge a book by its cover!" And yet we've all done it, right? 
When I teach freshman writing, my first job is to destroy my students' illusions. TV shows and films give them the dangerous idea that great authors just wait to get inspired, and then genius pours out of their pens in an unstoppable flood. The reality is different. Via Laura Brown 
These are the rules you must never, never, never break when writing. Just kidding. There aren’t any rules that can’t be broken when writing fiction. But these are the things I choose to abide by when I’m writing my stories. My personal rules. There’s absolutely no reason you need to follow any of them. 
When the first draft of your novel is littered with subplots, cut. Here are three criteria for deciding where to cut. Via Judith van Praag 
When someone wants something you have the beginning of a story. When they get it you have the end of the story. But the bit in between is the interesting part, and making it too linear won’t generate much enthusiasm in the reader. 
A few weeks ago I attended a conference called The Space Between Us, which was about the intersection between literature and technology. The exceptionally interesting James Bridle gave the keynot...
I’m picky about punctuation and I adore audiobooks. Today I was reminded of a comedy sketch which brilliantly and heroically blends these two things... 
When you write, whether it’s a short scene or a whole chapter, you usually have a rough idea of what you want to achieve. You may not know exactly how things will play out, but there’s going to be something the scene will be based on, even if it’s only that two characters will get together and chat. Via mooderino 
Most advice given to writers is generic and basic. This is because most aspiring writers make the same basic mistakes. But then most aspiring writers never finish the story their writing. And most of the ones that do finish, never get round to doing a rewrite. And if you happen to be one of the few who do manage to persevere and are serious about producing a book worth reading (and buying) then, by definition, you aren’t most people. Via mooderino |
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