Ok, first, let's start with a quote that pretty much any modern writer has run across... “I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops. To put it another way, they're like dandelions. If you have one on your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. If … Continue reading The Adverb Myth
Author: WritingRepair
“As you know, Bob”
Sam picked up the long stone and held it out to Willie. “So, what was it Ms. Jones said about dinosaur bones in class the other day?” Willie took the stone and examined it. “Well, she said…” This is known as the “As you know, Bob” dialogue faux pas. This happens when a character is … Continue reading “As you know, Bob”
Talking heads – leave them on CNN and Fox
I just critiqued a chapter of someone’s work that included three pages of non-stop dialogue with no action, no internal dialogue (or should that be internal monologue?), and no description of the room. It was aggravating and confusing. Talking Heads don’t exist in real life unless they are yammering on a cable news channel. Things … Continue reading Talking heads – leave them on CNN and Fox
Contractions… use them.
One of the horrors wrought on good writing comes from one of the most unlikely, or possibly the most predictable, places — schools. Academic writing drills into us that we must use formal language and that means no contractions. Somehow, this can get dragged into our fiction. We aren’t writing term papers about the effects … Continue reading Contractions… use them.
As the master of setting goals that are far too lofty for my, and sometimes any sane human's, abilities, I am used to eating crow. Whenever I hear someone use the words "failure is not an option," my response is, "Oh, yeah? Hold my beer." Conventional wisdom is that a writer needs to write every … Continue reading
Day 5
You ever set out to do something insane, and realize half-way through exactly how insane it is? I couldn't post last night because I didn't want to touch another key. I have a Yeti microphone and Dragon set up on my laptop... I may see what I can do with that today. About a year … Continue reading Day 5
Days 3 and 4
Where'd 3 Go?? As anyone who knows me will tell you; if the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, I'm foreman of Satan's Public Works crew. I had a set back yesterday morning when I woke up panicking about money. So, I took one of the short-stories I'd written and just needed to … Continue reading Days 3 and 4
Day 2
Ok, I was setting out to expand the outline today. I didn’t do so well. Even keeping the expansion scant, I got too much into writing the story and made the outline of each chapter way too big. Dialogue would jump into my head and come out my fingers. My usual chapter is about 1,600 … Continue reading Day 2
Day 1
It's the end of day 1, and I'm wiped out. My brain is jelly. As for using the software, I ditched that idea around six hours ago. It is sooooooo detailed that there's no way I could finish in two days. It will be great when I'm trying to suss out characters and stories in … Continue reading Day 1
Book in 12 Days
Ok, I sat at the beach and wrote all this in my notebook yesterday, was going to type it up when I got home, and post it. Unfortunately, I finally talked my roommate into watching Stranger Things and we ended up binge watching six episodes. No more work was done. So, here's what should have … Continue reading Book in 12 Days
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