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If there’s one writer who’s (thankfully) incapable of shutting up about the writing process, it’s beloved American horror icon Stephen King. In his fantastic and much-quoted On Writing, he says, The first draft of a book – even a long one – should take no more than three months, the length of a season. – Stephen King, On Writing And, ever since On Writing’s publication in 1999, we eager …
[Read more...] about Why You Should Finish Your First Draft As Quickly As Possible
For a while now, we’ve been putting overly rigid writing advice under the microscope with 3 Writing Myths You Should Feel Free To Ignore and 3 (More) Writing Myths You Should Feel Free To Ignore. Today, we’re back in the lab, examining more absolutes to see if they belong in your writing. Myth #7: Write what you know The reason for this advice is fairly obvious. Karen Blixen is far more …
[Read more...] about Another 3 Writing Myths You Should Feel Free To Ignore
Theme is one of the first aspects of literary critique that we learn about in school and one of the first things we forget when it comes to improving our work. It’s an odd dichotomy so ingrained that many authors will proudly declare that they have no idea what themes are at play in their work. With all that being the case, is there really a case for deliberately involving theme in the editing …
[Read more...] about Why Appreciating Your Theme Will Improve Your Writing
A while back, we talked about reasons people will put a book down and how to make sure it isn’t your book they’re ditching by page 13. One major thing that turns readers off is a book that’s too homogeneous – it’s all the same, page after page. Books that are homogeneous are easy to drop, but also, unfortunately, easy to write and publish. That being the case, let’s explore a colorful method for …
[Read more...] about The Color-Coding Technique That Will Save Your Writing
When it comes to writing a story that will stick with your reader, it can be hard to bring certain things to the fore. Characters and events happen in front of the reader, but story elements like theme or larger concepts are harder to define, and therefore harder to get right. Happily, the use of motif is a great way to do so. That’s why, in this article, I’ll be taking a look at motif and what it …
[Read more...] about Why A Motif Could Be Just What Your Story Needs
One of the biggest hurdles when improving a story is moving past its original form. While authors instinctively set to work improving character, dialogue, description, action, and voice, most consider the first plot structure they set down on the page to be the definitive version. As a consequence, important elements of a story are improved, but they all remain married to the most basic version of …
[Read more...] about Do You Really Need To Start At The Beginning?
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