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5 Ways To Find The Best Form Of Your Scene

January 27, 2020 by Robert Wood Leave a Comment

5 Ways To Find The Best Form Of Your Scene

Sometimes, it’s only when you actually start writing that the problems begin. The ideas are all in place, you know your plot points and characters like the back of your hand, but then your pencil hovers over the page (or your fingers over the keyboard) and you realize that the scene just won’t come. Maybe you power through, but even after the immense effort of getting your ideas down on the …

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How To Master Similes And Metaphors In Your Writing – Part 2

January 22, 2020 by Robert Wood Leave a Comment

How To Master Similes And Metaphors In Your Writing – Part 2

In part 1 of this article (available here), I talked about what similes and metaphors are, how they differ, and how to choose between them in your writing. In this, part 2, we’ll be discussing how to really master these examples of figurative language; how to write better similes and metaphors, how to adopt figurative language into your writing style, and how to avoid the pitfalls that come with …

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How To Master Similes And Metaphors In Your Writing – Part 1

January 20, 2020 by Robert Wood 1 Comment

How To Master Similes And Metaphors In Your Writing – Part 1

When it comes to improving your craft, a mastery of imagery is key. Being able to present the world outside the literal truth opens up a vista of possibilities that are otherwise closed off. Suddenly, characters, locations, and events can be anything, if only for a moment, vastly enhancing your ability to write unique, emotive prose. To that end, today I’ll be talking about similes …

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What Authors Like You Need To Know About The Use (And Misuse) Of Synecdoche

January 6, 2020 by Robert Wood Leave a Comment

What Authors Like You Need To Know About The Use (And Misuse) Of Synecdoche

The term ‘synecdoche’ is unwieldy, even unfriendly, but it describes a useful literary device that you’re probably already using at various levels of your writing, from the concepts behind your story to the way you phrase certain sentences. Good synecdoche has a lot of uses, but when it turns bad, it has a uniquely goofy way of screwing up your writing. That’s why, in today’s article, we’ll be …

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Authors Need To Know About Aphantasia: Here’s Why

November 20, 2019 by Robert Wood 6 Comments

Authors Need To Know About Aphantasia: Here’s Why

Some writing advice is practical (cut your adverbs), some is theoretical (the structure of a story influences its message), and some is factual (the short-fiction market isn’t what it used to be). Personally, I’ve always found that the best writing advice deals with perception – the ability to understand how someone else will process your art. A hard fact of human nature can be revealed to you, …

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7 Ways Donald E. Westlake (And Richard Stark) Can Help You Improve Your Writing

November 11, 2019 by Robert Wood Leave a Comment

7 Ways Donald E. Westlake (And Richard Stark) Can Help You Improve Your Writing

Donald E. Westlake is perhaps the definitive writer’s writer, having published more than one hundred books under various names, including Curt Clark, Tucker Coe, Samuel Holt, Edwin West, Judson Jack Carmichael and – most famously – Richard Stark. Why so many names? Partly because Westlake showed admirable brand management by choosing different names when writing in different genres, and partly …

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