Category: Writing Craft
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Create-A-Character
Severing the story while seeming to be real life is a trick all writers must perform. This article is a aid to creating a living, breathing character who lived a life.
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Have a Plan, Stan.
I do not feel well today. I am suppose to post a writing prompt or something inspirational today. I do not feel like doing either. Tomorrow I need to post a writing tip. Because I have planned out my editorial calendar, I know what I need to write for tomorrow and am sitting at the…
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Scene Not Working? These 10 Questions Will Fix It.
Very often a writer can feel a scene is not working, but can’t figure out why. This checklist can identify the problem. What is a Scene? A scene is a continuous sequence of action in a book, play, movie or short story. It is the building block of a play or movie and is the…
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Contractions: Do or Don’t?
Every editor I have ever worked with has crossed out all contractions in my copy. I was told by professors, proofreaders and other writers not to use contractions except in dialogue. I have advised writers not to use contractions in their writing other than dialogue. It appears this is bad advice, sorta. I re-blogged a…
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Want to Be a Better Writer? Cut These 9 Words
I found this blog post by Joe Bunting very useful. Want to Be a Better Writer? Cut These 7 Words. The difference between active and passive voice is difficult for writers to grasp because it is feeling in writing. People tend to speak in passive language because it is considered polite, so we hear it…
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Writer’s Block: A Leap Off the Lion’s Head
Many writers, especially young ones, will claim to have writer’s block; I was one of them. I no longer believe in writer’s block. In graduate school when I met with playwright Romulus Linney for the first time to discuss ideas for my first full-length play, I handed him my four page free-write about how I…
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Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling
I want to print these as posters and hang them around my office. Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling (with movie stills)! – ScreenCraft.
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Where do Ideas Come From?
Where do ideas come from? It is a question all writers are asked and very few answer. I am going to answer it, sort of. I mean, I do not want to get kicked out of the union do I? The reason most writers give a vague answer to this question is there is no…
