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The Writing Resources Page

I keep my working craft notes on one page of this site. It's called Writing Resources, and reaching it costs nothing but a free account. I mean the actual notes. The template I fill in before I name a character. The ten-part slog I went through to build a believable world for my …

Oxford Comma vs. No Oxford Comma: What Writers Should Know

Which is the best for comma usage in fiction? To be, or not to be?  As I’ve been revising and editing Another Past: Book One, I’ve run into an inconsistency in my editing tools. In the review tools built into Ulysses, where my definitive content lives, Oxford commas are used. Thi…

Overcoming Writing Blocks: Tips to Reignite Your Muse

I’ve hit a little block on my two works-in-progress. Neither is fully blocked, in so far that I know where I want the story to go, but both are feeling more like work to write at the moment. Since the first 25k words in each came almost effortlessly, it gives a pause when it star…

Understanding Character Depth Through the Lens of Who

I recently started to get caught up on Writing Excuses, Season 20 while commenting into work. Specifically, Episode 5: Lens 1 - Who. The discussion introduces “the lens of who” — which means talking about characters. This is a great refresher on making characters that are multi-d…

Navigating Plot Challenges: Writing into a Corner

I've been editing and polishing my latest story, as discussed last month. I know I'm making the story better and stronger, but it is not without its challenges. One issue I faced is the skipping of progress in certain character/conflict arcs. My method of tracing these arcs expos…

Essential Editing Tips for Novelists: Filling Plot Holes

Last week I discussed ongoing editing of my current work in progress. The difference between creating and editing has been a motivational struggle, but I feel I have gotten into a rhythm over the past week. Here are a few accomplishments and observations since that last post. Plo…

Identifying Plot Gaps in Your Novel

I've been continuing with my review of my draft novel. I fully believed I had completed it from a plot perspective. Much to my chagrin, a review for editing has shown a big gap in the story. Here's what happened. As part of the review I have begun, I created a tally of the major …

Navigating Writing Challenges: Tips for Revising Your Manuscript

I've been off of writing for a couple of weeks due to company visiting around the holidays. One reason I pushed to complete my NaNoWriMo well before the end of November was to give me the breathing room to prepare for guest. After taking a break, I've gone back into my work in pr…

Flash Fiction: Applying the MICE Model

I mentioned previously that I've been watching Brandon Sanderson's lectures on writing Science Fiction and Fantasy at BYU. Lecture #7 features a guest lecturer, Mary Robinette Kowal. In the lecture, she covers the MICE quotient and has the class apply it to a piece of flash ficti…

Architect or Gardner?

I've recently been going through Brandon Sanderson's Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy lectures at BYU. If you are interested in writing, I encourage you to check the lectures out. In the introductory lecture, he discusses author's approaches to how they plan and write their stor…

Writing Productivity - Start before you feel ready.  Stop before you feel done.

I suspect I am like many of you in the fact that I read a lot. I like to read for both personal enjoyment as well as personal growth and development. I recently came across a work-focused article that has something for the writer inside as well. Over 30 years ago, the psychologis…

Inspiration from the Scottish Highlands

I've just returned from a two week trip through the highlands of Scotland and am trying to get back into the writing groove. I'm sure some of my experiences will find their ways into my writing, but they haven't percolated through my brain as of yet. A few thoughts have already s…