Stuff Writers Think
The drafting stage is fraught with distracting, terrifying thoughts. Writers navigate mazes of doubts and uncertainty, sure only of the fact that a completed manuscript is waiting somewhere at the finish line. We beat ourselves up, questioning every scene and every sentence. And then there’s the procrastination, followed by a whirlwind writing session after which we collapse onto the couch in a daze.
The drafting process can be rough, but we’re in this together. Here’s some of the stuff writers think while they’re getting their words on paper.
“My inner editor is such a jerk.”
During the drafting phase, we spend a lot of time cursing our inner editor. Here’s how that conversation goes. ...
5 Types of Novelists
Novelists come in all types. Their drafting styles are as diverse as their work—and their penmanship. If you’re gathering a crowd of these writerly folks (good luck with that, lots of introverts in the crowd), here are five types you’re likely to see.
1. The Perpetual Nano-er
This type of novelist is forever typing at break-finger speeds. Fifty thousand words in a month? Forget that. This novelist thinks she can break a hundred thousand. ...
Top 3 Tools for Building a Readership
Most of us write with the intention of being read. That’s not always the primary goal. Perhaps we want to simply write the stories burning inside us. Perhaps writing is cathartic or even (dare I say) fun. But in our core, we are storytellers. We want to reach humanity with our words. And to do that, we’ve got to find a way to put our words and stories in front of those who will read them and be moved by them.
Thankfully, we live in an age of constant communication. The Internet provides infinite outlets to reach potential readers. But it’s easy to get lost in the chaos of websites and forums. It’s best to focus our attention on a few effective tools to meet and engage readers, remembering that the goal isn’t to reach as many people as possible, but to get to know people and to earn their trust through honest engagement. No one will take the time to read your writing if they don’t trust that you have something to say. ...
12 Tips for Protecting Your Writing Time
Writers write, right? Then why is it so hard to carve out time to follow your passion and to do what you do best? Here are 12 tips to make sure your writing time remains your writing time. ...
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20 questions and a selfie: A day in the life of Dani Dixon, comic book creator and founder of Tumble Creek Press
For this installment of “20 Questions and a Selfie,” we catch up with Dani Dixon, the creator of Tumble Creek …
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20 questions and a selfie: A day in the life of self-published horror author A.R. Braun
A.R. is the author of two short-story collections, Insanity and Horrorbook, and has numerous publication credits, including "NREM Sleep" in the D.O.A. anthology; "Freaks" in Downstate Story magazine; "The Unwanted Visitors" in the Vermin anthology; "Coven" in the Heavy Metal Horror anthology; "Remember Me?" in Horror Bound magazine; and "Shades of Gray (the Symbiosis of Light and Dark)" in Micro Horror magazine. Braun's "The Interloper" won story of the month in 2009's June Full Moon in Bloom issue of SNM Horror Magazine, and the piece was included in the SNM Horror anthology, Bonded by Blood 2: a Romance in Red.
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