12 Writing Hacks (Video)
Alfred Sheinwold said, “Learn all you can from the mistakes of others. You won't have time to make them all yourself.” Writers are always looking for tips, tidbits gleaned from others’ experiences to help make the writing process easier. In her video, writing coach Stefanie Newell discusses 12 tips, from backing up your stuff to creating writing schedules to setting goals. Learn from her! You’ll have plenty of opportunities to learn from your own mistakes, too. ...
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Questions to Ask Your Characters
Many writers begin developing characters by creating character profiles, which identify physical traits and simple backstory. But oftentimes the real questions go unanswered until the writer is deep in the manuscript—making the editing process much more involved than it needs to be.
Before you ever start writing, take some time to really get to know your characters.
First, ask them these three big questions ...
Coping with Negative Reviews
If you’re a writer, self-published or otherwise, sooner or later you will receive your very first negative review (*sigh* It’s a right of passage, all right!) You shouldn’t worry about it, or be discouraged by it, because no matter how great your novel is, it won’t be right for everyone. No novel is.
But it still hurts. It’s still painful to see that someone disliked, maybe even hated, this thing you spent such a long time perfecting! It’s inevitable and you need to accept that, but how do you prepare yourself?
Take a look at this...
10 Moments Buffy Spoke to Writers
Writers see ourselves everywhere. That’s partially because we’re narcissistic, but mostly because our lives consist of writing and thinking about writing. Buffy the Vampire Slayer may not be about writers per se, but it has its moments.
1. Adam: “You are immortal, and yet you fear death more than those to whom it comes naturally.” (4.16)
Adam calls vampires a paradox. Immortality is within their reach, but one stake to the heart or one well-placed match, and it’s all gone. Immortality is no good if you’re killed before you make it out of the gate. ...
Using Humor in Your Writing
Leigh Anne Jasheway is a stress management and humor expert, comedy writer, stand-up comic, and comedy instructor/coach. Her article, “How to Write Better Using Humor,” recently appeared on Writer’s Digest.
As creative writers, we are always looking for ways to improve our craft, and learning from experts in other artistic disciplines—including comedy—is a fantastic way to do so. Writing is about exploring and representing the human experience, and humor is an undeniable part of that experience.
With that said, please welcome Leigh Anne Jasheway! ...
The Cycle of Writing
We live in a cyclical world. The seasons change. The Earth rotates around the sun. Our leaders serve terms and are replaced. The young grow old. The economy rises and falls. There has always been and will always be a natural cycle to our lives.
We don’t doubt that winter’s bare trees will eventually sprout leaves again. Why do we doubt that a spell of difficult writing will eventually turn fruitful?
We’ve all been there. The words aren’t flowing. Letters look like hieroglyphs. Our characters evade us, and our plot lines twist and tangle like intertwined necklaces. We are creatives, which means our work is dependent on a variety of factors. ...
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