Advanced Characterization (Michael Stackpole) All plot comes out of the characters – their needs, goals and interactions “Your job as a writer is to torture and confuse your readers by […]
creative writing
Writing Workshop: Day 3
Editors for Hire (Chantelle Aimee Osman) Once you’ve written “the end,” the journey is only half over. You must put out the best book you can – if it’s not, you […]
Writing Workshop: Day 2
Unraveling the Mystery of Mysteries, by Chantelle Aimee Osman “A first class mystery is also a first class novel.” ~P.D.James There are three main elements to a mystery: Plot – […]
Writing Workshop: Day 1
Today’s panels were The Rules of Writing, Historical Research, Characterization and Writing Mysteries. Here are Michael Stackpole’s suggestions. Rules of Writing: Show, don’t tell. If you say “Bob was angry,” […]
5 Habits of Successful Writers
Everybody knows the names of the current best-selling authors, right? But what about the writers who are successful, but not household names? How do you become successful, even if you […]
Guest Post: Subject is Variable – Character is Everything
Today’s guest lecturer is Amanda Rosenblatt: When writing anything, whether it is an OpEd blog, a creative short story, or a fact sheet, the character put into the text is […]
5 Rules To Know Before You Break Them
Many amateur writers mistakenly believe that they don’t need a solid grounding in the language in order to write. After all, great writers break the rules all the time, right? […]
Catch ‘Em Quick
Writing a catchy first paragraph is a must for every writer, but especially for fiction writers. If the reader isn’t hooked in the first paragraph, sometimes the first two or […]
Revising 1-2-3
Revision can be tough. Sometimes it’s hard to take a good, clear look at what you’ve written. Here are some good tips to get you started on the revision process: […]
5 Ways to Round Out Your Characters
It’s not enough just to invent a character. You have to breathe life into that imaginary person. Here are five ways you can do this – and how to show […]