Category: style

• May 4, 2024

  The fine line you have to walk when writing fiction

  There is a fine line any author needs to walk. To a real extent, this applies to writers of nonfiction as well, but it’s true of fiction in a unique way. This “fine line” is one of the major reasons we all need beta readers and editors, because it’s hard, if not impossible, to tell…
• May 3, 2024

  Dialogue that I love has these characteristics

  I generally love great dialogue more than just about anything else in a story, especially as a viewer (I love classic Hollywood movies for the dialogue!) and as a reader. While there is plenty of action in Herezoth, my novels tend to be dialogue-heavy because dialogue is my strength as a writer (as I’ve been…
• April 15, 2024

  Quick, easy tips to improve fiction writing (and some hard truths as well)

  You may have heard most, or all of these, before. But I have seen the importance of them, how easy they are to implement, and how much they have improved the quality of my writing. Those are easy fixes. Now to some deeper, hard truths for aspiring writers out there. You do NOT need an…
• January 26, 2024

  Advice for beginning writers 5: hive mind compilation!

  I recently asked on my Facebook page what advice my fellow writers have for beginners. I got some great responses! Paraphrased by me, with credit given to the author who contributed the idea, here is what people offered. I will put author names in quotes as their official Facebook page is named, so that you…
• January 22, 2024

  Advice for beginning writers 3: focus on learning the craft (by doing)

  When you’re writing your first novel or first few short stories, focus on learning, growing, and on the story you want to tell. Focus on discovering the process that works for you as a writer. Don’t worry about the market or what you think will or won’t sell. Don’t have expectations about how good it…
• December 9, 2023

  It’s good that it’s painful to read what you wrote years ago

  I hear a lot of writers talking on social media about how much they cringe to read their older pieces–whether, poems, short stories, novellas, or even novels. It’s definitely hard to go back and look at your older work. If that’s you, and you’re feeling a bit embarrassed about stuff you put out in the…
• October 3, 2023

  My toxic writer trait: my vocabulary

  My toxic writer trait is my vocabulary, and possibly not in the sense you think. It’s rather expansive. This isn’t good or bad, it’s just a result of my particular interests and background. I’ve always been a VORACIOUS reader, I have a particular affinity for the 16-19th centuries, I have studied multiple languages in grad…
• August 4, 2023

  Applying Occam’s Razor to creative writing (plot twists, style)

  

  Occam’s razor is the idea that if there is a simple, intuitive explanation for something, it is preferable to and more likely than a more convoluted explanation. In terms of plot, as I’m sure any mystery writer could tell you, this means you might want to keep these basic points in mind: In terms of…