Advice for Writing, Editing, Reading, and Life.
New posts on Mondays (for non-fiction) or Fridays (for fiction)
Adeptly Avoiding Adverbs (And Allowing Them Adroitly)
Many famous writers, from Mark Twain to Stephen King, have suggested that the only good adverb is one left out of your draft. As with lots of advice offered glibly, this comes from a good place, but it has to be understood in context of why adverbs cause problems. A poorly constructed sentence without adverbs is still poorly constructed.
Five More Rookie Writing Mistakes
No writer is perfect. The closest we can get is to keep pushing forward, and allow others to speak into our work to help us find and fix mistakes. My hope is that you, by reading this post, are helped to find and fix these rookie mistakes (that I still sometimes make).
Three Tips to Write Better Dialogue
You may not immediately think so, but dialogue can make or break a work of fiction. When I wrote about common writing mistakes, I didn’t touch on dialogue, but it’s not because dialogue is easy. It’s because it’s hard, and the mistakes writers make when writing dialogue aren’t, in my opinion, rookie mistakes.
Five Rookie Writing Mistakes (I Still Sometimes Make)
No matter how good you get at bowling, there’s always a cap after which, even if you are getting better, you can’t really measure it. In writing there’s no cap to how good you can be; however, because “good writing” is based almost entirely on subjective criteria, there’s no clear or obvious way to measure how good a writer you are.
All you can do is identify mistakes and avoid them in the future.
Five Characteristics of a Great Writing Group
Like it or not, you will never be all you can be as a writer until you open yourself up to outside feedback. Every writer needs an editor, every editor needs a reader, and every reader needs a writer. A critique group is a wonderful way to begin widening the circle of people who see and respond to your work, but I don’t recommend just thoughtlessly messaging people in hopes of finding a group. So this week, I want to discuss some things to look for in a critique group.
Nothing New Under the Sun: What To Do When Your Idea Isn’t Completely Original
Much of western fiction is some re-imagining of the Monomyth, and even when it’s not, all ideas are inspired by something that already exists. So, what should you do when you inevitably find out that the idea you’ve been nurturing… well, the Simpsons already did it?
Random Tips to Write With More Confidence and Authority
When I lost my job and my book deal along with it, it was a huge blow to my confidence, and it greatly exacerbated my case of imposter syndrome. Part of the reason I began this blog in the first place was to share what I do know about writing, however little it may be, and give other writers and editors the tools they need to stop feeling like a fraud.
Five Questions to Guide Your Worldbuilding Process
Not all fiction is set in a fantastical world, distant planet, or alternate timeline, but all fiction requires some level of worldbuilding. Even a novel written to be a realistic drama set in a real, modern-day city needs internal consistency to ensure the parts that are fiction don’t clash with the parts that are not.
How to Receive Feedback Well
Writing with the intent to distribute is a beautiful paradox; it’s at once intensely personal and intimate, and highly collaborative and public. Asking for feedback can be terrifying, but it’s also very often thrilling and always necessary.
How to Give Feedback Well
Every bit of feedback you provide should be helpful above all else. When you work with another writer, you’re a collaborator, not a competitor. The more good writing that makes it into the world, the better off we all are.