I thank JA Konrath with providing a list of resolutions for writers that I could edit for my 2009 resolutions: I will finish revising the damn book. I will start on the next book. I will listen to criticism. I will update my website. I will master the query process and find an agent. IContinue reading “Hello 2009”
Tag Archives: Writing
Parodies Loosed
I found a link to a spoof of Twilight at Editorial Ass. It is hilarious. I forget how I came across this spoof of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows with its mega-spoilers but it too is great (and teeming with text speak LOL). I have found a site for Shakespeare parodies, such as ScotsContinue reading “Parodies Loosed”
That novel you want to write
Grammar Girl, Mignon Fogarty, lists Scott Sigler’s plan for writing that novel you have in you. Here’s his five-step plan. Step 1: Write every day Step 2: Write a bad book first Step 3: Finish the bad book, then put it away for six months Step 4: Start writing your “good” book Step 5: AfterContinue reading “That novel you want to write”
Lynne Viehl's Devil's Writing Dictionary
S. L. (Lynn) Viehl over at Paperback Writer has a nifty Devil’s Writing Dictionary. I love her definition of novel: Novel: a rambling, proportionally disorganized fictional prose narrative of considerable length (usually 60,000 words or more) that typically possesses some semblance of a plot (unless literary, see Literature) that is presented in between sequences ofContinue reading “Lynne Viehl's Devil's Writing Dictionary”
Lynne Viehl’s Devil’s Writing Dictionary
S. L. (Lynn) Viehl over at Paperback Writer has a nifty Devil’s Writing Dictionary. I love her definition of novel: Novel: a rambling, proportionally disorganized fictional prose narrative of considerable length (usually 60,000 words or more) that typically possesses some semblance of a plot (unless literary, see Literature) that is presented in between sequences ofContinue reading “Lynne Viehl’s Devil’s Writing Dictionary”
Word (or Phrase) of the Year
From the American Dialect Society: What is the word or phrase which best characterizes the year 2008? What expression most reflects the ideas, events, and themes which have occupied the United States and its residents? Nominations should be sent to woty@americandialect.org. The best “word of the year” candidates will be: —new or newly popular inContinue reading “Word (or Phrase) of the Year”
Easy as ABC
I continue to learn from reading and listening to Eric Witchey. I know I’ve posted his You Tube video before but I glean something new every time I watch it. This time, he helped me grok a scene with my antagonist. That something comes from what he terms the “ABCs” of a scene. Agenda, Backstory,Continue reading “Easy as ABC”
Michael Crichton – storyteller
Best-selling author Michael Crichton died unexpectedly in Los Angeles Tuesday, November 4, 2008, losing a private battle against cancer. He was 66. Crichton did not write literature. I cannot name one protagonist, any antagonist from any of his books I read. Yet I couldn’t put them down, okay I didn’t finish Timeline or Prey. PreyContinue reading “Michael Crichton – storyteller”
Happy NaNoWriMo
Happy NaNoWriMo everyone. National Novel Writing Month starts November 1. It’s a great idea. Write a 50,000 word novella novel in thirty days. I’m not going to do it even though it’s a great way to switch off the inner critic (because it’s all about the numbers) and just write. As the NaNoWriMo folks say,Continue reading “Happy NaNoWriMo”
A Not So Lame Contest
Jeffrey Goldberg over at the Atlantic magazine is having a writing contest. Winner gets a subscription to the Atlantic. You may recall a posting of mine the other day, I noted an article titled, The Things He Carried, written by Jeffrey Goldberg. Goldberg contends that the Transportation Security Administration is concerned with catching the lowestContinue reading “A Not So Lame Contest”
Nullius in Verba 