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Jun 13

Learn about your characters by writing their obituaries

I don’t mean to sound morbid, but if you’re building characters for a short story or novel, I suggest you write their obituaries.

I’ve written a fair number of them over the years as a newspaper reporter, for members of my family, and to help friends who struggled with the words to honor a loved one who had passed away.

A good obituary is a tribute and a glimpse of a person’s life. As a journalist, I felt it was an honor to write obituaries even if I didn’t personally know the people I wrote about. Read more

Jun 12

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5 tips to get the most out of a writer’s conference

As mentioned in my previous blog post, “How to use writing contests to reach your goals,” I’ve been entering contests this year to build up my publication credits. And, it’s starting to pay off.

So far, I’ve earned 8th place for poetry in the 2012 Writer’s Digest Annual Contest and this weekend I received more good news—I’m a finalist in two categories at an upcoming writers’ conference!

Even if I don’t win one of the top spots, being a finalist means I’ll get special recognition and an invite to attend an agent and editor gathering with the other finalists. Before the conference, I’ll be thinking about what I want to get out of the conference and put together my Action Plan.

My hubby and I do this before every seminar we attend for our business–we discuss what we want to take home from the seminar and also what we want to give to others while at the conference and after the conference.

Here’s an example of my writer’s Action Plan: Read more

Jun 11

Tap into the power of small wins to write your manuscript

You’ve probably heard how important it is to break down a humongous task into parts to get the job done. You may have heard the question: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time.

Turns out that this can be an effective way to write a book.

The thought of all the time and pieces and parts and elements of writing craft that go into writing a book can be overwhelming. In fact, writing a book can seem so unattainable that some people give up before they even start. To combat these feelings, consider how you can break down your book project into small tasks to gain valuable momentum to write a complete manuscript. Read more

Jun 8

A thank you to author Ray Bradbury

Often, when I need a dose of writing inspiration, I turn to Ray Bradbury. I’ll read one of his stories, watch him on a youtube video, or memorize a favorite quote from him. Like many others, I found Mr. Bradbury to be a remarkable human being and writer.

Thank you, Mr. Bradbury, for all you have shared with us. Below are three posts from other writers honoring him as well:

From author and musician Neil Gaiman: The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury — featuring an audio link of Gaiman reading the short story he wrote for Mr. Bradbury’s 91st birthday.

From writer Faye Flam a post on the most important thing she learned from Mr. Bradbury.

From journalist and editor Alec McCabe an article about the time Mr. Bradbury critiqued one of his stories and the three questions Bradbury asked (good questions for all of us to ask about our own stories).

How has Ray Bradbury touched your life?

Jun 7

In memory: Tips for writers from Ray Bradbury

Today, we honor the memory of Ray Bradbury, famed writer of science fiction, fantasy, and mystery stories and novels, who made such a difference as a writer and a person. He died June 5 at age 91.

While Bradbury was generally labeled a science fiction writer, he resisted it saying:

“First of all, I don’t write science fiction. I’ve only done one science fiction book and that’s Fahrenheit 451: A Novel, based on reality. It was named so to represent the temperature at which paper ignites. Science fiction is a depiction of the real. Fantasy is a depiction of the unreal. So The Martian Chronicles is not science fiction, it’s fantasy. It couldn’t happen, you see? That’s the reason it’s going to be around a long time — because it’s a Greek myth, and myths have staying power.” Read more

Jun 6

The Editing Games, part 2

In my previous post introducing The Editing Games, I blogged about how I turned my most recent editing experience into a series of games to keep myself motivated.

Below are two more games I play to keep myself amused and on track. I hope you find them useful:

Game # 3: The Verb Game

After I’m done editing for story and characterization–when I think I’ve got the words in the right order on the page–I play the verb game. I take a chapter at a time (doing this while on the treadmill or elliptical machine is a great way to multi-task) and highlight each and every verb. Then I look at each highlighted word to see if there’s a better, stronger or more precise verb that I could use.

This game will do two things: 1) help make your story stronger and 2) train your brain for the future. If you really do this, you’ll be surprised at how your brain will begin to come up with stronger verbs the first time around.

Game # 4: The Repetition Game

I have a running outline of my chapters to keep track of certain things like plot, themes, character traits, and symbols or objects. If I’m repeating something for a reason–say a character trait like one character’s nervous goat laugh or an object like another character’s jet black toupee–I list this in my outline and make sure that I repeat this trait or object several times during the course of the story. I may even change the trait or object slightly to show growth of the character or a change of mood.

These repetitions can become threads to keep your story cohesive or lend resonance to your manuscript. Just remember: too many repetitions make the reader feel like they’re being harangued and too few repetitions will leave the reader in the dark. In my 300-page manuscript I typically repeat my threads a minimum of three times and usually more like five to six times as long as it doesn’t feel overdone.

What editing techniques or tricks do you use to keep yourself on target?

Jun 5

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Talent vs hard work: 5 tips for a deliberate writing practice

Do you ever question if you have the innate talent to write a publishable manuscript? Many people believe that successful writers, painters, or athletes are born with the talent that led to their achievements.

It’s easy to believe that people who are super successful must have an extra measure of innate talent. But people aren’t born with specific natural gifts, according to British researchers Michael J. Howe, Jane W. Davidson and John A. Sluboda.

Success happens by putting in hard work over time. But not just any hard work. It requires putting in time in a particular way. Read more

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