Tag Archives: Writing tips
Fiction Writing 101: Part 8 — Janice Dick
In my Fiction Writing 101 series, I often refer to James Scott Bell and his writing books and tools, especially Plot & Structure. My copy is well-marked and highlighted. That’s where I first heard the differentiation between an OP and a NOP. OPs are Outline People, NOPs are Non-Outline People. The abbreviations are easy to… Read more »
Good Intentions — Brenda Wood
Does anyone else have a closet full of impulsive good intentions? I used to rush out to buy the materials for a new craft I wanted to learn, or fabric for another quilt. I signed up for a class or bought a novel I’d always wanted to read, but because I didn’t make time for… Read more »
Fiction Writing 101:Part 7 — The Plot Thickens — Janice Dick
What is plot—besides a piece of ground used to bury dead people? (That’s from James Scott Bell in Plot & Structure.) In my mind, plot is the story itself, with a beginning, middle and end. Of course there are literary works that don’t follow any of the rules, not even as guidelines, but I’m thinking… Read more »
The Elusive Comma — Carolyn R. Wilker
Imagine trying to read a long text without commas or other punctuation. Would it be hard to figure out where one sentence begins and another ends? What about the words in the middle of those sentences? Old English was written that way. With time, punctuation was developed, and some scribes used it more consistently than… Read more »
A Writer Prays About His Work — Jack Popjes
Good morning, God, You gave me this writing *gift. You built it into my DNA and you want me to stir it up, and you are helping me to develop it. You bring people into my life to encourage me and to mentor me. What’s more, you are the one who puts the ideas into… Read more »
Waste Not, Want Not — Brenda Wood
Because I am a stasher beyond compare, I plan to make Nancy Zieman’s no-sew fabric wreath. You see, it will use up all those leftover bits and pieces from my fabric stash. I can’t bear to throw them away because they are so pretty. Realistically though, they are too small for an apron and not… Read more »
Writing, even when it’s hard to do — Carolyn R. Wilker
In January, blogger and author Jeff Goins issued a challenge to fellow writers to write 500 words a day for the month of January. He not only issued the challenge, but he also offered a list of things to write about. While I used the word count for my own projects, journalling and letter writing,… Read more »
Develop the Killing Instinct Part II: Fine-Tuning with a Jack-Knife — Pamela Mytroen
In Part I of “Develop the Killing Instinct” I suggested writers use a sword to slash a large volume of words and distill the piece into one key sentence. This method slims a piece down to its purpose, allowing no extra fat, which editors appreciate. Only then may the writer pull out the jack-knife to… Read more »
Taste Tells: Part 2 of Writing with Sensory Details — Sandi Somers
“The Taste Test” was part of my English as a Second Language unit on food. I brought to class samples of celery, potato chips, chocolates, cinnamon hearts, peanut butter on a cracker, pickles, cubes of Jello and popcorn. Students described each food: its shape, texture, colour, how it sounded while chewing, its hardness or softness,… Read more »
Fiction Writing 101 – Part Six – Setting (or giving your character a leg to stand on) — Janice Dick
A smile formed on Callie’s face at the sight of Tom. It had been so long. “Welcome by to the land of the living,” she said. “It’s good to be back. What have you been doing in my absence? I hope you managed to keep out of trouble.” “Of course, what do you think?” She… Read more »