Tag Archives: Writing Craft
Feeling Tense? You Should Be
I’ve reviewed several stories for other writers recently, and it’s gotten me thinking about tension. I’m not a lit major and I don’t profess to know anything about the scholarly side of writing. If it wasn’t taught in English 101, … Continue reading
What Idiot Hunts Vampires at Dusk?
I don’t watch much television, but I’ve watched a couple of shows over the past few days (they will remain nameless to protect the guilty) whose incredibly lazy writing drove me nuts. All of its characters did stupid things to … Continue reading
Read-aloud Editing
As anyone who’s been reading my site for a while has probably noticed, I’m a terrible copyeditor. My posts are filled with typos, missing words, and all sorts of other errors. I know I’m a poor copyeditor, and knowing this, … Continue reading
Your Editor is Your Friend
An editor should be a writer’s best friend. A good editor can take a decent story and help the writer make it a very good, or even great, one. I’ve had the opportunity to work with several editors that I … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
Tagged Editing, Editors, Lightspeed Magazine, The Schrödinger War, Writing Craft
4 Comments
Pushing Through to “The End”
I know a lot of writers, myself included, who have a hard time finishing stories (are you nodding as you read this?). I don’t think this an unusual problem. Writing stories is a lot like running a race. At the beginning, … Continue reading
Killing a Story Through Revision
I mentioned last week that I was working on a story that I thought needed “one more pass” before it would be finished. It was a story I have been working sporadically on for over a year. I’m happy to say … Continue reading
Prompting Me to Write
I’ve been asked on many occasions where I get my story ideas. As those of you who read my author’s notes like know, I don’t have a single answer to this question. I don’t have an idea-generating machine or magic … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
Tagged Hoodoo, Observations on a Clock, Strand in the Web, The Schrödinger War, Writing Craft
3 Comments
A Post for the Uninspired
I’m feeling a little uninspired today, but I wanted to post something. Believe it or not, writers aren’t endless fountains of inspiration. Sure, I go through times when I’m fending off a torrent of ideas, but I also go through … Continue reading
Turn the Screws and Make ’em Squirm
I critique a lot of stories by both experienced and novice writers. While I get to see a lot of stories that I think work, much of what I read doesn’t. Often the story has a clear conflict, well-developed characters, and … Continue reading
Six Tips for NaNoWriMo Success
I’ve hit the target goal of 50,000 words for the each of the four times I’ve participated in National Novel Writing Month, so I guess I could be described as a bit of a veteran. While every writer is different, I thought … Continue reading
D. Thomas Minton 