A while back I posted a Twitter poll asking writers at what point in their story the inciting incident took place. I expected a range of answers, but was surprised to find more than one reply of "I don't have one." I'm going to go out on a limb and say yes, you probably do, …
Tag: writing craft
5 Common Mistakes Made By Beginning Writers
So recently I went back and looked at an older draft of Cambiare out of sheer curiosity. I wanted to see how far I'd come in the past couple of years and umpteen drafts. And I noticed some patterns. Writing tics that I've also noticed in beta reads, but common mistakes I also made. Here's …
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Elements of Story: Voice
Today I'm starting a new blog series about various elements of storytelling. It'll be an occasional feature whenever I feel like rambling about some specific part of writing craft. This article is about one of the most elusive but integral parts of writing: voice. You'll see it popping up a lot in agent MSWLs or …
My 5 Repeat Offenses in Writing
We all have those crutches and quirks that weaken our writing, and I am no exception. As it's generally good advice to be aware of your own weaknesses, I'm pointing out mine.I don’t even worry about these vices during the drafting phase, but I’ve learned to have a keen eye for them in revision. 1. …
5 Things About Craft I Learned in 2018
Introducing the Friday 5! Every Friday, I'll post a list of 5 writing-related things. This week, it's all about looking back on 2018. I hit this year hard when it came to writing craft studies. I devoured hundreds of hours of podcasts and checked out over a dozen books on writing. All these lessons were …
