Posts tagged as:

writing

Everything I Learned Came From Comics

General

Everything I ever learned I learned from comics.
Now that’s a bold statement.  What about school?  My parents?  My friends?  Yes – my mind was shaped by all of them.  But as a young reader, comics held the most sway over what I thought.  It’s why I started writing.  Spiderman was my favorite followed closely by [...]

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Kill Your Darlings

Writing Tips

Last week we discussed the ten commandments of writing.  This week we’ll move on to another topic inspired by Mr. King  with his phrase “Kill Your Darlings”.
Imagine you’re finished. Finally finished.  You’ve typed “The End” on the last page of the novel you’ve been working on for the last year.  You’re elated.  After all of [...]

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Forewords Don’t Have to Be Painful

Writing Tips

Say a good friend has written a book and has asked if you would mind writing the foreword.  After the initial honor has faded you are left with a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach that promises to drag you down with it.
How do you start?  What the heck is this thing called [...]

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The Ten Commandments of Writing – Continued

Writing Tips

Welcome back. Are you ready for the next five commandments on writing as stated by Mr. King?  Here they are (fanfare please….):
6. When your reader sees what you see it’s telepathy – This is my favorite.  Think about it for a moment.  
7. No need to explain what characters look like  – I used to [...]

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The Ten Commandments of Writing

Writing Tips

In my favorite writing nook there was a piece of paper I use to keep taped to the wall beside me.  My writing nook has changed since those days and the piece of paper no longer hangs on the wall but the words are here in my laptop and I pull the document up every [...]

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Blogging 101: It isn’t About YOU

Blogging

I ran across an interesting blog post the other day.  It was from a guy in Minnesota who proceeded to tellme how rich he had become by blogging.  ”Wow,” I wanted to say. “Really?  You made six figures last year by blogging?  How?” 
He never told me.  I looked at another one of his posts that spoke about [...]

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Your Grandparents Know More Than the Internet…

Writing Tips

 
“Information could only be a branch away on your family tree.”
A good friend and collaborator on The Black Toad Tavern, Robert Griffin,  told me this recently and he’s right.  He went on to say…
“Don’t underestimate that lovely old couple you call Grammy and Grandpa. We all know that their houses have that “old people smell” [...]

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Blogging 101: Listen

Blogging

So you have a blog about pineapples. You’re the only person in the entire world with a blog about pineapples and you’re thrilled.  You’re the expert and nobody knows pineapples better than you do.  You publish post after post about the joys of a pineappley life (yes – I made that word up).  Every time a reader [...]

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Backing Up Is Your Best Defense

Writing Tips

I had a friend, let’s call him Leo, who was writing what he considered his masterpiece. Now Leo had been working on his novel for months.  He’d get up early in the morning, fire up his laptop, and allow his creative, caffeine-induced juices to flow.  He was almost done when one morning everything changed.  It [...]

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Dispel Your Writing Fears

Writing Tips

If you suffer from any of the following fears please raise your hand:

I’m not sure how to write what I’m thinking
I am not interesting enough
I do not have the talent that other writer’s have
I don’t know how to start
I’m afraid it will all be a big disappointment
I’ll never write as well as (insert name here)
What [...]

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