Writing went well this week, save for one day spent mapmaking after realizing how poor my spatial reasoning skills are. If like me, spatial reasoning is not your strong suit, I might suggest basing your characters' navigation descriptions off existing blueprints and adjusting as necessary, rather than struggling to describe where you think they're going … Continue reading Odds & Ends 11/6-11/12
Famous Words Writers Can Live By
Who better to help sharpen your writing skills than those who have already had some success in that area?
Odds & Ends 7/17-7/23
Well, with one week left, it's looking less and less likely that I'll hit my word count goal for this month. I'm not taking it too hard, though. I set an ambitious goal (basically calculated hitting my peak work pace every single day) for July, and I've had some very productive days, and I hope … Continue reading Odds & Ends 7/17-7/23
10 Weird & Wonderful Words
Add these to your Word-a-Day Calendar!
Choosing Your Team: Beta Readers You Want (And Some You Don’t)
Assembling your team of beta readers is kind of a big deal. After all, these are the people whose opinions and knowledge you're going to let shape the future of your story and you as a writer, so you can't choose just anyone. Think carefully about what each potential reader brings to the table in … Continue reading Choosing Your Team: Beta Readers You Want (And Some You Don’t)
So, You Say You’ve Finished a Manuscript
As I was organizing my queries this week, it occurred to me that others might benefit from some of my research. This merely scratches the surface, but if you're just starting out on that part of your writing journey, consider this a fast pass as to your next steps and some of the better and … Continue reading So, You Say You’ve Finished a Manuscript
The Waiting Game
Waiting is hard. Whether it's waiting on responses to query letters, feedback from beta readers or critique partners, or completely non-writing related waiting, like those of you who put up the countdown to Christmas on December 27th. Here are some ideas on how to pass the time if you're in a season of waiting, without … Continue reading The Waiting Game
Odds and Ends 4/3-4/9
Not much to report this week: a bit of editing, bit of reformatting, bit of outlining. Not a lot by itself, but each job makes its respective project a little more than what it was before. I like outlining new ideas. The creativity tends to snowball as the idea forms, with bits of dialogue and … Continue reading Odds and Ends 4/3-4/9
Odds & Ends: Driving Miss Dazey
It's been a slow week, progress-wise; a very fast week, in terms of already being Sunday. I've been updating my agent research, checking whose open to queries right now, submission guidelines, correct email addresses, that sort of thing, so it's not like nothing is happening. I've also done a lot of driving this week, which … Continue reading Odds & Ends: Driving Miss Dazey
Odds and Ends 1/30-2/5
I did it. I actually drafted a query letter this week. As I predicted in my last post, once I actually sat down to do it, it wasn't that painful. I just needed the space and the quiet for my mind to focus and commit to the task (and to run out of things to … Continue reading Odds and Ends 1/30-2/5
Productivity
It's amazing how much I can get done when then there's something a little bit trickier holding the #1 spot on my to-do list. That pretty much sums up my week right there. Seriously, my apartment is super clean. I think the only chore I didn't do was laundry, and that's only because I don't … Continue reading Productivity
On the Nose
Feeling a bit nostalgic, I started watching A Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix this week. As I did, it got me thinking about how much more screenwriters are giving themselves permission to use "on the nose" dialogue, often to great comedic effect. "On the nose" is a term used to describe dialogue that is overly … Continue reading On the Nose
Christian Douglass Writes 