Author: Alex McGilvery

  • Mechanics

    • Mistakes or Placeholders?

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    Marta looked out at the really beautiful sunset. “Wouldn’t it be nice to be sitting on the beach with no worries about now, “ she said sadly. “And only the bugs for company.” Joe said gruffly. He was older than Marta, but didn’t look it as if time had frozen him at the moment of […]

    Alex McGilvery

    Alex probably was born with a book in his hand, slightly annoyed at the interruption to his reading. He's spent the intervening years reading all genres of books. He started writing not long after and has continued ever since. He's added content editing to his shingle as well as writing and reviewing. Offers book review services (www.celticfrogreviews.com); content editing, writing tips, and blurb help (http://celticfrogediting.com

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  • Mechanics

    • Character Assassination

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    I need a character for a story. Lets call him Fred. Fred is 5’11”, weighs 185 lbs and has blond hair and blue eyes. Do you love him yet? What if I tell you he has a six pack? No? Neither do I really. I mean who names their character Fred, you’d always be waiting […]

    Alex McGilvery

    Alex probably was born with a book in his hand, slightly annoyed at the interruption to his reading. He's spent the intervening years reading all genres of books. He started writing not long after and has continued ever since. He's added content editing to his shingle as well as writing and reviewing. Offers book review services (www.celticfrogreviews.com); content editing, writing tips, and blurb help (http://celticfrogediting.com

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  • Mechanics

    • Description: More than just pretty scenery

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    Description is essential to your story. It is possible to write a story without any description, but it is likely that the reader will find it dry as dust. Stories are much more interesting when you have a good setting and atmosphere. Now I know everybody says to start with action, and it is true […]

    Alex McGilvery

    Alex probably was born with a book in his hand, slightly annoyed at the interruption to his reading. He's spent the intervening years reading all genres of books. He started writing not long after and has continued ever since. He's added content editing to his shingle as well as writing and reviewing. Offers book review services (www.celticfrogreviews.com); content editing, writing tips, and blurb help (http://celticfrogediting.com

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  • Mechanics

    • Head Hopping and Point of View

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    The person that you write your story in will have a big effect on your Point of View. First person is whether you tell the story as if it were happening to you – I pulled up my gun and yelled “This is a stick up!” The advantage of first person is the immediacy. The […]

    Alex McGilvery

    Alex probably was born with a book in his hand, slightly annoyed at the interruption to his reading. He's spent the intervening years reading all genres of books. He started writing not long after and has continued ever since. He's added content editing to his shingle as well as writing and reviewing. Offers book review services (www.celticfrogreviews.com); content editing, writing tips, and blurb help (http://celticfrogediting.com

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  • Blog

    • This, that, and the other thing

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    There are words every author knows to avoid. Lists abound on the internet, software like prowritingaid.com will tell you how often you use them and even suggest how many you should cut. You will note, it does not say to cut them all. In many ways life would be easier if you could. This refers to […]

    Alex McGilvery

    Alex probably was born with a book in his hand, slightly annoyed at the interruption to his reading. He's spent the intervening years reading all genres of books. He started writing not long after and has continued ever since. He's added content editing to his shingle as well as writing and reviewing. Offers book review services (www.celticfrogreviews.com); content editing, writing tips, and blurb help (http://celticfrogediting.com

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  • Mechanics

    • God: Character or Setting?

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      Is God a character in your story or part of the setting? Strange question, but bear with me here. If God is a character, then He needs to be treated in the same way as other characters; namely gradually revealed through the story. It’s unlikely God will have a character arc which changes Him, […]

    Alex McGilvery

    Alex probably was born with a book in his hand, slightly annoyed at the interruption to his reading. He's spent the intervening years reading all genres of books. He started writing not long after and has continued ever since. He's added content editing to his shingle as well as writing and reviewing. Offers book review services (www.celticfrogreviews.com); content editing, writing tips, and blurb help (http://celticfrogediting.com

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  • Mechanics

    • Adding without Padding

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    How to add words to your story without adding fluff. So you have a killer story and want to send it to a publisher who you know will love it. Only they insist submissions be a few thousand words more than what you have in your book. Here are some ways of adding in words […]

    Alex McGilvery

    Alex probably was born with a book in his hand, slightly annoyed at the interruption to his reading. He's spent the intervening years reading all genres of books. He started writing not long after and has continued ever since. He's added content editing to his shingle as well as writing and reviewing. Offers book review services (www.celticfrogreviews.com); content editing, writing tips, and blurb help (http://celticfrogediting.com

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  • Mechanics

    • Don’t get Fighter’s Block

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    Many stories have fight scenes from Rocky’s bouts in the ring to the duel shown in the above picture from the Princess Bride. The scenes serve a variety of purposes as diverse as the stories they belong to. It would be hard to have a boxing movie with no boxing, but fights aren’t always physical […]

    Alex McGilvery

    Alex probably was born with a book in his hand, slightly annoyed at the interruption to his reading. He's spent the intervening years reading all genres of books. He started writing not long after and has continued ever since. He's added content editing to his shingle as well as writing and reviewing. Offers book review services (www.celticfrogreviews.com); content editing, writing tips, and blurb help (http://celticfrogediting.com

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