It’s Writing Day at my house again! Which means it’s time to pull together another writing assignment for “my girls”–and put it on here for you to enjoy too! Today’s assignment is fun! It’s one that I have experimented with in the past. I didn’t have time to fill out my own examples for you […]
Mechanics
Short Story Success
Short stories, like all aspects of the written word, have taken their rise and fall in the course of time. Today, we not only have the timeless short stories of the past, but we also see writers daily adding to the plethora of short stories on the market. The short story is not a dying […]
Writing Day #1: Favorite Book Analyses
Every six weeks or so, I get together a group of local home-school students, and we have a Writing Day. Today marks the first writing day of 2018. With the new year, I decided to do more than just “get together and write.” Now, I’m going to make my girls do a little work (so […]
How to Draw Maps and Floor Plans for Your Story
Have you ever struggled with the layout of a setting in your story? Have you ever gotten a character lost? Or written something that isn’t physically possible? (“She turned to the left and entered the next room…” Oh, wait, the door was to her right. SHE’S WALKING THROUGH WALLS NOW, FOLKS!) If you missed it, […]
Zillow: It’s Not Just for Buying!
Guest post by author EJ McCay I’m a visual person. I learn visually, think visually, and speak visually. Say wha? Speak visually? Someone asks me directions and I say, “Know where United is? Take a left there.” See? Visually. I think I’m a pretty decent writer. What I am not is an architect. I can’t do […]
Let’s Talk Dialogue: When to Break the Rules
Guest post by author EJ McCay Good dialogue is a wonderful thing. It can grab a reader and pull them into your story. Your characters feel real when the dialogue feels real. Bad dialogue can stifle your flow. It can make your entire work feel unbelievable. It can kill your characters, pace, and story. […]
An Agglomeration of Writing Tools
Well, I wrote up this article, then immediately Paul and Perry posted articles about writing tools–those for free. So now, you just get the full spectrum of opinions on writing. tools. 🙂 Now that you’ve read all three…comment and share your thoughts on writing tools! While it’s true that “all you need to write is […]
Book Review: Characters and Viewpoint
(Affiliate link) Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card Vivid and memorable characters aren’t born: they have to be made This book is a set of tools: literary crowbars, chisels, mallets, pliers and tongs. Use them to pry, chip, yank and sift good characters out of the place where they live in your imagination. Award-winning author Orson […]
Mistakes or Placeholders?
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 […]
More than Scrivener: Software for Every Kind of Author
When most writers think of software just for them (beyond generic programs like Word and Evernote), they think of Scrivener. It’s a great program, but did you know there are TONS of other options, many of them free? And if you’re like me and aren’t a Plotter, you’re going to love discovering that, while the […]