Tag Archives: #amediting

Let It Suck Series: revisiting “Write Better With Character Profiles”

As part of the “Let It Suck” series of posts, I wanted to discuss how knowledge of your characters informs writing decisions, and this post seems crucial to include, so I am reprinting it as a companion to this week’s … Continue reading

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Let it suck series: Setting up setting

Elmore Leonard famously advised writers to “try to avoid the parts that readers skip”. This is a definite risk when it comes to describing where your characters are, so listen to the master when dealing with setting. I tend to … Continue reading

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Let It Suck Series: overwrite the scene, then pick up the scalpel

As we move beyond the blank screen and into our efforts as writers, we need to deal with scene work. The conventional wisdom is “enter the scene as late as possible and leave as soon as you can”, and I … Continue reading

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Let it suck revisited: the beginning of a series

Awhile back, I wrote the following blog, which basically advised people to push beyond fears about instant quality in writing and just “let it suck.“ I reprint it here as the beginning of a series of blog posts that focus on … Continue reading

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Schooling Myself: Podcasts as Independent Study

I have been getting progressively more serious about independent publishing as a career. I was a journalist a lifetime ago, then a teacher (still am) who wrote on the side (some comics, screenplays, short stories), and now that is flipping. … Continue reading

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10 Steps for Organically Inserting a Character

I am heavily into production mode these days, rewriting no less than four new projects – CITY OF PAIN, the apparently long-awaited sequel to CITY OF SIN and CITY OF WOE, two YA novels, GENIUS HIGH and PERFECT, and a … Continue reading

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This Cold Won’t Stop Me

Maintaining my secret identity as an author requires a cover identity. Mine has its challenges. Sure, being a high school teacher requires writing lesson plans and grading mountains of essays and teaching great new minds, but there is another, darker … Continue reading

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Life Slam Dances With Itself: Ten Ways to Find The Time

From December 23 until January 4, I was on vacation, which translated to “free to write at all times during the day and night” and/or read about writing, listen to podcasts about writing, hang out with The Wife, watch The … Continue reading

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