Tag Archives: #Historical

Mutually Assured Destruction Takes on a Pathetic New Meaning

By Christopher Ryan So some geniuses celebrated American freedom on Saturday by attacking a statue of Frederick Douglass. Nope, this was not in the Rebel South and it wasn’t a bunch of Confederate wannabes chanting, “The South will rise again!” … Continue reading

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For all the white people who were butt hurt because they didn’t know about Juneteenth

If you were one of the many white people in America who found yourself saying, if Juneteenth is such a big holiday why didn’t I know about it? Well, I have a few answers for you. And if you were … Continue reading

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Let It a Suck Series: Joyce Carol Oates and Running Through Your Story Revisited

Continuing a re-share of some earlier blogs that fit the “Let It Suck” Series, here’s some great advise for writing and planning. Years ago, I attended the South Hampton Writers Conference, and one of the best speakers there was Joyce … Continue reading

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Let It Suck Series: Pacing 

Pacing is a tricky thing. And like every other element of writing I say let it suck, at first, but with a catch. Addressing pacing is kind of like playing along with music- you probably can’t get away with slapping … Continue reading

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Let It Suck Series:  Covers Get Rewrites Too

We’ve been talking about leaping into writing your story and not worrying. Just getting the story onto the page or screen is a huge accomplishment, makes the rewrite process a joy. Or at least easier. Same goes for covers. I … Continue reading

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Let It Suck Series: To Write Better Dialogue, Listen to Craig Ferguson (revisited)

Pulling some of my previous blogs into the “let it suck” series. This one borrows simple advice from a great comedian to help you with character dialogue. Here we go: Every fiction author wants to write great dialogue. While there … Continue reading

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Let It Suck Series: What Would Your Character Do?

We’ve agreed to “let it suck” on first draft, yes? Just let it rip with the writing and get a draft completed. And we’ve been discussing ways to find and refine your work during rewrite.  Now let’s let the character … Continue reading

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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

Posted in digital publishing, ebook publishing, fiction, independent publishing, pop culture, self-publishing, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments