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When you tackle revision on your WIP novel, is it better to rewrite or reimagine? Writing Tip for Today: Let’s discuss rewriting scenes to determine if you can tweak them or rewrite them altogether. Layered Rewriting If you’ve been writing on your novel for a while, you’ve probably heard about layered rewriting. My view is […]
The race is on for 50k words by November 30th. As you type or scribble your heart out, take heart—you may be drafting the best novel idea you’ve ever had. Writing Tip for Today: What are some tips for getting to 50k AND having a solid draft to then revise? Get Action Going As you […]
Memoir writing is one of the most common types of stories my students attempt. Hey, write what you know, right? Good memoirs demonstrate a command of the timeline. Writing Tip for Today: Let’s discuss memoir timelines and which events should form them. Time Travel Most writers begin a memoir in chronological order. But by beginning […]
I work with several writing students whose scenes are always improving. Yet one of their more difficult challenges seems to be learning where to begin a scene. Writing Tip for Today: Let’s review a few tips for good scene openings. That Old Middle The first rule of scene writing is to open a scene in […]
A wonderful writing student sent me her latest essay, which she hoped to submit to a publication. I read over the draft, and one thing stood out. While the story chronicled an event, it had no single point. Writing Tip for Today: Personal essays or memoirs must be about one thing. Here are some tips […]
Diving into a rewrite has often panicked me. All those great suggestions in critique group make no sense as I stare at my document. I’ve needed to learn ways to reimagine the scene to improve its impact. Writing Tip for Today: Here are a few ideas for re-imagining a scene: In Media Res In media […]
Each time I draft a novel, I wrestle with my set-up in the opening. Does the opening give enough info and heart to compel the reader? How much do readers really need to know before they commit to the story? Writing Tip for Today: A novel’s first pages need a delicate balance of action and […]
Last post we discussed injecting some kind of death into every scene—to keep tension rising and story moving forward. But what if you’ve written a scene that’s DOA? Writing Tip for Today: Let’s talk about some ways you can breathe new life into a scene that’s dead. Is it Chit-chatty? Scenes that include a lot […]
When you start writing scenes for your novel, you’re liable to hear the advice, “Start in the middle of the action.” The fancy term is in media res–borrowed no doubt from some lawyer. Just kidding–in Latin it means “start in the middle of things.” But whatever you call it, starting in the middle of the […]
Wanna know a secret? Good, because I’m dying to tell you a couple of techniques that can transform your writing from average to outstanding. Since I work with new writers on an ongoing basis, I’m happy to encourage and guide them toward developing their skills. As a judge for some fiction writing contests, I’m anonymous, […]