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Category: Advice

Ask Not Who Your Character IS, But What He DOES

Ask Not Who Your Character IS, But What He DOES

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Or, ask both. (Image credit: Bill Main) Now that it’s November, I’m aware many of you are involved in an obscure, little-talked-about, mass binge-writing event. If you number among the participants, best of luck to you! Let me offer some help with the planning stages, so you don’t throw down 15,000 words and then realize you don’t know where the hell you’re going with it. Oh, you’re already at that point? No worries! I’ve got some rewrites of my own…

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EpubCheck To The Rescue!

EpubCheck To The Rescue!

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SIGIL is a popular tool for generating EPUB files. I’m still getting the hang of it. “Hey, I know CSS and HTML. I’ll make my own ebooks! How hard could it be?” Famous last words… :) Anyone who creates ebooks from scratch- without using a tool that promises to handle it with the push of a button, and doesn’t let you see what atrocities it’s actually committing- knows it can be a, um, trying process. Usually a multi-day slog that…

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Find Something To Automate This Week

Find Something To Automate This Week

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Let’s see if this little guy is up for some vacuuming… If you have a WordPress blog, or frequent the comments section of any high-traffic site, chances are you know all about comment spam. This blog doesn’t get much traffic, but boy, spammers love it. At one point, I was getting upwards of 30 spam comments daily- comments I’d clear from my WordPress dashboard and from my email several times a day. What a waste of time! But I embraced…

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Work on Discipline, Not Motivation

Work on Discipline, Not Motivation

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Run! Run like zombies are chasing you! Hey, there’s an app for that… Most of my mornings start the same way: alarm blaring, cat pawing at my hair. I crawl out of bed (eventually), have breakfast and coffee, and post a new “Today I learned” factoid to my Google+ page. Then, unless I’m sick enough to be bedridden, I sit down in my office and write until lunch, with occasional breaks to stretch and read items of interest. What I…

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Why I’m A Draft Packrat

Why I’m A Draft Packrat

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I miss college. In the five years I’ve been writing this novel, I’ve done everything you’re not supposed to do. I let things sit for weeks or months, until I “felt” like writing. I wrote slow, under the misguided assumption that the words had to come out perfect the first time. I edited, edited, edited well before I ever had a first draft done. Don’t feel much like writing today… I’ll polish that last chapter I wrote! Only to have…

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I’m a Writer! Copywriting Will Be a Cinch – Right?

I’m a Writer! Copywriting Will Be a Cinch – Right?

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Fork ’em over! You know you wanna! Question: How do you get a writer to agonize for hours over a handful of words that aren’t in her manuscript? Answer: Tell her she has to write her own blurbs, headlines, and website copy! Hey, it’s my choice! I’m not looking for a publisher, so promotion is 100% my responsibility. Great that I have such control over my message and where it appears, but what the heck should that message be? How…

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Publication for the Unpublished Writer

Publication for the Unpublished Writer

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Seeing our words in print is a dream for a lot of us- maybe even a holy grail at times, impossible to reach. No matter his age, the unpublished writer feels like a kid fresh out of college, trying to land his first full-time job. Everyone who’s hiring wants someone experienced. How on Earth will he get experience if no one hires him? Many writers say “screw it” and self-publish. (Heck, I’m doing the same with my novel.) For those…

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How Writers Do Research Right

How Writers Do Research Right

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(Image credit: imagebase.net) Research is easier than ever these days- thank you, Internet! Depending on what you’re writing, you may perform zero or tons of research to avoid sounding like you have no clue. You may also perform research for inspiration. Maybe a cool new fact is just the what you need to start outlining your next bestseller. Some things to consider regarding research: You may still want to go to the library. If you’re writing nonfiction, or straight historical…

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Pacing: Seize Control Of Your Story’s Tempo

Pacing: Seize Control Of Your Story’s Tempo

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(Image credit: imagebase.net) Along with the million other things writers must worry about, there’s pacing!  Basically, pacing is how fast the story moves.  Ever hear someone describe how a book took off running from the first page?  Or how it started slow, but picked up toward the end? What creates those impressions?  How do you control them? Each individual sentence of your story has an effect on overall pacing.  If it’s advancing the plot in a meaningful way, then it’s…

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Be In The Present

Be In The Present

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My spouse does long-form improv- similar to what you see on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, only a given scene lasts several minutes instead of a few seconds.  It requires tons of practice to keep such a long scene engaging and funny off the top of one’s head. Sometimes, an improv scene peters out when characters get stuck talking about stuff they already did, or plan to do in the future.  During rehearsal, coaches will yell “CUT TO THAT!” In…

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