Let’s Write – Common Mistakes
Welcome back to another post in our self-editing miniseries. It’s… Read More »Let’s Write – Common Mistakes
Better Writing
Let’s Write – The Structural Edit
Welcome back to the self-editing miniseries. 🙂 It’s good to… Read More »Let’s Write – The Structural Edit
On Writing Advice
The internet. A place of abundance. You can learn almost… Read More »On Writing Advice
My Novel Planning Journey
It’s Preptober! I’m not participating in Nanowrimo, but I figured… Read More »My Novel Planning Journey
To Say or Not to Say
So you’re a writer. Welcome to the club, please pick your t-shirt from the pile and have a seat. You’ve probably been around the interwebs and have no doubt found an article or two on the topic of said. You know, dialogue tags.
There are two firm groups of thought here. Okay, okay – two groups of fanatics.
One will tell you Said Is Dead. This group probably started to screw with your mind in high school – I know I was taught that it’s much more descriptive and interesting to use different words than boring, overused said. I remember exercises where we had to complete dialogues by using any words other than said, or we’d be penalised.
Three Steps to Deep Point of View
I’m by no means an expert on the topic, just… Read More »Three Steps to Deep Point of View
My Writing Process
Writing about writing is tricky. People will often try to… Read More »My Writing Process
Writing, as Taught by Kids’ TV Shows
A year or so ago, I read a writing exercise idea on a blog that changed the way I view watching TV. The blogger in question would make notes of, then dissect the episode she was watching. She’d figure out which plot points worked, which didn’t, where the dialogue fell flat, where it rocked, and how she would have improved the episode. By doing this, she swore she learned better writing techniques. (I’m sorry I can’t find the link to this article now.)
I’ve never taken an episode apart like that, but I haven’t really viewed anything on the telly in the same way either. This thing about learning better writing from TV has remained in the back of my mind, so my viewing has become more critical.
