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Rules I Live By #2: There’s Always a Lesson

05.06.2013
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I can turn anything into a learning experience… C to P: You’re annoying. P: Mom! She called me a name. Me: No, she called you a verb. It would’ve been more polite, and grammatically correct, if she had said, “You’re being annoying,” but– My Mom: Do you have to turn everything into a grammar lesson? [...]

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A New “So Me” Kindle

02.04.2013
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Right?

However, because I am not a rich person who can drop a bundle on a new Kindle (coming this week!) and a bunch of accessories, I have a plan.

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Tagged as: all writers are readers, kindle, the care and feeding of your muse

Best Writing Linkage 09.19.2011

09.19.2011

Coming back from a writing dead-end; deadly writing sins; another reason to make your non-writer friends question your sanity; when a crit group sucks the life from your story; incredible writing resource you should already be using, slacker.

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Tagged as: writing articles

A New Way to Brainstorm

07.05.2011
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So, I needed some creative inspiration. I keep coming back to these characters. Their story stalled on me. It lacked direction, I think. But the characters. I love these characters. Then, a series of blog posts came across my computer, on Tarot cards and writing from Raelyn Barclay (@raelynbarclay on Twitter). I remembered a Material [...]

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Tagged as: books on writing, character development, plotting, process, the care and feeding of your muse, writing tools

The Hero’s Journey is EVERYWHERE: Clash of the Titans (2010)

06.27.2011
Clash of the Titans

This post is the first in a series I’m beginning on The Hero’s Journey story structure.  It’s important to note, you can use any structure you like.  In fact, go crazy, have fun.  But, some of the most popular (I won’t say best) films use this structure.  Notable examples include the Star Wars flicks and [...]

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Tagged as: hero's journey, structure, studying craft in other mediums

Why Writers are Annoying People to Know

05.23.2011

We suck. Seriously. I mean, there’s lots of reasons we’re awesome. I wouldn’t not be a writer for anything, but still. We always know what’s going to happen next. Well, in fiction. Not like we can predict the future or anything. We yell at the television for bad writing. E.g. “You can’t just ignore the [...]

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Finding Truth in the Things We Say

05.21.2011

An article on CNN has a woman describing the 10 things she learned from her mom. It caught my attention right away with this: “What’s the worst case scenario?” is a good approach to any dilemma. I’m that mom. I always catch myself saying, “Okay, worst case scenario, X happens. So what can you do?” [...]

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Tagged as: life and other details

How to Grow a Character

03.30.2011
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There are approximately a billion ways to create a character. A lot of people use character worksheets or questionnaires.  I do not use these.  I will be brave enough to admit that one of those reasons is because I never spell questionnaire correctly on the first go.  That alone puts me off them.  But, really, [...]

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Tagged as: character development, craft, process

Character Development Questions by author Heather McCorkle

03.30.2011

Character Development Questions reprinted with permission by author Heather McCorkle (@HeatherMcCorkle on Twitter) As I started research for my next novel, a young adult historical fantasy, I realized I needed to get to know my new main character. One of my favorite ways to do this is to fill out one of those personal questionnaires about them. This [...]

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Carole, Bendy Buses, and Life | Link Licker Pick

03.27.2011

I already have a post set to go live tomorrow, but I couldn’t NOT post this newest link licker find.  Well, it’s not so much a find, as I’ve known Carole for years and she really is this amusing (as well as kind and wise) all of the time. I’m including her latest post below [...]

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Tagged as: because we all need a way to waste an hour, inappropriately amusing

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