Habits Writers Should Embrace
There are many habits a writer should develop. These are just a few. Let’s call them my top 15.
Opening Lines (Part 2 of 2)
In the last blog, we discussed what first lines of stories need to include. Now we’ll look at ways you can improve your opening lines.
Opening Lines (Part 1 of 2)
First sentences are paramount to stories. They are the first impression. The hook by which readers are tempted to continue on instead of tossing the book back on the shelf so they can keep looking. They are a portal to the story itself.
Why Storytelling Matters in Business: Another Market Segment for Writers
Life is emotional. So is business, whether you want to admit it or not. Sure, you might not be able to cry at your desk everyday or throw temper tantrums in the break room, but emotions do come into play in business.
Organizations use emotion to make you care about their products, services, and causes. They use it as a form of persuasion, which is the art of making you desire something you might not otherwise.
Breaking Through the Resistance: A Writer’s Constant Challenge (Part 2 of 2)
Not writing happens more than writing. Staring at the blank page. Struggling to get motivation to put words on the screen. We have all felt that way. It’s common. Its cause? Resistance.
Resistance keeps writers from writing. It stands in the way of every type of creative endeavor, whether its a painter who isn’t wielding her brush or a writer avoiding the page. It is the single biggest challenge in creating things that are whole and realized and finished.
Fighting Against Resistance: A Writer’s Constant Challenge (Part 1 of 2)
Stephen Pressfield wrote in his book The War of Art that “it’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is resistance.”
He is not wrong.
Adapting The Rule of Six for Novelists (Part 2 of 2)
In part one of this series, we talked about how and why film editor Walter Murch’s famous Rule of Six works equally well for novelists. Now let’s break down each of the six rules:
Adapting The Rule of Six for Novelists (Part 1 of 2)
The Rule of Six is a list of the six most important types of cuts a film editor should make, according to famed film editor Walter Murch in his book, In the Blink of an Eye. Though written for film editors, his suggestions make sense for novelists too.
Elevating Your Writing No Matter the Form (Part 2 of 2)
Writing should inspire, motivate, educate, illuminate, inform, persuade, and engage. To do this, it has to rise above the basics and become something more.
In the first part in this series, we explored two introductions used in the television series The West Wing as an example of how to elevate writing from the barely functional to an art. Now let’s break down some practical steps you can take to elevate your writing.
Ten ways to improve your writing:
Elevating Your Writing No Matter the Form (Part 1 of 2)
The term “writing” covers a wide range of acts. There is the Great American Novel and direct mail flyers. Ad copy and speeches. Screenplays and novels. Radio scripts and web content. Being able to put words on a page takes many forms, not all of them lofty or noble. Sometimes all you need is a well-crafted email or text. That is the wonder of writing and human communication. It comes in all forms.
No, the problem is not with the form writing takes, but with the mindset many writers have when faced with what many consider “pedestrian” work. Their minds become pedestrian, bland, complacent, and it doesn’t have to be that way. You can elevate your writing no matter what form it takes, whether it’s the opening of your manuscript or a simple introduction. Here’s an example of what I mean.
Timing, Pacing, & Tension: What Are They and How Are They Different? (Part 3 of 3)
A story’s tension comes from its rhythm, timing, and pacing, which is what keeps a reader glued to the page and an audience in their seats. Let’s break down why that is.
Timing, Pacing, & Tension: What Are They and How Are They Different? (Part 2 of 3)
Pacing is often confused with timing, and understandably so. They do overlap in some ways. But while timing is the placement of a scene within the overall story, as we learned in last week’s blog, pacing deals with the modulation of the overall work. In other words, pacing is the speed at which the story unfolds.