Tag Archives: jane friedman

About This Writing Stuff…

This week’s lineup bring us several “how-to” articles including writing diverse and developed characters, marketing your book without social media, and outlining your novel (or not).

Is writing for TV better than writing feature films? Ken Miyamoto discusses. Confused about when and how to use a Framing Device in your story? Britton Perelman explains.

Jennie Nash explores the importance of asking yourself why you feel compelled to write that story that’s been bouncing around in your head. Over at Sidebar Saturdays, Matt Knight delves into estate planning for writers while at the Kill Zone, James Scott Bell argues on behalf of going exclusive with KDP and Kindle Unlimited.

All that and a little more. Enjoy!

Elevator Pitching: How to Grab Someone’s Attention in 30 Seconds or Less by David Young

How to Write Diverse Characters (And, Also, Are You Qualified?) by Joiya Morrison-Efemini

How to Create Characters by Kristen Overman

Why Writing TV is Better than Writing Feature Films (and Why it’s Not) by Ken Miyamoto

Everything You Need to Know About Framing Devices by Britton Perelman

Sequencing and Layering: Advanced Techniques That Will Improve Your Writing by Kevin Nelson

Why Write This Book? by Jennie Nash via Jane Friedman

How to Market Your Book Without Social Media by Carol J. Michel

Warning to Writers: You Won’t See This New Publishing Scam Coming by Anne R. Allen

How to Outline Your Novel. Or Not by Hank Phillippi Ryan

On Going Exclusive by James Scott Bell

Estate Planning for Writers by Matt Knight

Estate Planning for Writers Part II – Transferring Intellectual Property to a Corporate Entity by Matt Knight

World-Building Through Architecture by Dave King

 

 

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, Deb Caletti offers reliable tips on unreliable narrators while Chris Winkle explains the importance of planning character arcs. Emma Lombard and Carol Van Den Hende discuss developing a marketing plan and creating an author brand, respectively.

At the Write Practive, Jeff Elkins provides six critical steps to creating a good villain and J.D. Edwin gets back to basics with four foundational skills for writing fiction.

Claire Armitstead delves into the growing theme of climate fiction (cli-fi) and if you’re struggling to write the perfect ending to your novel, the folks at NaNoWriMo might be of help.

All that and a little more. Enjoy!

8 Tips to Writing Unreliable Narrators by Deb Caletti

How to Develop a Marketing and Promotion Plan as an Indie Author by Emma Lombard

Don’t Cheat Your Reader by Mae Clair

Keeping it Real—or Not: Fact and Fiction in the Novel by Carol Goodman

Planning Character Arcs by Chris Winkle

How Twitter Can Ruin a Life by Emily VanDerWerff

Stories to Save the World: The New Wave of Climate Fiction by Claire Armitstead

Selling Foreign Book Rights – How Authors Generate International Income by Matt Knight

How to Write Good Fiction: 4 Foundational Skills and How to Build Them by J.D. Edwin

How to Write a Villain – 6 Scenes Your Story Needs by Jeff Elkins

8 Mistakes to Avoid While Writing the Perfect Ending to Your Novel from the NaNoWriMo Blog

The Myth of Quality vs Quantity in Publishing by Kristina Adams (podcast)

What is Author Brand and How to Craft Yours by Carol Van Den Hende

About This Writing Stuff…

The past several weeks have been hectic, leaving me little time for blogging. Unfortunately, I’ve also been contending with depression, burnout, and fatigue for reasons too long to elucidate here (and you probably don’t care anyway).  Winter and ongoing pandemic stress have exacerbated the problem. Whatever. I’m working through it.

On a lighter note, I’m thrilled to announce that four of my short stories will be published across two anthologies in late March. More information on that soon! For now, I lined up another fantastic selection of helpful articles about writing and publishing.

Monica Valentinelli discusses the ingredients of dark science fiction and offers a generous helping of positive writing advice to keep us motivated.

Ken Miyamoto explains the difference between story and plot while Susan DeFreitas delves into strategies for presenting backstory.

Over at Mythcreants, Oren Ashkenazi warns prose writers against emulating TV and film while Chris Winkle teaches us how to improve reader engagement.

Brian Andrews guides us through writing believable action scenes, Julie Duffy provides pointers on transitioning between novels and short stories, and Philip Athens summarizes the history of pulp magazines.

All that a little more. Enjoy!

When Science Fiction Meets Horror in World-Building by Monica Valentinelli

101 Softly-Delivered Writing Lessons by Monica Valentinelli

What the 2021 Facebook Changes Mean for Authors by Thomas Umstattd, Jr.

Plot vs. Story: What’s the Difference? by Ken Miyamoto

Backstory and Exposition: 4 Key Tactics by Susan DeFreitas via Jane Friedman

Focus on Short Fiction by Julie Duffy

Five Bad Habits Writers Learn from Movies and TV by Oren Ashkenazi

Optimizing Your Story Ideas for Better Engagement by Chris Winkle

How to Write Amazing Action Scenes by Brian Andrews

How to Write A Bestselling Thriller by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Doublespeak: A Look at Voice by Terry Odell

A Brief History of Pulp Fiction by Philip Athans

 

 

 

 

About This Writing Stuff

In our final edition of About This Writing Stuff for 2020, Ken Brosky offers advice for managing multiple narrators while Abigail Perry helps us decide when our story can support two protagonists.

Even as an inveterate plotter, I admit that Hank Phillippi Ryan makes a strong case for writing without an outline (aka pantsing, but I like her use of “emergent design”).

In the Kill Zone, Sue Coletta provides insightful tips for crafting a series bible while James Scott Bell shows us three ways to weave humor into our stories. Over at Mythcreants, Oren Ashkenazi discusses how to handle content edits and Chris Winkle suggests clever ways to describe your POV character.

If you’re considering self-publishing, I encourage you to take some pointers from Anne R. Allen, and if you’re struggling to find that powerful opening to your story, let Josyln Chase help.

All that and a lot more. Enjoy… and Happy Holidays!

How to Effectively Manage Multiple Narrators in Your Novel by Ken Brosky via Jane Friedman

5 Tell-Tale Signs of an Amateur Self-Published Book by Anne R. Allen

How to Write Without an Outline by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Productive Procrastination: Re-Purposing Downtime to Profitably Promote by Ellen Byron

6 Tips to Help You Network Like a Natural by Penny Sansevieri

Tips to Create a Series Bible by Sue Coletta

On Using Humor in Fiction by James Scott Bell

Five Things to Know When You Get Content Editing by Oren Ashkenazi

Nine Ways to Describe Your Viewpoint Character by Chris Winkle

Staging the Scene by John J. Kelley

The Secret for Creating Characters that Readers Want to Root For by J.D. Edwin

Can You Have More Than One Protagonist in Your Story? by Abigail Perry

How to Start Your Story: 10 Ways to Get Your Story off to a Great Start by Joslyn Chase

A Look at Literary Devices: What is Motif? by Sherry Howard

How a Limited vs. Tight Point of View Can Confuse Writers by Janice Hardy

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, Lawrence Block reminds us that while real life often does not make sense, our fiction must. Ruth Harris provides a handy checklist on effective dialogue while Jami Gold and Janice Hardy expound ways to ensure that our characters are not puppets to plot.

Calling all Scrivener users, Gwen Hernandez and Joslyn Chase offer tips on using some of the app’s features to organize our work.

Jennifer L. Harris shows us how to determine whether or not our story ideas will support a full-length novel. Over at the Write Practice, David Stafford reviews methods for applying the principle’s of the Hero’s Journey, and Jane Friedman delivers a comprehensive guide to writing query letters.

All that a little more. Enjoy!

Stop Making Sense: Explaining Some Fiction Rules of Logic by Lawrence Block

He Said. She Said. Fifteen Keys to Writing Great Dialogue by Ruth Harris

How Can We Make Our Protagonist More Proactive? by Jami Gold

Things to Consider When Adding a POV Character by Janice Hardy

What is Causing the Uptick in Independent Bookstores? by Mike Shatzkin

Using Bookmarks in Scrivener 3 for Quick Access to Supporting Materials by Gwen Hernandez

How to Use Scrivener to Write Scenes That Work by Joslyn Chase

5 Essential Hero’s Journey Themes and Symbolic Archetypes That Will Thrill Your Readers by David Stafford

The Complete Guide to Query Letters by Jane Friedman

13 Tips for Writers Who Just Want to Finish Something For Once by Meg Dowell

How to Test Your Story Idea: Is Your Idea Strong Enough to Support a Novel? by Jennifer L. Harris

Why I Don’t Write Every Day by Phoebe Quinn

 

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, Harrison Demchick delivers a comprehensive four-part series on Point of View.* Over at Mythcreants, Chris Winkle talks specifically about omniscient narration and Anthony Ehlers at Writer Write touches on ways to spice up your writing by changing POV.

(*Mr. Demchick will be a guest at The Write Stuff writers conference in March in Bethlehem, PA!)

Anne R. Allen offers advice on writing your final chapter while Peter Selgin warns against wasting the first one. James Scott Bell encourages us to find the one thing at the heart of your novel.

Matthew V. Clemens sites one of my all-time favorite films as the apotheosis of suspense—which is precisely what Allison Brennan discusses in her article about pacing.

All that and a lot more. Enjoy!

How to Write Better Fiction Using Limited Point of View by Harrison Demchick

How to Choose the Best Point of View for Your Story’s Purpose by Harrison Demchick

How to Rely on the Unreliable Narrator by Harrison Demchick

How to Exploit Uncommon Points of View in Your Novel by Harrison Demchick

Writing Your Final Chapter: 6 Do’s and Don’ts for Bringing Your Novel to a Satisfying Conclusion by Anne R. Allen

Secrets of Suspense: What I Learned from JAWS by Matthew V. Clemens

Pacing: The Key to Scintillating Suspense by Allison Brennan

What One Thing is Your Novel About? by James Scott Bell

Five Essentials of Omniscient Narration by Chris Winkle

Taxes and the Writer—The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 by Matt Knight

Fiction Contests Worth Your Time in Winter 2019 by Arthur Klepchukov

When Your Story Opening Does Nothing but Blow Smoke by Peter Selgin via Jane Friedman

Revive Dull Descriptions with Simple Tweaks in Viewpoint by Anthony Ehlers

How Do You Find the Plot of a Story? Using Scenarios by Now Novel

A Home Library Can Have a Powerful Effect on Children by Robby Berman