Do you think that research is only for nonfiction writers? Wrong. Novelists must get their facts right, too. Here are some things I research. Characters: Research Psychology and Tropes I often research behavior from a psychologist's point-of-view. I want to know the typical stages of grief. Or what are some common character traits of a leader. What ...
Do you write your novels? Or do you sculpt it out of words? I've been working with Scrivener for about two years now, and on my current WIP, it's finally starting to feel normal. In fact, it's changed the way I work. Affiliate Link Before Scrivener My working method in the before Scrivener days was a mixture of outlining ...
In their wise book about the nature of making art, Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking, David Bayles and Ted Orland say that people don't STOP writing. Instead, they fail to begin again. Beating the Holiday Stops by Starting Again Today, I'm trying to beat the holiday STOPS by starting again. And ...
I’ve been fiddling with the opening of the second book of a trilogy, Blue Planets, for several weeks, trying to plot, trying to think of new and exciting ways to tell the story. I KNOW the story. It’s bringing it down to specifics that’s hard. Part of my problem is that Book 1 in this ...
Openings are incredibly important. This was brought back to me recently as I was judging a contest. Those manuscripts that kept my interest for three pages were rare. Usually, they lost me by the middle of page two! Am I harsh? I don't think so. Grab the Reader with Your Opening Lines Noah Lukeman has it right in ...
Two years ago, I wanted to write a story set in Campinas, Sao Paolo, Brazil. I had never been there. I only knew the name of two people who lived there. Yet, I could convincingly write about the setting. Here's the secret. Google Earth The free app, Google Earth, is immensely helpful to writers. I use the free, desktop version. View ...