Blake Snyder’s story beats have proved useful to me in the past in helping me structure a longer piece of fiction. In my current work in progress, I’m using them to structure a thriller of sorts. But I have been writing horror on the side too. Snyder’s structure doesn’t quite work for horror though. NotContinue reading “Scare the Cat”
Tag Archives: writer tips
The Lies We Writers Tell Ourselves
Tale Foundry released the second in a new series of writing tips a few days ago while I was being rained on in Northumbria. Having watched it, the Tale Foundry group hits on several lies that have snuck into my thinking in the past What do you think of this video? Anything they should haveContinue reading “The Lies We Writers Tell Ourselves”
NaNoWriMo GO!
National Novel Writing Month – Everyone is talking about it on Twitter and Facebook. It is November and now everyone is scrambling to make 1,667 words a day. Everyone, that is, except me. And why not me? Because I am making NaNoWriMo work for me rather than really participating in the event like some panickedContinue reading “NaNoWriMo GO!”
Don’t get it right…
I used to have a bit of a problem. No, wait! Dn’t go. I promise this isn’t some sort of horrendous personal issue or pictures of my weird junk! I swear. No, my problem was I had to make sure every paragraph, every sentence, every damn word… was perfect. Editing was what other people didContinue reading “Don’t get it right…”
NaNoWriMo Cometh!
The Importance of Realistic Goals National Novel Writing Month – those words often send a chill down the spine of any writer who has tried the challenge before. Thirty one days. Fifty thousand words. Sounds doable. Having done one of these challenges before, though, and not working a traditional 9-5 job (more like a 8-6Continue reading “NaNoWriMo Cometh!”
‘Polishing ‘
I am currently editing a novella for older children at the moment – a horror story with a mysterious curse. I am not an expert in revising and editing (or Turd Polishing, I call it), but I do know how t read up on it and apply what I have researched. The first useful pieceContinue reading “‘Polishing ‘”
5 Games from Fantasy Stories
Pages Below the Vaulted Sky asks an interesting question: Where are the sports in our fondest fantasy stories? It took me a while, and some prompting from others to compile a list of 9 games or recreations played in books I had read… So the following list does draw on a diverse array of fantasyContinue reading “5 Games from Fantasy Stories”
Accept that there will be good writing days and bad writing days
I’ve been looking through writing advice for years now. One of the pieces of advice I recently read struck a cord with me what with my current difficulties of fitting writing into my busy work life. Even GRRM has good and bad writing days it seems. It makes you think, too, that maybe all ourContinue reading “Accept that there will be good writing days and bad writing days”
Let’s Review: The Final Empire
Here is an admission: I have never before read anything by Brandon Sanderson. Nothing at all. Nada. Nowt. But I had heard lots and lots about how good his work was. Hell’s bells – he was even chosen to finish Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. So, with a sense of anticipation, I spent aContinue reading “Let’s Review: The Final Empire”
What Will The Monsters Do When They Win?
In Shad’s review of an anime called Goblinslayer (I’ve never seen it), he talks about the necessity of showing how monstrous the monsters are in fantasy. The comment is part of a larger discussion on the way that various fantasy authors and writers have managed this in various media. From the entire video, which I’veContinue reading “What Will The Monsters Do When They Win?”
Imagine Erratically 