This is part of a series on how to study fiction, mainly directed at writers who have read all the beginning writing books and are like, “What now?!?” The rest of the series is here. You may also want to check out the series on pacing, here, which I’m eventually going to fold into this series […]
How to Study Fiction, Part 10: Scenes, Part 1 Read More »
This is part of a series on how to study fiction, mainly directed at writers who have read all the beginning writing books and are like, “What now?!?” The rest of the series is here. … Techniques to help handle reading issues (post-reading!): You’ve read the book. Now what? I’ll go into more depth about
How to Study Fiction, Part 9: Reading, Part 3 Read More »
How do you surprise your readers? I use two methods: Wilhelm’s Law and the Agatha Christie Technique. Wilhelm’s Law: throw away your first three ideas. What this means: Your first idea is generally the most obvious one. It’s been done. Your second idea is generally a response to the first. Because most stories have been
The Art of Surprise Read More »
This is part of a series on how to study fiction, mainly directed at writers who have read all the beginning writing books and are like, “What now?!?” The rest of the series is here. … Techniques to help handle reading issues: First, what to read. You have a number of options. Read deeply, that is,
How to Study Fiction, Part 8: Reading, Part 2 Read More »
This is part of a series on how to study fiction, mainly directed at writers who have read all the beginning writing books and are like, “What now?!?” The rest of the series is here. … What to read, how to read, and how to start studying it. Every professional writer seems to have the
How to Study Fiction, Part 7: Reading, Part 1 Read More »
Here’s a game I came up with. Asking one person is interesting enough, but asking at least five is essential to the point of the game. … It’s a dark and stormy night and you’re on a road going somewhere that you don’t want to go, but have to be. How are you traveling? Where
There’s this saying that Stephen King is such a good writer that he could write a grocery list and have it be entertaining. I took a brief look to see if he had written such a story, but couldn’t find one. Nevertheless, this should be a Thing, at the very least, an official thought experiment that
Stephen King’s Grocery List Read More »
Still scrambling and running behind, but the end is in sight… … Okay. If you have a fashion sense or do costuming, ignore this. This is not for you. You’re a writer, and you’re going to a writer function. How do you dress? It seems like some writers have this down, in a way that
How to Dress a Writer Read More »
This is part of a series on how to study fiction, mainly directed at writers who have read all the beginning writing books and are like, “What now?!?” The rest of the series is here. … I’d like to take a moment to interject something that came up in the middle of writing these posts.
How to Study Fiction, Part 6: Words of Wisdom Read More »
This is part of a series on how to study fiction, mainly directed at writers who have read all the beginning writing books and are like, “What now?!?” The rest of the series is here. … Resources related to productivity/speed issues: Look for good general productivity, happiness, and habit-changing books and websites, like The Seven Habits
How to Study Fiction, Part 5: Productivity and Speed, Part 3 Read More »
