Whether you're writing a novel, novella, or short story, you write in scenes. If you're writing a super short story which often one scene long, this concept still applies. Common scenes: An opening scene, a conclusion scene, a flashback scene, a fight scene, a restitution scene. Scenes compose the building blocks, the steps of the grand staircase that make a story and once you feel comfortable with the basics of grammar…
Imitating excellent art isn't complicated it you know what to look for--and it's not plagiarism if you are using your own unique content. Have you ever ready a brilliant essay or a short story that really packed a punch and wondered how the author had arranged the words in such a pleasing, powerful way? I recently discovered there is a way to learn the structure and model my own…
Writing under a time crunch is one of the best ways to kick procrastination in the pants. All you need is a timing device. A clock on the wall will work, but it's even better if it's a countdown timer. Lots of cell phones have timers that will beep or buzz when your time's up. Tick tick tick tick--WAIT! I'm not ready! The urge to prepare…
A synopsis distills the key messages, themes, and direction of a story. Have you ever tried to condense the plot of a novel into one page? How about one or two sentences? It's hard. Really hard. The first time I tried to write a one page synopsis for Moonlight and Oranges, my novel manuscript, I almost went crazy. Cut, revise, rewrite, condense. Delete reference to non-vital scene. Include…
Be impeccable in your word. This is the first of The Four Agreements. In the context of the book's philosphy this is a determined truthfulness and also a dedicated integrity. If you say you will do something, it is tantamount that you do this. Otherwise, your word becomes useless. More on the Four Agreements coming for future posts. For now, it is enough to bring these up and remind myself…
A fellow literary mind approaches with the frank question--how much experience do you have in your field? "Oh well, I've been writing since I was ten." Which means, "I definitely know what I'm doing." Any past success, whether it's a published story of mine, or encouraging feedback from a reader, easily lures me into the trap of thinking that I've "arrived" and finally know exactly what…