Words You Can Use Instead of "Very" to Punch Up Your Writing
lifehacker.com – Tuesday October 31, 2017
Learning how to write is like learning how to play a musical instrument: Once you learn the basic rules—grammar, spelling and punctuation—and are writing technically correct sentences, there’s a still the whole world of syntax, diction, and style to conquer. And this is where writers, like musicians, have opinions: Is it better to write straightforward, no-frills prose, or to weave verbal flights of fancy that illustrate complex, poetic sentiments? Or something in between? For me, diction is a big deal—the writers I admire are precise in their word choice—and I appreciate tidy sentences that get to the point.
12 successful authors share their novel writing tips for NaNoWriMo
inews.co.uk – Tuesday October 31, 2017
From finding a voice to staying motivated and dealing with writer’s block, writing a first novel can be daunting.
Here, 12 top authors share their tips for budding writers participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this November.
Why it’s scary writing ghost stories
ft.com – Friday October 27, 2017
Once upon a time, this was a nation of seances, spiritualists and spirit photography. Britain was thick with ghosts and the Victorians knew how to speak to them, and see them. The writers of the time were quick to seize on this interest. Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins and Elizabeth Gaskell were among those who wrote ghost stories — as did many others in the popular periodical presses of the time.
Are White Authors Not Allowed To Tell Stories Involving Black Characters?
huffingtonpost.com – Monday October 23, 2017
Storytellers are the chroniclers of our life and times. They memorialize history, dissect our complex and evolving world; they entertain and provoke and captivate. They are as diverse and eclectic as the characters they create and the stories they tell. It is their job to reflect who we are, what we experience, and what we can imagine. That’s a big canvas. It’s huge. And there’s no end to the variety of colors and hues that can be drawn upon it. Just as there is no end to the variety of artists weaving the tales drawn there.
Yet some believe there are rules to who gets to use which colors, who gets to draw outside the lines to tell stories that involve characters from different cultures. Some believe issues of race can only be voiced from within limited perspectives. Who gets to decide that? Who determines the answer to the title question?
5 things I wish I’d known before writing my first novel, Five Parks
metro.co.uk – Sunday October 22, 2017
I have written a novel.
Five words that every writer, aspiring or otherwise, longs to pen, or, as is more likely these days, type.
And I am lucky enough to have joined the club.
My first novel, Five Parks, a psychological thriller, was published by Endeavour Press in August.
It’s about a female freelance journalist who is kidnapped after going on five different blind dates with five different men in five different parks in London.
When she wakes up after the fifth date handcuffed in a dark room, she has to figure out – by continuing her dating blog, Five Parks – where she is and who took her.
It’s High Fidelity meets Misery, with a dollop of Charlie And The Chocolate Factory thrown in. And it was a lot of fun to write.
But it was also bloody hard.
Here are five things I wish I’d known before writing my first novel.
What I Learned From Binge-Writing Nine Bad Novels
vitals.lifehacker.com – Friday October 20, 2017
This year, I will write my tenth terrible novel. I do this every November; it’s part of the NaNoWriMo tradition. I’ve never published these novels, but I grow as a writer and as a human being every time I write one. Let me tell you why it’s worthwhile.
Philip Pullman: Rules of writing from man behind His Dark Materials
bbc.co.uk – Thursday October 19, 2017
So what are the tricks of the trade that has made Pullman such a success - and the tips he can pass on to budding writers?
He spoke to the BBC about his lucky pen and why he can work to the sound of a pneumatic drill, but never to music.
What does it take to write and publish a book? Fire in the belly
huffingtonpost.com – Wednesday October 18, 2017
When I decided to write my book, many years ago, I was committed. I had what I called “Fire in the Belly.” That is what it took for me to stay with it. I had passion and conviction that the story was important. It was history that had never been public. I needed to set the record straight, and I believed in myself that I was the person to write it.
I had a lot of challenges, though:
Writing for free undermines profession
irishtimes.com – Monday October 16, 2017
I’m a full-time writer and illustrator and was approached recently by an editor working for a reputable company who asked me to contribute a piece for an anthology of contemporary Irish writers. There was to be no fee. The company expected me to to provide the work for free, because of who they were and, presumably, the exposure I’d get for it. It was a commercial business, not a charity, although it said that any profits would go towards supporting emerging writers – as if established writers don’t need “support”.
John Green's Writing Advice Is The One Thing Every Aspiring Novelist Needs To Read Today
bustle.com – Sunday October 15, 2017
Want to finish the novel you've been working on, but keep getting discouraged and dragged down by insecurities about your talent or ideas? John Green's writing advice will help any aspiring novelist get over the hump and finish their manuscript draft. The Turtles All the Way Down author did a Reddit AMA on Thursday, during an eight-hour bus ride to Charlotte, NC, and gave some pretty great advice to struggling writers while answering a question about what he felt was "the most challenging part of writing a book." If you have a draft or manuscript idea you want to develop, you're going to want to pay attention to what John Green has to say.
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