You’re invited to join me at Full Sail’s 4th Annual Writing Conference, if you are a K-12 Educator, or Full Sail University student or alumni. Be sure… Read more “Join Me at Full Sail University’s 4th Annual Writing Conference”
Category: Craft
Posts about the craft of writing.
Yann Martel On Story

Authors’ reflections on story from my curated collection of literary #quotes #inspiration #writing #story
Don’t Worry About Being Good

Don’t worry about being good…. Aspire to be authentic.
TOP 25 QUOTES BY YANN MARTEL (of 248) | A-Z Quotes. (2020). Retrieved 25 June 2020, from https://www.azquotes.com/author/9521-Yann_Martel
I Need Absolute Solitude

Although I’ve made notes for things and even written synopses sitting in trains or on park benches, for the complete composition of things I need absolute solitude, preferably an empty house.
BrainyQuote. 2020. 62 James Salter Quotes – Inspirational Quotes At Brainyquote. [online] Available at: <https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/james-salter-quotes> [Accessed 10 June 2020].
There Are Days

There are days when I’ll write for 15 minutes and have to give up and move around, and I’ll write another paragraph and give up again. On other days I get intensely focused on the process, sit down at 8 A.M. and won’t get up until 8 P.M.
BrainyQuote. 2020. 73 Rick Riordan Quotes – Inspirational Quotes At Brainyquote. [online] Available at: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/rick-riordan-quotes [Accessed 5 June 2020].
Ending A Novel Is Almost Like Putting A Child To Sleep
I work very deliberately, with a plan. But sometimes I come to a point that I planned as the end and it needs softening. Ending a novel… Read more “Ending A Novel Is Almost Like Putting A Child To Sleep”
I Pull The Stuff Up From Me
Suffering is too strong a word, but writing is serious work. I pull the stuff up from me – it’s not as if it’s a pleasure. BrainyQuote.… Read more “I Pull The Stuff Up From Me”
The End Is Even More Important Than The First Page
As much as I like it when a book I’m writing speeds along, the downside can be that an author becomes too eager to finish and rushes… Read more “The End Is Even More Important Than The First Page”
The Utterly Mistaken Idea That There Is No Drudgery In Writing
Please don’t entertain for a moment the utterly mistaken idea that there is no drudgery in writing. There is a great deal of drudgery in even the… Read more “The Utterly Mistaken Idea That There Is No Drudgery In Writing”
Dialogue Is A Little Bit Jazz
Dialogue is a little bit jazz, a little bit hand-to-hand combat. Chuck Wendig Quotes (Author of Aftermath). (2020). Retrieved 22 April 2020, from https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/17152.Chuck_Wendig
It’s Hard To Get Excited About A Void
When I write the first draft, it’s hard to know what to get excited about, because it’s hard to get excited about a void. It’s a matter… Read more “It’s Hard To Get Excited About A Void”
It’s Not The Characters I Believe In First
I think I’m uptight enough about language that I don’t write really careless drafts with terribly painful prose. That’s because usually, when I’m writing, it’s not the… Read more “It’s Not The Characters I Believe In First”
How Hideous
How hideous is the semicolon. Samuel Beckett Quotes (Author of Waiting for Godot). (2020). Retrieved 13 April 2020, from https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1433597.Samuel_Beckett
Always Trying To Improve
I write five or six days a week, usually a minimum of 2000 words, sometimes more… No matter what, I try to maintain consistency in my work… Read more “Always Trying To Improve”
Print-On-Demand Publishing Is The New Farm System
Print-on-demand publishing is the new farm system for new voices in fiction. Authors who have compelling things to say, who can market their stories in compelling ways,… Read more “Print-On-Demand Publishing Is The New Farm System”
Writing A Plot-Driven Genre Novel
If you are writing a plot-driven genre novel make sure all your major themes/plot elements are introduced in the first third, which you can call the introduction.… Read more “Writing A Plot-Driven Genre Novel”
Copy Their Plots
Find an author you admire (mine was Conrad) and copy their plots and characters in order to tell your own story, just as people learn to draw… Read more “Copy Their Plots”
Took Me A While To Get To The Point
Took me a while to get to the point today, but that is because I did not know what the point was when I started. Goodreads.com. (2019).… Read more “Took Me A While To Get To The Point”
Use The Semicolon Properly
Use the semicolon properly, always use it where it is appropriate; and never where it isn’t. Goodreads.com. (2019). William Safire Quotes (Author of Freedom). [online] Available at:… Read more “Use The Semicolon Properly”
No Double Negatives
Don’t use no double negatives. Goodreads.com. (2019). William Safire Quotes (Author of Freedom). [online] Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/46857.William_Safire [Accessed 17 Dec. 2019].
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