Archive for Writing

Will writing nonfiction help your fiction writing skills?

Absolutely… to a certain extent. Fiction emphasizes creativity and imagination in order to construct believable characters, dialogue and plot. Nonfiction prepares you to write other elements of the novel, such as, narrative, description, or scene, and to blend them together seamlessly into a story. Nonfiction writing also prepares you for novel writing when you want to add layers or to increase the depth of your scenes.

However, if you pour too much of your nonfiction skills into your novel, it will take control of your fiction elements. I am guilty of making this mistake. Here are some symptoms to look out for when nonfiction writing has invaded your novel: Read more

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What do sports and writing have in common?

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What do sports and writing have in common?

What does playing sports have to do with writing a novel you may ask? After all, sports are physical activities, and writing is mostly mental. The only limbs writers move are their fingers, when they are on the keyboard, and their jaws, when they munch down cookies. However, a writer can relate to athletes who endure training to prepare for the competition with one goal in mind: winning. Plus, paraphrasing Yogi Berra, 99% of the game is 50% mental. A writer or novelist also has one goal in mind: to complete the novel.

What writers can learn from sports?
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How to write a novel

How to start a novel

You’re reading a novel and not soon enough, you find yourself criticizing the hero or heroine. You don’t like them. You stop reading because the story is awful and you’ve thought how you prefer the novel to be written. Your ability to identify what made you stop reading is a sign that you’re a writer at heart. Even more so, if you decide to write a novel.
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Writing is art, Publishing is business

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Here I am, sitting in front of the monitor, pissing at the blinking cursor in front of me. I did try to write my query letter. But all I get are complicated sentences that even the DH’s eyes started to glaze over while reading it.

Yeah, you know how it felt don’t you? I am talking to those who already published their debut or 100th novel out there. You’ve been there and done that. There is no mystery that writing the query letter taxes the business side of the writer—like me who now have to turn off the creative mind, turn it inside out and think like a business person—all to have a chance at marketing my novel through my query letter.
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Why do you suddenly fall out of love with your muse?

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Oh for the Lord of Muse.

I know it is coming. I am on Chapter Seven now and it’s starting to go downhill. I’m trying to find each and any excuse imaginable to get away from writing my Nano—you name it— writing content for my blog, writing emails, youtubing, attacking the DH, etc. Yet, I have no choice but to flop into my seat and drag myself to write one more chapter. Remember, it’s only thirty days to write a 50k word novel in NanoWriMo. I am racing against time so I’d better write or die.

Gah! This is crazy yet somehow so far I’ve managed to eke out roughly 1,500 words per chapter. Then it falls apart as I am not as motivated as I was on the first day of Nanoing. I wonder why? It’s not like I’ve never written a novel before. I had just completed my manuscript, but unfortunately it was completed at the end of October when I was planning to join the National Novel Writing Month. So I think it must be writing fatigue that has set in.
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Writing is a Loner’s Job

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Indeed.

You need to be alone—just you and the notebook computer in front of you, the cursor blinking faithfully waiting for you to start your first stroke of the keyboard.

You need to be alone. Just you, surrounded by books on writing, as friends and as a portable writing coach—to help you navigate your plot. And you’re dying to be outside, to be with others.

No one but you can get the job done.
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Middle Chapter Blues

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For those who are currently writing their manuscript — especially a novel, you know what I’m talking about. Yes, what to write in the middle of the novel. The first several chapters are easy to write and you know roughly about the ending or even have several options for it. Yet, you’re stuck in the middle.

For the first time writer, the novel usually has a beginning, middle and ending. So I’m talking about the middle section.
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How to determine what fiction genre you’re interested to write

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In my previous post I wrote about Creating a story for your fiction where I mentioned how you can determine what fiction or novel you’re interested to write based on your favorite movies.

In this post, I would like to expand upon that post by exploring how your favorite novels could be used to help determine what type of fiction genre you write.
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Writer’s Block: Does it really exist?

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Do you believe in writer’s block?

I heard of a writer who after having the first novel published couldn’t write for years afterwards. No matter how hard the writer tried there was no second manuscript in sight.

If that is an accurate description of what writer’s block is about, then it’s pretty severe and scary thing for a budding writer like me to know.

Right now writing is not a problem for me at all.

But wait!
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Outline vs. No Outline

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I read about this debate all over the place – in the forums or in “how to” books for writers.

So what exactly is an outline? It’s defined as a statement or summary of the chief facts about something.

Now if you’re already a writer and you know your preferences, you either outline your novel first before you write or you’re a seat-of-the-pants type of writer – based on intuition or experience – rather than a plan.

If you’re a first time writer and want to write your first novel you should continue reading. Then you can decide for yourself if you’d like to outline first or you prefer to just go a head and start writing.

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