‘Telling the reader’ means giving the reader the conclusion they would draw, without giving them any of the actions or thoughts or descriptions that would lead them to that conclusion.
Yeah, Patricia C Wrede knows how it is. And should be writing writing books for a living. In addition to her fantasy, of course. But, failing that, we’ve got her blog to turn to. Read More
Why did my story get rejected?
This is a forum thread in the form of an AMA by an (ex-)Clarkesworld slush reader.
Lots of interesting analysis of short fiction markets in general and Clarkesworld in particular. Great if you’re submitting or planning to submit to the big mags.
Pay close attention to the “I slushed 2000 stories, passed up 150-300 to the editor, and none of those got published.” Read More
The greatest take on “beginning-middle-and-end” that I’ve ever seen. And the presenter’s funny.
Julian Friedmann at TEDxEaling, 18 minutes, well worth the time. Read More
Yet another X Tips to Greatness vlog list.
Except this one is from Jerry B Jenkins, who know what he’s talking about after writing professionally for some 190+ books in 40 years. And it’s not about where to put the commas, but rather how to survive writing a long work. Read More
Are you safe?
Is your home, your workplace, your Friendly Neighborhood Military Installation safe?
Likely not. Read More
So, like, global warming? Well…
Here’s what happens when you get a top-notch scientific cartoonist to plot 22 000 years of temperature in one image. Read More
Start by writing what you enjoy reading.
It’s usually the easiest way.
You’ll need to learn, and how fast you can quit your day job depends on how fast you’re willing to learn, which in turn is a function of butt-in-chair time. The more you’re willing to work, the faster you’ll accomplish your goals. This is true in any field.
Translation: less dreaming, more writing. Read More
I can’t code and write.
I can code well enough, and I can write well enough. But I can’t do it on the same day. Coding and writing fill up the same creative well in my mind.
It doesn’t really matter if I’m writing fiction or non-fiction, or whether I’m coding JavaScript or Visual Basic, or any other language. If I code I get the same creative kicks that I get out of writing. Read More
Everyone has doubts. It comes with the territory – you’re a creative, you are able to imagine things, thus you are able to imagine horrible things.
Like “I am not a writer.”
It sounds true. Your doubts tell you it’s true. Your internal editor tells you it’s true. If you’re very unlucky, your friends and family tell you it’s true.
But is there a way to know? Read More
This is the most important writing and craft related article you will ever read. Allow me to quote from it:
So I change my students’ mindset to a reader/editor mindset. How do I do it? By giving them only three valid responses to something they’ve read:
- I liked what I read.
- I quit on page [insert number here].
- I liked what I read and I would have bought this.