The Top Seven Things I Look For When Editing

It's not enough to just say you're a 'writer.'  Most of the time, if you're really serious about what you're doing, you have to call yourself an 'editor' to some extent as well. So here's the situation:  You have written a book.  Or a short story.  Or a poem.  Or a school paper.  But what …

Drum Roll, Please

I have a confession to make.  I have not been entirely honest with you. You see, I have led you all to believe that I have been actively working on a project.  But that's simply just not true. The fact is, I have been actively working on two projects.  And I've just finished the  the second …

7 Sentences to Shock and Intrigue You

First impressions are important.  Technically, I think that either the title or the cover are the actual first impressions, but right after that is the first line of the book.  If you haven't reeled in the reader by the first line, then there's a strong chance you've lost them.  If you're lucky, they'll give you …

The Most Daunting of Edits

Last October, while looking for inspiration for the upcoming NaNoWriMo, I stumbled across a piece of writing advice that made me rethink my whole editing process. It told me to rewrite my whole book.  From scratch.  On a blank page.  Word for word. I had never done that before.  The closest I have gotten was …

Conquering the Blank Page

The blank page. The white, clean openness that must be filled before one can say they have written anything, whether it's a book, a research paper, or a blog post.  It is perhaps one of the more daunting challenges we must face. You see, after you've done all the brainstorming, outlining, necessary research, world building, …

NaNoWriMo Prep 2017

7 days 16 hours 6 minutes 31 seconds That's the official countdown to November 1st as I sit down to write this blog post.  But here's the thing: I should not be writing this right now. Why? Because I have next to nothing planned for this year.  I know my genre, I know the basic …

Planning for NaNoWriMo 2015: Character Development (Part One)

Well, it's that time of year again.  National Novel Writing Month is write right around the corner, so it's time to prepare for a month of roller coasters, both emotionally related and plot related. This year I'm doing another futuristic novel.  But it's not another end-of-civilization premise.  My idea for this year is about mutant cyborgs who …