Get Me Writing

Time to examine one of my weaknesses and talk about character. Read the writing techniques I’ve used to force depth from shallow waters! Read more…

I’d like to take a step back and really examine some of the basics of writing, really get down to brass tacks, so to speak. The reason? Well, this week, during a bit of back and fourth on a long gestating collaborative project, I felt like the project had burst, and I couldn’t take it any further. Read more…

There is a raft of advice out there for what the first paragraph of your story should contain. But I’ve raked through the internet so you don’t have to! Distilled advice and links within! Read more…

So you are coming to the end of your story, and you feel anxious. Great! Me too! And so I’ve scoured the internet for tips. Let’s take a look. Read more…

“Show don’t tell” is a writing maxim as tired as “write what you know”, or “writers write”. But it seems whenever it’s mentioned the writer tells you to take the rule with a pinch of salt or flat out ignore it altogether! What’s the deal? Read more…

Scenes are an important way of dividing your story, both so it’s easier to read and easier to write. But a scene is so much more than that! On K. M. Weiland’s blog, Justine Schofield redefines scenes in a way that focusses on their real purpose. Here’s my take. Read more…

So I’ve been thinking a lot about content recently. Not the whole process of writing, but about what is actually written. This has been spurred by a number of things, different influences and so fourth, but it did give me some serious thought about the role of destiny in your story. Read more…

Recently, in one of my many (failed) attempts to get back into the flow of writing, I had to take a few steps back, think about some of the advice (a lot of the advice actually) that Matt has given in a lot of his posts, and focus a lot on building the world of my current project.  I touched upon this a few weeks back when talking about back story (deep back story, I called it) but I think it’s worth opening up a little more. Read more…

Nigh on impossible to get right, that is!  OK, all (terrible) puns aside, I thought it might be good to talk a little bit about endings. That is, after all, the ultimate goal of any writing project, is it not? Read more…

Following on from Matt’s post last week, I thought I’d throw my own experiences with backstory into the ring, along with a dose of some bad habits.  As ever, I’m going to be exploring this anecdotally, as opposed to doing any actual research or anything, merely to highlight my thoughts and opinions as the resident ‘seat of the pants writer’. Read more…