Outstanding Creative Writing Blogs. The best creative writing blogs. Over the years, I’ve found some truly outstanding creative writing blogs. Today, I’d like to share a few of my favorites. Some of these blogs offer helpful writing tips, techniques, and ideas. Others broadcast the latest news and information in the world of reading, writing, and publishing. All of them are incredibly useful. I hope you’ll check them out. The Write Practice: Each post presents an essential writing concept (with an emphasis on storytelling) and includes an exercise at the end, which prompts you to put the concept into practice.Writer Beware: Keeping writers informed and safe, Writer Beware publishes “warnings about the schemes, scams, and pitfalls that threaten writers.”
One of the things I love about blogs is that I can subscribe to them and get regular updates. I’m always on the lookout for creative writing blogs. Enjoy, and keep writing! About Melissa DonovanMelissa Donovan is a website designer and copywriter. The Writer's Guide to E-Publishing. MOODY WRITING. The Writer's Almanac. Where Should a Second Chapter Start? On October 12th, 2010 by Fiction Editor Beth Hill and last modified on October 12, 2010 We’ve all read advice about the first chapter—how and where to begin a story; what makes for strong openings, depending on the genre; what not to include in the first paragraph or page of chapter one; what to include in a novel’s opening. We understand that a good opening chapter sets the tone and introduces lead characters and gets the plot rolling. We know almost as much about the final chapter, the final paragraph, and the final words. About how to finish a story so that it’s complete and satisfying and induces the reader to want more.
Yet, where’s the advice for chapter two? What do we do to move from that compelling first chapter—the one that’s seen more rewrites than all other pages combined and multiplied by 10—and into the meat of the story? We certainly want to continue the tone we’ve established. Sure there are. Where should a second chapter start? 1. 2. 20 Common Grammar Mistakes That (Almost) Everyone Makes. I’ve edited a monthly magazine for more than six years, and it’s a job that’s come with more frustration than reward. If there’s one thing I am grateful for — and it sure isn’t the pay — it’s that my work has allowed endless time to hone my craft to Louis Skolnick levels of grammar geekery.
As someone who slings red ink for a living, let me tell you: grammar is an ultra-micro component in the larger picture; it lies somewhere in the final steps of the editing trail; and as such it’s an overrated quasi-irrelevancy in the creative process, perpetuated into importance primarily by bitter nerds who accumulate tweed jackets and crippling inferiority complexes. But experience has also taught me that readers, for better or worse, will approach your work with a jaundiced eye and an itch to judge. While your grammar shouldn’t be a reflection of your creative powers or writing abilities, let’s face it — it usually is. Who and Whom This one opens a big can of worms. Which and That Lay and Lie Moot Nor. Seduction, Not Instruction (Part I) One of the first admonitions to a beginning writer is to "Show not Tell". Let me start this two-part article by saying I hate this adage, that I find it misleading, confusing and often next-to-useless. I might add that for years I didn't understand what it meant and agonised over why my own writing was flat.
The classic example is to change a phrase like "he was angry" to a description of the protagonist displaying evidence of that anger, white knuckles, a flush face, staring eyes, perhaps. The argument goes, don't tell me he's angry, show me his behaviour and let me work it out. I shall not to bore the reader, wannabe, beginner or experienced writer by redoing the simple and simplistic show-not-tell examples gleaned from many how-to books but here's one misquoted, from an author I can't recall from James Frey's excellent little book, How To Write A Damn Good Novel. Another Monday! But "bright-faced and alert" Yuck! December. This is almost screenplay. Here's a passage some call tell. Carolyn Jewel - Carolyn's Writing Workshop. Bring your writing to life with strong verbs and specific nouns, you say? What does that mean, exacxtly?
Well, I'll give specific examples and show you exactly what I mean. Strong Verbs This subject relates to passivity and, as a general rule, passive = bad. The more specific you are, the better. Geneva was walking toward the well. "was walking" tells us what Geneva was doing but not how she was doing it. Geneva plodded toward the well. TIP: Quite often you'll find your strong verb disguised as an adverb, adjective or helper verb next to the weak verb. So, I should replace every weak verb with a strong one, right? No! To Be: the Verb of Last Resort Specificity This subject also relates to passivity and, as a general rule, passive = bad. The ball flew like a bird startled from a bush. The ball flew like a grouse startled from a bush. The ball flew like a finch startled from a bush. The ball flew like a hawk startled from a bush. The ball flew like a goose startled from a bush.
See what I mean? Holly Lisle: Official Author Homepage | read with hunger, write with joy, live with passion. Welcome to Writing-World.com! The 18 Most Popular Articles on Writing of 2011. We posted more than 1,300 articles to WritersDigest.com this year and, quite frankly, that’s a lot. It’s hard to sift through all of that, so I’ve gathered the 18 most popular articles to share with you—a mix of fiction, nonfiction, writer’s rights, agenting, publishing and a bit of humor. Bookmark these links and reference them as much as you need. There’s something for everyone here, so read on. Your manuscript and writing career will thank you. Without further ado, the 18 Most Popular Article on Writing of 2011: There’s no doubt that our staff worked tirelessly in 2011 to bring you advice, tips, interviews and inspiration to help you reach your writing goals. I hope 2011 treated you well, but I’m confident 2012 is going to be even better.
From the bottom of my heart, Brian. Where the Writers Go (tm) - Writing.Com. Timothy Hallinan - Writer's Resources. That tells you something immediately. It tells you that the story is set in the past. The events are over, the girl and the boy either did or didn't get each other, good either triumphed or got trampled, and some characters survived (if it's the kind of story where that's in doubt), while others didn't.
Past tense is the classic way to tell a story, whether it's set in the past or in the present. (Or, even, in the case of speculative fiction, in the future.) The teller of the story is separate in time from the events of the story. Essentially, the writer sits you down, figuratively speaking, and says, “This is what happened.” There's something magic in this. If it seems most natural to you to set your novel in the past tense, more power to you. But I want to put in a word for the present tense. I've written six novels in the past tense, all in first person. It had an immediacy I enjoyed. In the past few years, more and more writers have chosen to tell their stories in the present tense. WRITERS HELPING WRITERS | Home of The Bookshelf Muse. The Other Side of the Story. Blood-Red Pencil. Writing. Write for Life.