13 Vital Reminders For Writers. Writing is tough work.
If I may be so bold as to attempt a simile, I’d say that it’s like walking through a dark forest, but with your legs tied together. So in actuality you’re not really walking at all. But sort of hopping. Oh yes, and there’s a little devil perched upon your shoulder whispering sweet doubts in your ear. And the worst thing of all is that he’s composing his insults more poetically than you ever could. To battle this devil, here are 13 punchy quotes that will help you remain focused as you hop through that dark forest. Three Ways to a Killer Opening Line. By Diane O’Connell When you first crack open a new novel, there’s so much riding on that first sentence.
I know it sounds a bit extreme, but hear me out — aren’t opening lines that immediately pull you into the novel’s story world so much more invigorating and intriguing than lackluster ones? A powerful and utterly interesting opening line can not only draw readers into your novel, but also hint at the overarching themes your work explores in a deep and lasting way. Fifteen Ways to Write a Novel. Every year I get asked what I think about NaNoWriMo, and I don’t know how to answer, because I don’t want to say, “I think it makes you write a bad novel.”
This is kind of the point. You’re supposed to churn out 50,000 words in one month, and by the end you have a goddamn novel, one you wouldn’t have otherwise. If it’s not Shakespeare, it’s still a goddamn novel. The NaNoWriMo FAQ says: “Aiming low is the best way to succeed,” where “succeed” means “write a goddamn novel.” » How to Name the Voices in Your Head. I come from a family of four kids with a Danish-Norwegian patronymic surname.
From oldest to youngest, our first/middle name combinations are of the following origins: French/Hebrew, Greek/Greek, Roman/English and English/English. Our parents’ names are English. My five nephews have names ranging from Greek to Irish. The moral of this story is that not all families follow a pattern in their naming conventions. Your friendly neighborhood author-with-a-Greek/Greek/Danish-Norwegian-patronymic-name grew up in Massachusetts. Then I graduated from high school and came to Brigham Young University.
Like many of you, I sometimes have to work hard to find an appropriate name for the fictional character walking around in my head. Suggestion #1: Consider the religious background. Suggestion #2: Be true to the cultural heritage. Suggestion #3: Use the government. Suggestion #4: Have a story behind the name. In the end, go with your instincts. Bio: Fifteen Ways to Write a Novel. 5 Ways to Build a Detailed World Without Boring Your Readers. Photo by InterdimensionalGuardians.
Interesting. It’s the year 2053. Earth has made first contact with an extraterrestrial race; socialist aliens who reproduce asexually. You, now a literary giant, are tasked with adapting a sample of Earth literature for the aliens to enjoy. The book is Pride and Prejudice. You open your well-worn copy to that famous first sentence, It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife…and you break down in tears, realizing this tale of class and marriage will mean absolutely nothing to your audience.
Universal truth, your foot! Yet this is the challenge science fiction and fantasy writers face every day. We create whole new worlds to house our stories, then find ourselves struggling to keep up the pace while stopping the action every few paragraphs for a history lesson. Put One Word After Another: Neil Gaiman's Eight Rules of Writing. WritePut one word after another.
Find the right word, put it down.Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.Put it aside. Read it pretending you’ve never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.Fix it. About Neil GaimanNeil Gaiman is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films.
His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. He is the first author to win both the Newbery and the Carnegie medals for the same work, and is listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers.