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A few examples: Pedaling uphill is like swimming against the current; downhill gives you the brief instant of going over the waterfall. Uphill is like a sweaty, physical manifestation of how I fe...
There's a good essay by Malinda Lo on the process. One of many, I'm sure, but that's the first good one I found on a cursory browse. I'd like to point out that knowing the general process is proba...
Show, don't tell. If the religion is that important to the character, then it will be apparent in almost every aspect of the person's life. Physically: Clothing: men and women (and don't forget...
Ten years of windup. Today was the pitch. I was going to throw Hollywood a curve ball like they'd never seen.
While there are various venues and services which make it possible for you to make a bit of money off your book, it is unlikely in the extreme that you actually will. The only way any of these serv...
The structure of your essay is fine, but your intro is irrelevant and your conclusion is redundant. I know the advice runs "Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, tell 'em, and then tell 'em what ...
Well, here are my own suggestions - I hope they're helpful :) Keep a timeline for every character (or small group). Keep track not only of what's going on onstage, but also what's hidden from the...
Depends on what your "limit" is. If you are limiting yourself to one character, then yes: the Harry Potter series is told in third person limited omniscient, and we get Harry's thoughts, but no o...
first of all, it's "the mistakes" he made — one doesn't make faults are revisited upon him return upon him come back to bite him in the [tuchus] come back to haunt him come home to roost beat a p...
Rule of thumb: you want to avoid confusing the reader. A confused reader is not enjoying your story. But, that doesn't mean "never do anything that might confuse the reader." It means, "if you wan...
Just from the information you've provided, it seems you're creating a convoluted and potentially confusing situation for no good reason. If, however, this is important to the story, you can always ...
Tread with caution. A lot of caution. Free stories to promote the author is a marketing strategy. As such, there are situations where it can be wonderful; situations it can be disastrous; situati...
Are you saying your character is describing someone as meretricious? If that's the word he would use, by all means use it. I have absolutely no problem making the reader work a little to expand his...
Other than Scrivener :) I find Excel (or another spreadsheet program) works surprisingly well. First column: Year Second column: Month Third column: Day (Insert more columns as needed.) Last col...
This isn't precisely what you're looking for, but it's interesting: http://www.wordle.net/
All terms are defined within the section. Either no outside references or optional ones, or include the information so the reader doesn't have to reference anything. Any background or history nece...
You have two issues: writing, and what to write. Put aside the "what" for a second. Go get a timer. Set it for ten minutes. Press start. Start writing. It doesn't matter what you write. You can t...
You could go for a small Mac laptop and try finding one with AppleCare. Apple does sell refurbished laptops with a warranty for less than list price.
Technical writing is a three legged stool. To do it well and efficiently, you need three things: Sufficient knowledge of the user's task to figure out what they need to know and how to communicat...
There are different levels of editing which are lumped together under the same term, which might be what's confusing you. "Syntax glitches and spelling" is line editing, aka proofreading, sometime...
It's an unsubtle cheat. (That doesn't necessarily mean it's not good. Bear with me.) The author wants to get across that Really Important Things are Happening. He wants to hook you with the begin...
Be clear. Write simply and plainly. Define your jargon and your acronyms, even if you think everyone knows them already, and use jargon as sparingly as you can. Imagine handing your document to so...
From "Gone With the Wind": Melanie: That's not fair. The men naturally flock to her. Scarlett's just high spirited and vivacious. Sue Ellen: Men may flirt with a girl like that but they don't mar...
How big is this stove? I'm not asking idly. "Engulfed" means (as noted by others) "completely surrounded." If a fire engulfs someone, he is surrounded, head to foot, in flames. How can he be yell...
Finish them anyway. You get good by writing; plotting alone isn't enough. And yeah, your first novel or two will probably be unpublishable. That's fine - those will be your practice novels. If you...
