Category Archives: writer

Some awards are not worth winning

At work, we just got the annual contest entry invitation from one of the journalism associations to which we belong. The first professional award I ever earned came from this group. While awards are nice, some are nicer than others. This post warns you about “awards profiteers.” One warning is about costs, but even theContinue reading “Some awards are not worth winning”

Developing big casts

Here are some suggestions for handling a “cast of thousands.” Don’t introduce them all at once is the first piece of advice. This article doesn’t get into it, but you should probably consider whether you need them all, too.There’s a link to a previous post addressing that question inside “5 Tips.” 5 Tips For WritingContinue reading “Developing big casts”

Tales (more than) twice told

If there are only a few basic plots to work from, retelling old stories would seem inevitable. Here’s an interesting discussion about the pros and cons of borrowing not just plots, but whole stories, cast and all. Mythcreants » Five Rules for Retelling Old Stories. http://m.mythcreants.com/blog/five-rules-for-retelling-old-stories/

Get inside characters

A friend of mine told me about The Emotion Thesaurus a few weeks ago. I bought it immediately. My favorite parts are the physical descriptions of emotional responses. I haven’t used it yet, but I’ve been clicking through it (I bought the ebook) and I know it’s going to come in handy. Sarah Winter: WritingContinue reading “Get inside characters”