These two related booby-traps are often hidden beneath our little darlings (clever dialogue, beautiful description, etc). That is probably why Stephen King recommended we kill them. Yes, kill them dead. No burying them in the Pet Semetary, also known as “revision.” Killing means killing….as in delete forever. Yet too many times we hang on to those favorite characters or bits of dialogue, reworking them and hoping we can make them fit…at the expense of the rest of the story.
Tag: backstory
Aug 03 2010
Beware the Bog of Backstory
Think of it this way, if a guy is holding a gun to your head to take your car, do you really care about the childhood trauma that made him turn to crime? Uh…no. But basically that is what we do to the reader when we interrupt the flow of action to shift back in time and explain.
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Jun 25 2010
Writers–Embrace the Weirdness
Writing is more than word count, although you do have to sit your butt in a chair and get it done. Crappy writers never run out of drivel to put on a page. The great writers are always working even beyond the desk chair. They read, watch movies, eavesdrop and their minds are only gently tethered to this plane.
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Sep 24 2009
Welcome to the Hell–Surviving Fiction
Never underestimate the power of collective minds. In WWBC we now can have qualitative critique that focuses on CONTENT.
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Sep 10 2009
"What's Your Favorite Type of Pain?" by. Jason A. Myers
What if a masochist (we’ll call him “Bobby”) captured you and made you choose?: Do you want a sharp stabbing pain that occurs in a few seconds/minutes, or would you prefer a low level, always-on pain for a month?
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International Association of Professional Writers & Editors
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