Tag: craft

Developing Your Unique Writing Voice

  When we begin as new writers, we often just take off like a shot. Who needs to plot? Plotting is for sissies. Of course, failing to plot is a lot like failing to read the instructions. *whistles innocently* At the end of the day, the shelf leans like the Tower of Pisa and we …

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It’s Okay to be a Kid—Pitfalls that Can Stunt a Writer’s Growth Part I

Just because a writer writes beautiful prose, in no way means she can carry off a story structure strong enough to sustain 100,000 words. Fiction, especially in reference to novels, is a highly intricate composite of many layers—characterization, dialogue, perspective, pacing, conflict, voice, setting, symbolism, arcs, themes, plot, scenes & sequels, and on and on. The skill and training required to write fiction well can be mind-blowing.