As writers, we are at risk of falling in love with our own cleverness. The “cool” idea, the super amazing mind-blowing twist at the end. We get so caught up in how smart we are that we fail to see that we are our own worst enemy.
Tag: revisions
May 18 2015
Your Novel in ONE Sentence—Anatomy of Story Part 5
In the world of screenwriting there is a tenet, “Give me the same, but different.” This axiom still holds true when it comes to novels.
Sep 11 2014
Kiss Your “As” Goodbye: A Simple Grammar Trick for Better Fiction
A good grade in a high school or college English class doesn’t necessarily translate into the ability to write great fiction, so it’s easy for us to mistakenly think understanding grammar isn’t important for fiction writing at all. Isn’t that what a copy editor is for? Won’t they fix all your mistakes?
Mar 25 2014
Lessons from Oleander–The Dangers of Premature Editing
This is my preferred method, because I am notorious for editing stuff to death. In the novel I just finished, I forbade content editing. There were times I thought what I was writing was ridiculous. SHEER MADNESS. But, as I got closer to the end, I realized my subconscious was far smarter than I am.