writing

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Point of View: Break the Rules

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books breaking through a wall - deposit photos

So many rules. Every part of our lives is governed by them, and sadly writing is no exception. There are rules of grammar: 
If you made it through high school English and you want be a writer, you probably have a pretty decent handle on these rules. But there are others, too. For instance, formatting rules, which can shift and change over time: There are many more… for standard formatting guidelines, check out William Shunn’s formatting guides online—these have become industry standard
. There are rules for characters: There are many more of these that the typical writer picks up in … Read more

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Point of View: Building a House

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house made of books - Deposit Photos

In writing, there are many different forms, or structures, to choose from when you decide to write something new. Which one you use depends on the story you want to tell. It’s like building a house. Maybe you have one person’s story to tell, something that takes place over a fairly short period of time. You might choose to build a small studio apartment, where everything has its place and nothing that isn’t necessary is included. That’s a short story, usually anything up to 15,000 words. Maybe you want to tell the story of a couple characters, but still over … Read more

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Point of View: From the Top

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writer and notebook - deposit photos

Maybe you were a writing whiz in high school, and finished your first novel before you were eighteen. Or maybe you’re in your fifties (or seventies) and just discovered your great desire to pen fascinating stories that everyone will want to read. No matter when and where you start, you’ll need to learn the basics before your writing can soar. There Are (Weird, Contradictory) Rules The history of writing goes back almost as far as humankind, with ancient civilizations employing cuneiform and hieroglyphs to tell stories and communicate information verbally. And since you’re not (I’m guessing) Mesopotamian, you probably share … Read more

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Point of View: Plantsing

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plant growing out of a book - deposit photos

It’s an age-old debate. Plotter or pantser? Is one better than the other? Which one are you? A plotter is someone who plans out their entire story in advance. Plotters are known for making extensive outlines, doing deep dives into internet searches to pull together all the materials they will need, and making sure all their i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed before writing a word of the actual story. They are perfectionists, lovers of story arcs marked with specific “beats” that they plan to hit at exact points of the narrative to ensure their characters and plots reach … Read more

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Point of View: (Re)writing the Story

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Reset - Red Button - deposit photos

Thirty years ago, I wrote a book called “On a Shoreless Sea.” It was a fantastic novel, or so I thought at the time – a clever blending of sci-fi and fantasy set on a generation ship. This was the one that would launch me to sci-fi writer fame and fortune. I printed out ten copies (yes, those were the days of the paper submission – so sorry for the grove of “copier paper” trees I slaughtered) and UPS’d them to the largest publishers in the biz. Then I waited. One by one, they came back, the last one arriving … Read more

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Point of View: Gardening is Writing II

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Scott Garden

Back in the before world, in 2019, I wrote a column for this space called “Gardening is Writing.” My premise was simple. Many of the same skills to grow a successful vegetable garden could be applied to writing as well. Then yesterday, I ran across a framed image at a Starbucks, of all places, that reminded me of the art I used to draw when I was in high school. I sent it to one of my high school art teachers, Laura Brouse (check out her current art – it’s amazing), who still has a bit of my art after … Read more

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Point of View: What I’m Working On

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writer - deposit photos

We’re just back from BayCon last week and my brain is still buzzing and not up for generating any BIG IDEAS for this week’s column, so I thought I’d do something I haven’t done in a bit, and share what I’m working on (personally and via Other Worlds Ink, our small press). The Great North First off is the rerelease of The Great North. It’s a future post-apocalyptic sci-fantasy loosely based on the Welsh “Valentine’s Day” legend of Dwynwen, but with a decidedly gay twist. The wonderful folks at Mischief Corner Books first published this in 2017, and I’m excited … Read more

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Point of View: Diving Into Your Characters

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Diving - deposit photos

Writing fascinating, well-rounded characters comes easily to some people. Character traits, past histories, and quirky, unique personalities seem to just flow out of their fingers and onto the page, and every book is a new adventure filled with a fascinating new cast. I am not one of those people. Are you? If you are, you can stop reading here. 🙂 I grew up devouring science fiction and fantasy, and I was hooked on the Big Concept. Dragons are real and can travel between in the blink of an eye? OMG, give me that book. Living space ships will carry humanity … Read more

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Point of View: Writing to Distraction

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squirrel - deposit photos

There’s a great skit in Portlandia where Fred Armison plays a character working on his computer, getting calls and messages on his cell phone, alerts on his iPad, and “Netflix” style DVDs in the mail, all of which drives him to distraction. It was hilarious at the time. Who would let themselves be sucked into dealing with so many devices at once? Now a decade later, this is my life. My computer is my window into the world at work. I am constantly checking my email box (twelve separate email addresses and counting), my Facebook comments, and the news – … Read more

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Point of View: The Writer’s Garden

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bugs in a garden - deposit photos

Regular readers know how much pleasure I take in my vegetable garden. In many ways it’s like writing – you carefully nurture each sprout until it grows into a beautiful plant which bears delicious fruit. Well, this year my garden has been an apt metaphor for my writing life. It started out promisingly enough. I planted some pepper and tomato seeds in the garage in February. They sprouted, and they grew and grew as it got warmer, stretching their leaves toward the sunny window. Then about a week before it was time to plant them, something in the garage – … Read more