I like my character’s name to be compatible with the time period. For instance, if my female character was born in the 1920s I’m inclined pick the name Evelyn or Doris. But if my female character was born in the 2010’s I’m more likely to pick Emily or Madison. So how do I select a time-appropriate name? Historically Accurate When writing in a different time period, my go-to website is SSA. The social security administration has compiled the 200 most common names for girls and boys from each decade starting in the 1880s. Generally speaking, when choosing a character’s name, I pick a number before I pull up the list…
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Plot and Story
Plot and story: Plot is what happens. Story is how plot causes a character to change. Effective writing needs both. Back to School Assignment Every September of my school life, the first writing assignment was some variation of What I did over summer vacation. In retrospect I pity my teachers who were forced to wade through boring itineraries. I took swimming lessons. My sister and I played in the sprinklers with the neighbor kids. Our family vacation was driving to Aunt Wally’s and Uncle Pete’s. We swam in their pool with my cousins. It was fun. Bo-oring. That was merely a disjointed listing of events. If my summer vacation…
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Avoid Passive Voice
If you want your reader to feel emotion and action on the page, avoid writing in passive voice. It creates distance between the characters on the page and your reader, it dilutes the immediacy, and waters down action. The most common culprit is helping verbs. Passive Voice and Helping Verbs Ban helping verbs from your writing to eliminate passive voice. That may be a little harsh, but in all honesty helping verbs are the most common indicator that you have slipped into passive voice. When active verbs like take, sing, or walk are aided by a version of the verbs ‘to be’ or ‘to have,’ (also known as helping verbs)…
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Whose Story?
Recently a friend and I met for lunch. The conversation drifted to our childhoods. She shared that her daddy died when she was seven. I asked a few questions and the conversation moved on to other subjects. One detail stayed with me, though. His hands were scrubbed clean. She insisted they weren’t her daddy’s hands at all. Visual Inspiration That powerful image of a seven-year-old staring at her daddy’s hands in the hospital stuck with me. I slipped into the mind of a seven-year-old and committed the story to paper. But was it my story to tell? Elizabeth Gilbert writes in Big Magic that stories live in the ether, waiting…
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Author Readings
Author readings don’t have to strike fear in your heart. This post will talk about why, where, and how to have a successful reading. Why Writers tend to shun the spotlight. But the reality is writers are responsible for marketing their own work. To be successful, you have to put yourself in front of your target audience. Nonfiction authors reach their audience through interviews, articles, and presentations. Fiction authors will write short fiction, enter contests, do interviews, and yes, read portions of their work to live audiences. Reading short work aloud in public is great practice for when you publish that novel you’ve been working on. Where So, where does…
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Rejection is Inevitable
Whether you are pitching articles, fiction, or complete manuscripts, some degree of rejection is inevitable. Don’t get discouraged. You have something to say. It takes time to find the right market, agent, or publisher. Rejections are an indicator that you are producing and submitting work. That’s a good thing. Submit Three months ago, I climbed aboard the submission merry-go-round. My manuscript was ready. I researched agents who would be a good fit, crafted a query letter and synopsis. I submitted to five agents the first week. Four the second. Five the third, and so on. Rejections trickled in. Waiting for an agent’s response is kind of like that Christmas Eve…
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Unfinished Projects
Today I want to talk about unfinished projects. While this blog is directed at writing projects, it can be applied to projects ranging from crafts to home improvement.. With three unfinished manuscripts, half a dozen unfinished short stories, and a pile of notes on projects in the development stage, I’m an expert on unfinished projects! The first step is to identify why you don’t finish your projects. Once you identify the why, you can tackle the how. The final step is to actually complete the work. In this post I will talk about the three barriers that prevent me from finishing a project: distraction, boredom, and fear. Distraction In a…
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Road Map for Writing Goals
It’s okay if you haven’t set your writing goals yet. Before you do, it’s important to take stock of your strengths and weaknesses. Once you have those nailed down, you will have a roadmap to improve your writing. Inventory The first step is to inventory your skills and assign them a value of strong, medium, or weak. What do I mean? Look at the chart below: Strong Medium weak Dialogue X Grammar X Punctuation X Character development X POV X Word choice X Voice X In this example, it is clear that improving punctuation…
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Enter Writing Contests
Beginning, emergent, and published writers should enter writing contests. No matter your experience, contests are a way to hone your skills. Beginning writers will benefit from attention to SPaG (spelling, punctuation and grammar rules). Emergent writers can focus on crafting an entry to meet the requirements of a specific contest. Published writers will produce the most polished work possible including elements of tension, conflict and character arc. Why Enter? Writers at all levels suffer from imposter syndrome. Entering a writing contest is a way to validate yourself as a writer. It’s a way of saying I can do this, I’m a writer, too. Contests come with expectations including quality, word…
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How to Write a Christmas Letter
‘Tis Christmas letter writing season. When holiday decorations pop up like mushrooms after a rain, you know it’s time to sharpen your pencils and replace your printer ink. Structure The first consideration for your annual Christmas letter is structure. Will you organize it by month? By family member? By uncomfortable obsession? Many Christmas letters highlight one activity or trip per month. One drawback of this approach is figuring out how to announce a change in relationship status. Would a casual mention of your ex’s new address under October highlights slip by unnoticed? Organizing by family member is a common strategy. As long as you have something nice to say about…
