Bad writing advice is often offered with good intentions. It sounds like good writing advice, but at best it isn’t really practical advice and at worst…it’s the blind leading the blind. I want to share four pieces of bad writing advice that I wish I had never listened to.
Category Archives: Writing Guide
Don’t Flatter a Fickle Muse
I bet a lot of us have had a conversation about our “muse” or the “muse.” I recently was in one of those conversations myself, and it sort of surprised me what kind of advice was bandied about. Many professionals don’t wait for “the muse” or “flow” when they write, mostly because they can’t dueContinue reading “Don’t Flatter a Fickle Muse”
Don’t Go Chasing Synonyms, Please Stick to the Words and Phrases You’re used to.
Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of article writing and editing for clients. I have been pulling out my thesaurus a lot, which always makes me think about times I’ve seen words in sentences where they don’t belong. I have spent a fair amount of time in online writing communities and writing-based roleplay communities. ForContinue reading “Don’t Go Chasing Synonyms, Please Stick to the Words and Phrases You’re used to.”
Ways to Quiet Your Inner Editor
It generally takes me about a week to quiet my inner editor during NaNoWriMo. For the first week, I fight with her a lot. She tends to want me to go back and fix plot ideas, weird sentences and anything else she can think of. I have learned one thing from her, listening to herContinue reading “Ways to Quiet Your Inner Editor”
Story Brainstorming Worksheet
Today is the first day of NaNoWriMo and I’ve already managed to get my 1,667 words in for the day. I hope that all of you are making great progress as well. I wanted to share with you all a great way to get a story started, if you are stuck and lacking ideas. AContinue reading “Story Brainstorming Worksheet”
Write-Ins – Countdown to National Novel Writing Month
Writing can be more fun when other people are there to share the experience with you. Like writing sprints, write-ins can be a great way to keep yourself moving forward toward that awesome goal of 50k words. If you’ve started an account at nanowrimo.org, you’ll find a tab toward the top of the page thatContinue reading “Write-Ins – Countdown to National Novel Writing Month”
Writing Sprints – Countdown to National Novel Writing Month
I actually did a lot of writing sprints before I knew what they were. A friend and I would find a writing prompt, usually a word or a song lyric we liked, and then we would write for a set amount of time and swap what stories came out of those sprints. Writing sprints areContinue reading “Writing Sprints – Countdown to National Novel Writing Month”
Plotter or Pantser – Countdown to National Novel Writing Month
The first time I “won” NaNoWriMo was in 2013. I read No Plot? No Problem, created characters, and did my best to create a semi-coherent sci-fi book. It was called “Equilibrium” and it was a meandering mess. It was not a total failure though, I learned my first baby steps to writing a full-length novelContinue reading “Plotter or Pantser – Countdown to National Novel Writing Month”
Establishing a Daily Writing Habit
When people find out I’m a writer, I often have people tell me that they want to write a book too. A lot of them don’t, but I think it is partially because they are not sure how to set goals that will help them get closer. Setting small, but achievable goals is a greatContinue reading “Establishing a Daily Writing Habit”
The Resistance
Sadly, I am not referring to the small military force led by General Leia Organa, today. Instead, I’m talking about a concept outlined by Steven Pressfield in his book “The War of Art.” The Resistance is just about any activity, thought process or life event that pulls you away from your art or yourContinue reading “The Resistance”
The Taming of the Muse 