How to Write a Song – Part One – Methods & Formula
The Nuts & Bolts of Songwriting
A song can be broken down into four constituent elements.
- Words – or Lyrics – which are sung along to a:
- Melody – which is the part of a tune you hum… Continue reading
Clichés – How Can You Use Them?
Clichés - Enemy? Or Friend?
Every time I turn on the television or pick up a new book at the bookstore, I see yet another cliché or variation on a cliché, and I roll my eyes.
“Again?” I… Continue reading
Do You Need to Avoid Clichés?
How Cliché is Using Clichés in Your Writing?
This one’s a tough nut to crack.
Avoiding cliches is like avoiding headaches. We’d all love to, but there’s no way we’ll ever completely avoid them.
With hundreds of cliches,… Continue reading
Story Pacing – Urgency – Hooking Readers
The First Fifty - Crucial - Pages of Your Book
The first fifty pages of your book are crucial for setting the hook in your readers. Something has to happen. Something exciting, or intriguing, or you risk losing… Continue reading
What is the Best Point of View to Use in Fiction?
Benefits and Drawbacks of Each POV in Your MS
As a beginning writer who chose to write my first book in first-person narrative, I discovered the drawbacks of such an approach the hard way.
Halfway through the book,… Continue reading
Adverbs – Part Three
The Dreaded LYs
When discussing adverbs in regards to writing fiction, the kind we’re usually talking about are the ly words – like clearly, dearly, and madly.
Many high-brow critics complain that the use of… Continue reading
Adverbs – Part Two
What Words Serve as Both Adjectives & Adverbs?
Yes, some words can serve as both adjectives and adverbs.
- He swung hard with a right hook.
Here, hard serves as an adverb which modifies the verb swung.
- When… Continue reading
Adverbs – Part One
What is an Adverb?
An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
Here’s some examples:
Adjective Form:
- happy
- clear
- close
- dear
- perfect
Adverb Form:
- happily
- clearly
- closely
- dearly
- perfectly
Of course,… Continue reading
World Building – Information Dumps in Your Story
Are You Overwhelming Your Readers?
Have you ever run across a prologue like this:
(usually in sci-fi books)
Captain Briggs took the helm and began shouting orders. “Ensign, optimize the traspositional filtration valves to ignite the gravitational destabilizers.”… Continue reading
Sentence Fragments – Stylistic Choice?
Should I Use Sentence Fragments?
Sentence fragments.
Who cares? You? Me?
Anyone?
Depends.
Writing nonfiction?
Probably wouldn’t.
Work, that is.
Writing fiction?
Could be.
Depends.
On what?
Style.
Rewriting and Revising Before You Edit
How Many Manuscript Drafts Should You Go Through?
When working on a book of any kind, if you haven’t gone through a minimum of three drafts, you probably don’t have a finished product.
The first draft should be… Continue reading
Active Versus Passive Voice
Engage Your Reader with Active Voice in Your Writing
While it has it’s uses – mostly in business writing – passive voice is considered weak and unappealing.
Technically speaking, voice is determined by the property of a transitive… Continue reading
How to Write a Book – Tips & Ideas
What's the Best Way to Write a Book?
There are as many answers to that questions as there are authors. And while no answer is inherently better than another, a few examples should serve to set the aspiring… Continue reading
Fine Tuning Your Manuscript – Part Two
The Three S's - Scene, Setting, and Senses
Stories don’t occur in a bubble.
They have to be set in a real and believable place. And what makes a scene or setting, is detail.
And what makes the… Continue reading
Fine Tuning Your Manuscript – Part One
You've Written "The End" - But Is Your Book Ready?
Okay, so you’ve finally reached the magic words, The End.
But is it really?
Are you done?
Have you really finished your book?
Chances are, you haven’t.… Continue reading