Two armies face off across an open field. You’ve set the scene; the battle is about to begin, but what do you do now? How do you capture the chaos and frenzy of hand-to-hand combat on paper? Do you try to gather a sweeping panorama of the battle from an omniscient narrator’s point-of-view, pulling back […]
Filed under: Bernard Cornwell, Writing Tips, Novel, Creative Writing on July 3rd, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Amazon.com is the hands-down leader in the online bookselling marketplace. And—although it’s notoriously difficult to speak with a living, breathing human being—Amazon prides itself on meeting its customers’ needs. What’s the easiest way to drive sales for your book on Amazon? Easy: maximize the content on your product page and optimize your chances of coming […]
Filed under: Publishing, Writing Tips, Writing Resources on March 3rd, 2008 | No Comments »
Noah Lukeman is the President of Lukeman Literary Management Ltd., founded in 1996, and he is the author of the bestselling books The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile and The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life. He has valuable insight into the world of publishing, […]
Filed under: Writing Tips, Fiction, Creative Writing on February 28th, 2008 | 2 Comments »
I came across this post on Pick the Brain that discuss George Orwell’s essay Politics and the English Language written in 1946. In the essay, Orwell focuses on how to communicate more effectively as a writer. His rules are quite simple and logical, much like Strunk’s advice on writing in The Elements of Style.
Never use a metaphor, […]
Filed under: Writing Tips on February 20th, 2008 | No Comments »
This is one of those tough grammar questions in writing that even I have a tough time remembering. When do I use who and when do I use whom? The following is an easy way to remember this distinction.
Use who when you could replace it with he or she.
Example 1: Who/whom is driving in the car? […]
Filed under: Writing Tips on February 19th, 2008 | 2 Comments »
I came across this article, written by Leo Babuata, that deals with developing good writing habits. A lot of these are logical ideas you’ve probably already heard, but reinforcing those ideas and putting them into practice is another thing. I think his approach is simple and very do-able; it’s just a matter of focus and self-motivation […]
Filed under: Writing Tips, Creative Writing on February 8th, 2008 | No Comments »
I was chatting on a forum the other day, and the conversation sparked the idea for this blog post. When writing your novel, what is the best way to incorporate research and historical details into your writing? I’m not sure there is a best practice for doing this; everyone most likely has a method that works […]
Filed under: Medieval History, Historical Fiction, Writing Tips, Creative Writing on February 1st, 2008 | 6 Comments »
Here are just some of the resources I use for information, references, advice, and tips when writing.
A subscription to Writer’s Digest Magazine (www.writersdigest.com). This always keeps me up-to-date on the latest industry news, and it gives me ideas when it comes to the craft of writing or when thinking about getting published. I recommend subscribing […]
Filed under: Writing Tips, Writing Resources, Creative Writing on August 16th, 2007 | 2 Comments »
I came across this excerpt from an unpublished novel the other day.
“Through this mantic glass I watch Manayunk dissolve. Perhaps the rain’s pursuing mist inoculates its vision, or its pandect vantage from this garret dormer. Or perhaps no eyes can ever be so low to truly see from ground level. Still, how terribly odd the […]
Filed under: Writing Tips, Fiction, Creative Writing on August 6th, 2007 | No Comments »
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