Posts Tagged ‘Laura Drake’
Use Excel to Track Your Novel
Learning how you write a book is like finding your way in a pitch black room full of furniture. You can learn by barking your shins, but there are less painful ways. Hopefully, this post will help. I’m an organized person, so it would make me crazy trying to locate details in my WIP. Which…
Read More3 Writing Lessons Learned from a Robotic Vacuum
Years ago, I had back surgery. After I healed, I went back to Domestic Goddess duties, but found I couldn’t vacuum anymore. Something about the pushing and pulling killed my back. So I informed Alpha Dog (did I mention he’s also Texan?) that this duty would have to fall to him. He didn’t disagree, but…
Read MoreThe Dreaded Dialogue Tag
Okay, I admit it. I’m prejudiced against dialogue tags. Yes, I know they say, ‘He said/she said’ are invisible to the reader. They’re not to me. Even if you don’t share my pet peeve, why settle for something so boring? You write a sparkling line of dialogue, and slap ‘he said’ on the end? Why…
Read MoreWho Needs Secondary Characters?
I don’t know about you, but I can’t write a book without secondary characters. Yes, I’ve read books without them (or ones where they had tiny roles), but I can’t write that way. I’ve never gotten over my crush – how about you? I mean, where would The Lion King be without the hyenas? Where…
Read MoreDoes an Extroverted Writer Have the Advantage? Maybe Not
I’ve read a lot of blogs lately by introverted writers pointing out how hard it is for them, nowadays. There are probably more introverted authors than extroverts. After all, it’s darned near a cliché – the writer living in seclusion, typing away in obscurity. That’s all you see in movies: As Good as it Gets, Something’s Gotta Give – even, dare…
Read MoreThe No-Stress Way To Create Your Story’s Logline
I love loglines. There’s no better feeling than pulling together words that capture the spirit of your book in a perfect, compelling way. I teach a submissions class for the Lawson Writer’s Academy and find that loglines are a major source of stress for my students. Have you ever noticed that loglines are only fun to come up…
Read MoreCharacter First
Oh, I know there are those of you who won’t agree with me. You’ll say plot is more important. I’ll make my case with the beginnings of two popular plot-heavy stories. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins “When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s…
Read MoreDare to be Vulnerable in Your Writing
Laura Drake I had no idea what I was going to write about this month. I felt like I’d done it all. Then I read Jenny’s post from Brené Brown (If you haven’t read it, it’s HERE). #7 hit me in the heart. See, I’d forgotten. Vulnerability is my super-power. I went through a pretty…
Read MoreRedundant Writing – and How to Exorcise it
I read a blog the other day that taught me a new writing craft term: Countersinking. This is how Rob Bignell defines it in his article: One way for an author to slow a story is to employ “countersinking,” a term coined by science fiction writer Lewis Shiner. Countersinking involves making explicit the very actions that the…
Read MoreWhy Learning Writing Takes So Long
I traveled to speak at a writer’s group last weekend (I do that, you know. Contact me if you’re interested). I was talking to a writer there, and she bemoaned the fact that she didn’t have this down yet. She was still making mistakes. I’ve heard this many times. I’ll bet you’ve said it…
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