Main Points • 1,000,000 words is a great milestone to achieve, but it’s not the most important thing to focus on. Instead get in the habit of the following: • Write a lot; • Immerse yourself in learning from great teachers; • Get a lot of feedback, especially averages from multiple people; • Learn what you need to fix/strengths you can leverage; • Create feedback loops to practice and grow; • Find ways to teach what you’ve learned. Introduction One…
Main Points • Outlines and gameplans matter. • It’s good to be reminded, I can finish writing a book (a sequel, a first draft, etc.). • Let books breathe and stretch out on their own (sometimes). • Books will blow up without being reigned in. • Outline on a granular level: detailed chapters with triangle formats instead of generalized blobs. Introduction 2017 was a great year for writing. I did a number of short stories, revisions, and starts of new…
Main Points • Proofing your own work is fraught with difficulties: we’re too close to our work, our minds correct small mistakes, and above all, proofing can be boring! • Many techniques exist to improve proofing: make your work unfamiliar by changing the font or background color, read it aloud with foreign accents and/or pencil taps, print your work out, use software (like Grammarly), get fresh eyes to look at it. Introduction Making sure your writing is without error can…
Main Points • Know your promises and keep them–promises are the foundation of your story. • Promises are made in the cover art, marketing, a book’s description, the prologue, the first line, first chapter, and all throughout the book. • Breaking promises breaks the foundation of your story and induces rage. • So long as you’re upfront with your promises, you can do just about anything. • Sometimes keeping promises is a gray area, but breaking them rarely satisfies readers….
Main Points • In general, systems are superior to goals. • Systems show the actual daily path to achieve your goal, they renew motivation every time they’re applied, and they carry you beyond the initial goal. • Goals don’t define the path to reach them, goals only motivate when ultimately reached, and they only get the specified results defined in the goal and nothing beyond it. • Systems are often used by creatives to accomplish their dreams. Introduction This post…
Main Points • Character theme is the character’s emotional journey. Setting theme is the setting’s journey. • Creating a separate character theme and setting theme can be powerful. • A distinct setting theme can make the world come alive. • Interweaving character theme and setting theme will make the story more memorable and impactful. • Having distinct character/setting themes is not always necessary. Introduction Theme is one of the most important parts of a story. Themes can be as simple…