This week, I’m taking a break from The Psych Writer to discuss writing. Writing is my bread and butter. I have some posts I’ve written about writer’s block, and facing the terror of the blank page. In fact, I’ve written about the blank page twice, at least. But writer’s block still seems to be one…
For some novice writers (and, on occasion, seasoned writers), that blank page is the ultimate enemy. The white screen stares you in the face, and you’re lost for something to put on it. Sure, it’s easy for me to say “just put your fingers on the keys and start writing.” It’s easy for me because…
Emily Harstone advises this Writing Prompt: The 3 Minute Warm Up to help boost your writing muscles. You’ll need a timer and a blank page or screen, and the ability to type or a writing utensil. That’s it. This is one I’ve tried personally, just for fun, and I find it useful. It gave me exactly what…
Ruth O’Niel, via » Why Every Writer Should Belong to a Book Club, makes a great point. Your best feedback as a writer comes from readers, and you can learn a lot from how they feel about certain books. It’s a valuable resource that can help you grow as a writer. If you can’t find…
When I’m not writing horror or weird fiction and not reading horror or weird fiction, I like to talk about it and write about it. While I was perusing some blogs about my favorite pastime, I came across this post from Chuck Wendig. Though it was written all the way back in 2011, all of…
I read a wonderful article from Emily Harstone outlining 14 Myths About Writers, and a thought occurred to me: they all seem to stem from confirmation bias. So, allow me to confirm that these myths really are myths through personal and professional experience. Since there are fourteen on her list, I’ll just tackle my five favorites/least…
Some time ago, I put up a short story here called Left In The Cold, which was about a creature in the antarctic. Well, Jane Living, the main character, is still taking up quite a bit of space in my head. Her story isn’t finished, and while I’m fairly satisfied with that short story, I believe…
A while back, I was reading this article from Writers Write, and it really hit home with me as a writer. Every day, I have a minimum word count of 2,000 words. I usually wind up writing around 2,500 to 3,000, and a lot of those words are worthless and will be scrapped and/or edited…
I’ve been busy with NaNoWriMo this November, and I hope other writers will join me. Something I’ve said (repeatedly) is that your first draft is allowed to be shit. It’s supposed to be. Crap writing. Take shortcuts. Use your adverbs. Whatever. Just get it out on paper. Because when you revise, you’ll see your shortcuts…
There is no one “right way to write.” The important thing is that you write. So get to it! via National Novel Writing Month. Here’s Diana’s pep talk: The greatest thing about writing is that it’s just you and the page. The most horrifying thing about writing is that it’s just you and the page.…
