Everyone has history, even if nobody reads about it. Character backstories are the writer’s inspiration, cheat sheets, psychological evaluations, and vindication, all rolled into one.
Tag Archives: writers supporting writers
Writing Action Sequences
Actions speak louder than words―until they don’t. Contrary to their more obvious nature, writing action sequences is a delicate art.
Finding Your Groove: Music and the Creative Writing Process
The sound of silence doesn’t inspire everyone; sometimes writers have to learn to march to the beat of their own (or someone else’s very talented) drum.
Setting the Scene
World-building is an ongoing, tedious, compulsory process that enables a writer’s control freak habits while we set scenes that readers can really dive into.
How to Appreciate the First (Sucky) Draft
Lesson the first for every writer everywhere: the first draft almost always sucks. But that’s okay. In fact, sometimes that works to your advantage.
To Outline or Not to Outline: Is There a Question?
Every writer creates their own outline in their own way and in their own time. Unless, of course, they skip it altogether.
Join the Conversation: Reexamining Dialogue
When it comes to dialogue, writers really do need to say what they mean and mean what they say.
Writing Mythical Creatures
Fiction writing lends itself to an endless array of characters, from humans to mythical creatures: borrowed, created, or something in between.
30 Tips for Writers, Editors, and Everything in Between
If they’re doing it right, writers never stop picking up tips, learning hard-earned lessons, and toasting the triumphs that sustain them during even the worst writer’s block funks.
The Art of Giving Constructive Feedback (without Becoming a Doormat or a Dictator)
Writers everywhere agonize over the reality of releasing their work to some grammar fanatic and inviting them to fire at will. But step into an editor’s shoes and you’ll see that our jobs aren’t as cut-and-dried as you might think.
K. Watkins 