Truer Than True
Last night I googled "fiction" and read an article from The Atlantic written by a Harvard creative writing instructor. It concludes that we shouldn't use personal experience to pre-package how readers...
View ArticleExcerpts from Interview with Octavia Butler
In Motion Magazine March 14, 2004 By Joshunda Sanders .... Joshunda Sanders: People attach a lot of titles to you – Octavia Butler: Please don't call me the grand dame. Someone said it in Essence and...
View ArticleBrandon Sanderson's lectures. I recommend these to anyone who wants to write,...
http://www.writeaboutdragons.com/brandon_w2012/ You can find Youtube links to all of them there. They're simply great. His insight is well put and explained and it is also a good inspiration to get...
View ArticleInterview with TWErvin2
View attachment 6433 View attachment 6431 I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Terry Ervin, a longstanding member of writingforums.org. He's one of the first members I came to know who had...
View ArticleGardners vs. architects
I've recently heard this lecture on youtube. What do people think? Can we categorise writers into Gardeners vs Architects?
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The Silver Bullet
I've been waiting so long to find an article like this! I know that a handful of you will appreciate it. http://www.theawl.com/2012/10/how-to-win-the-nobel-prize-in-literature
View ArticleNew Writing Term...
I'm a big believer in Dwight V. Swain's techniques with his scenes and sequels and motivation/reaction units, etc. Scene = real time action with goal, conflict and disaster Sequel = reflective moment...
View ArticleAristotle's Advice on Fiction
"A New History of Western Philosophy" Anthony Kenny said: Six things are necessary for a tragedy: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, and melody. Stage setting and musical accompaniment are...
View ArticleSome f**king writing tips from Matt Haig
12. Don’t kill off the fucking dog. 13. Oh, yeah, and lastly: write whatever you fucking want. The rest of his f**king writing tips can be found here: http://www.matthaig.com/some-fucking-writing-tips/...
View ArticleVS Naipul's Advice for Writers
I know the last thing the world needs is another list of advice for authors-to-be, but there's some really good advice here, and this is, after all, a writing workshop. So... VS Naipaul’s Rules for...
View ArticleWriting Unique Descriptions
We've all been there before; you're just peacefully writing and then suddenly you realize the plot demands a detailed description of [romantic or dramatic scene] and your well of words runs dry, your...
View ArticleHemingway's 110 commandments
http://www.kansascity.com/static/pdfs/Hemingway_stylesheet_Plain_Text.pdf I read through this, and I thought it was interesting what Hemingway learned as an article writer. I thought I share it and see...
View ArticleGeorge Orwell’s 5 Rules for Effective Writing
Hey folks. I did a quick search and it doesn't appear the following has been shared before. Here is an essay written by George Orwell. A guideline for preventing common errors in written language. I...
View ArticleMy Writing Tips
When Writer's Craft started at the beginning of second semester last year I was very new to the world of writing. I may still be new to this great new world, but I feel I have progressed a great deal...
View Article17th Poet Laureate WS Merwin, on poetry and art:
From an interview he did a few days ago. W.S. MERWIN: I don't think it's as simple as that. I think it is that. But the -- I think any poet would sound extremely selfish, because, when I'm asked if --...
View ArticleAre you blocked? Can't write the next line?
If you’re like most writers you’ll eventually suffer from some type of writers block. I find it happens to me when I’m transitioning from the beginning to the middle or the middle to the climax of the...
View ArticleFORMS OF POETRY – A to E
I am pretty new to poetry – I have neither attempted to write it nor read a lot of it before – and, as such, am pretty confused as to where to begin. Poetry is a combination of meter, rhythm,...
View ArticleInspiration vrs. Stealing a Story
So where do you draw the line between being "inspired" by a story or by actually stealing an idea/concept/character? For example, I have a favorite author, Jim Butcher. Basically the main character is...
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