writing how-to series

Writing How-To: English is hard!

First of all, I didn’t write this, I got it through the Writing email list on the Internet Writing Workshop. I don’t know who originally wrote it, but kudos to you, sir or madame. I’m classifying it as a “writing

Writing How-To: Write Space

Not much has changed in the couple of weeks since I took this picture to post it on an email list during a discussion of writing spaces. Believe it or not, this is my dining room table. We eat on

Writing How-To: Quck Historical Research Tip

Just a quick tip today. Here’s something neat I discovered with my old friend, Wikipedia. (Yes, I know, you have to double-check what you find on Wikipedia, but it’s a great place to start.) If you need to do research

Writing How-To: Recapturing the Wonder

My dad used to go flea marketing every Sunday morning. One day, he came home with what was, to me, a prized gem: a Smith Corona 2200 electric typewriter, blue, much like the one pictured here. I probably single-handedly deforested

Writing How-To: Home, home on the web…

Every writer today should have a web presence. Period. Full stop. Why? Because agents and publishers want to SEE you. If they’re going to take a chance on you, they want to see you’re serious about your craft. The website

Writing How-To: Getting feedback.

This post was inspired after I read this article, entitled “I Will Not Read Your F***ing Script.” It applies to writers of fiction as well. Now, I haven’t really had the problem the author of the article had. Actually, my

Writing How-To: Solid foundations.

This whole ripping up my carpets to put down new flooring experience has taught me a lot. Including giving me a perfect metaphor for writing. (Bear with me.) The flooring we picked is like linoleum, but it’s not. It comes

Writing How-To: The list of lists…

What writer hasn’t made a butt-load of lists in their life? I think it sort of goes hand in hand with the whole “I’m a writer” gig. Thanks to the magic of Twitter, I was led to this writers “list

Writing How-To: Tag, you’re it!

Dialogue (or dialog) tags tend to trip some writers. Add to the mix that the US tag standard differs from the UK, and it can add to the confusion. CORRECT: “I don’t like spinach,” she said. CORRECT: She said, “I

Writing How-To: Random writing.

Sometimes our creativity…hits a wall. Whether you want to call it writers block or mental constipation or what, sometimes an outside source can jumpstart you. Below are a few fun random word and phrase generators for your perusal. Some pull

Writing How-To: A little hashed phrase to go with the word salad…

Anchors away for our next topic! Um, no, not really. “Aweigh” is correct, however. This hint goes well with the word salad post from last week. See, the English language is a hair-rippingly funny beast. The bastardized, red-headed step-child of

Writing How-To: He said WHAT?

writing how-to, chalkboard with writing on it

Continuing the writing how-to series, another frequent issue that crops up, especially in romance/erotica novels — guys speaking unnaturally. “You little minx.” Now, honestly. When have you EVER heard a modern guy call a woman a “little minx?” I’m not