Science-fiction writer
I’m talking about novels, of course. Be naughty in your own time. Each genre has an average expected novel length, and usually for first-time-authors that length is almost a condition. For science-fiction novels, the average length is usually between 90 and 120K, and if the author hasn’t been published before, agents and publishers will rarely [...]
I always thought I was a plotter, an outliner, a planner. Not a pantser. Not someone who discovers her story while she writes it, but someone who plans ahead and always knows which way the story goes. The premeditated kind. I thought this because I had a scene-by-scene outline of the entire novel as I wrote the [...]
Choosing the right point of view for a work of fiction is, in my opinion, the most important decision a writer makes beside choosing the protagonist. It not only dictates what pronouns to use, and how much of the protagonist’s thoughts the reader gets to see, but also determines the distance between reader & protagonist. [...]
Last week I put up two polls to find out what your best and worst habits as writers are, and which attitudes you’d like to change. Thank you all very much for taking the time to vote and comment, it was very informative! As I promised, today we’ll discuss the results. I must say I was [...]
There are patterns in our behavior and our beliefs, which shape our daily life and our future. Some of them are closer to the surface, some are nested deep within us, and typically go undiscovered for most of our lives—if we were normal people, that is. But we’re writers, and in the turbulent world of [...]
Hey guys! I’m back from my holiday ski-trip with all bones intact, and can’t wait to start blogging again! I hope y’all had a great start into the new year, and that you’re gonna make 2013 your best year ever. Here’s to grabbing opportunity by the throat! Shall we begin? Let’s talk about staying on track [...]
Insecurity is part of being a writer as much as fascination and frustration, and even the toughest, most acclaimed authors share this horrible absence of confidence now and then. There’s no way to outrun it, the best chance we have is to learn how to deal with that inner voice in our own way. But [...]
The most important thing before attempting a revision, is figuring out what exactly we’re revising. So the top question to ask when we pick up any considerable chunk of text should be — is this a scene, or a sequel? The difference between the two isn’t always obvious. Scenes are often mixed with elements [...]
We writers work in the emotion delivery business. We’re dealers in the most valuable human possession. This is our game, we lure you in and make you an offer you can’t refuse: “Psst, over here. Want some emotion? I got a real good package here, man, guaranteed high, make you feel stronger and deeper than [...]
While we’re day-dreaming about making it big, our most important ally is sawing his way into freedom one bar at a time. A killer focus doesn’t work with promises of glorious results, but with tangible little things he can use. Setting clear and achievable goals is the first essential step in becoming a professional writer, [...]
I'm fascinated with the dynamics of the human mind and the mechanics of the universe, so I twist both of them into a twine and make a pretty little bow. Around a plasma cannon!
