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Tag Archives: writing process
Sowing the Seeds of the Perfect End
I recently submitted a story to an online journal, and received some feedback from the editor, a couple of changes she wanted to see: first, the character’s motivation was unclear, second, the ending didn’t work. Well, motivation’s not too hard, … Continue reading
Fantastic Beginnings: taking it slow, with Carol Berg
I have recently started reading Transformation, the first of the Book of Rai-kirah, by Carol Berg. I met the author on a panel about torturing your characters and recognized each other as kindred spirits. She’s actually the first person both … Continue reading
Posted in book reviews, books, fantasy, writing, writing process
Tagged author, books, Carol Berg, character, fantasy, fiction, Rai-kirah, Transformation, writing, writing process
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Skinning your Own Apes: Researching from Primary Sources
An article in the Stanford magazine this month talks about a new method of teaching history to high schoolers using primary source material, having the teens read several documents about an incident and draw their own conclusions based on the … Continue reading
Posted in books, fiction, historical medicine, history, medieval, research, worldbuilding, writing advice
Tagged fantasy, history, medieval, medieval medicine, research, resource, writing process
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Focus Groups Taking over the World!
This morning’s Wall Street Journal features an article entitled “Test-marketing a Modern Princess,” about how Disney Junior is developing their new Sofia the First television series. Yes, folks, these executives are sitting down with pre-schoolers, reading them storylines and filming … Continue reading
Posted in books, essays, fiction, marketing, publishing, social media, Uncategorized, writing process
Tagged books, fiction, writing process
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Drowning in the Seas of Knowledge: Social Media World-building
This has been my week to make a stab at getting my act together on-line. The end of the year is approaching fast, I’d hate to miss out on my resolutions. So now my blog has widgets, my Facebook page … Continue reading
Posted in book promotion, essays, medieval, personal, social media
Tagged medieval, self promotion, social media, world-building, writing, writing process
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Three-act Structure Eureka!
Okay, I’ve heard about the three-act structure for quite some time, from a variety of sources, and had it sketched out for me in at least one workshop. Quite frankly, it didn’t seem all that relevant. But I finally picked … Continue reading
Posted in writing, writing process, writing series
Tagged fiction, novel structure, plot, structure, three-act structure, writing, writing process
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Writer’s Blech
Over the weekend, I had a chance to talk with a writer-friend about one of the problems we all seem to face: the moment we realize the work-in-progress (WIP) is, in fact, crap. I think there is at least one … Continue reading
Posted in fiction, writing, writing process
Tagged author, fiction, revision, writer's block, writing, writing process
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. . . From a Certain Point of View
Hands up everyone who immediately recognized the source of my title quote? Okay, that was an easy one. In a post a couple weeks ago, I referenced the special difficulty of writing a book in a single point of view … Continue reading
Posted in fiction, writing, writing advice, writing process
Tagged antagonist, character, protagonist, villain, writing, writing process
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No More Bad Villains!
During a critique session this weekend, a writer friend said she wanted to know if readers found her protagonist “too stupid to live.” This is an issue we think about often in relation to our protags, but not often enough … Continue reading
Posted in character development, fiction, Uncategorized, writing
Tagged antagonist, author, books, editing, fiction, plot, writing, writing process
5 Comments
E. C. Ambrose 