Writing 101: Writing About Writing

Here's how you know you're watching a movie that was adapted from a Stephen King book: a) something weird is going on; b) the people in the story don't know that weirdness is going on; and c) --and this is most important-- one of the characters, probably the main one, is a writer. Stephen King writes about writers all the time, because that's what he knows. But here's what I learned in my time of writing about writers: mostly, it's only writers who are interested. Writing about writing is all well and good, but it's even better if you don't do that at all. I'll tell you why. 

On Writing...

People are always interested when they find out that I'm a writer...at first. Once they understand that writing is me sitting on my couch and staring at my screen, they realize that writing is actually pretty boring. It is tedious, hard work. And it isn't interesting. This is why you shouldn't write about writing.

Singing of Jade's 'Song'

"It's a tale of mermen, selkies, and adolescent youth trying to determine their place in this newly discovered strange world."

"Varden puts together this beautifully colorful and vividly imaginative world that immediately draws you in. I was entranced from the first chapter and enjoyed every twist and turn."

"Song of the Sea" has been reviewed by Ann Livi Andrews at her blog. Go check it out to learn which underwater species I would rather be, what you can expect in the next installment of the Saltwater Secrets trilogy, and who my favorite author is!

After you read the review, get your copy of Song of the Sea.

Writing 101 Redux: Naming Characters

Today's Throwback Thursday covers a fundamental storytelling tool that all writers need to know: how to name a character.

Get all the tricks for naming characters, and find out where to go to make it easier, in this TBT Writing 101.

Writing 101: By the Way, No One Gets It

As a writer, part of your job is to describe new settings, scenarios and ways of life to readers. I personally will never know what it's like to be an ER nurse who is helping the police investigate a series of hospital murders, but I can go find that book and read all about it. You can put your readers anywhere and make them feel anything...with one exception. When you try to tell ordinary civilians what you're personally going through as a writer, they won't ever really get it.

Ever.

Screaming at the Wind

Have you ever stood outside and screamed into the wind? It rips your voice away and swallows your syllables, until there's nothing left but you, standing there with a red face. This exercise is actually more effective than trying to explain what it's like to be a writer to all your friends and family.

Writing 101: Backups of My Backups

I took it upon myself to start counting the other day, and found no less than 7 different files across my devices that were named "manuscript." It's the title I use when I really have no title at all (which I change once I finally figure it out). And here's the twist to the story: those 7 files are not a mistake I made. They're all the same book. When I write, I make backups of my backups. This is a post about why you should, too.

Crazy

When it comes to your books, it pays to be just a little obsessive-compulsive. It's a good idea to be just a little bit -- I said a little bit! -- crazy. Like me. And seriously, I'm a lunatic about backing stuff up. I'll tell you how you can be, too.

Writing 101: Are You Too Emotionally Attached?

It takes a writer to create a horror story, because writers know horror. If your computer has ever imploded and erased your files, if you've ever lost that chapter and don't know where it went, if you've ever been held hostage by a crazy woman and was forced to burn a manuscript, then you know how to answer this question: are you too emotionally attached?


$&!/ Happens

I really don't care who you are or what your process is. If you write long enough, at some point something is going to happen. There will be a random bolt of lightning, a system wide crash, a cat that jumps on the keyboard and somehow manages to reset the hard drive in 10 seconds when you couldn't figure out how to do it in three hours while reading the user's manual. You will, no matter what, lose some of your writing. You may lose a few pages, an entire chapter, or even a whole manuscript. It's going to happen no matter how careful you are. And when it does, you'll find out pretty quickly whether or not you're too emotionally attached. Since you're a writer, you probably are. But you can't be, because the world is full of cats and lightning.

Writing 101 Redux: Should You Ever Give Up?

Should you ever give up on being a writer? At some point, are you just wasting your own time and everyone else's? To answer the question, I'm going to re-visit one of my favorite former Writing 101 posts. 

Today's Throwback Thursday tip will help you answer the question of whether or not you should ever give up on your writing, and I'm not pulling any punches. 

Writing 101: How to Make a Word

The English language has more words in it than I personally think is necessary. The vocabulary is so big, experts can only guess at how many words there actually are. That's because language is a changing thing, something that's always evolving. You can actually force some of those changes yourself. You just need to know how to make a word. 

The Right Words

I'm not a big fan of inventing words, because like I said the language is already too big, but if you're going to do it you may want to try using a formula. There's a really easy way to invent new words, and people have been using it for years. Just add -ish.