Writers’ Tips and Tools
As a fledgling writer of fiction, Vince had a great deal to learn. He profited immensely from attending writers’ workshops in the UK and his home country, Switzerland, with renowned speakers such as Adrian Plass and Joanna Penn. Participating in a local critique group was also most helpful.
Have a look at some of the things he has gleaned in the posts below.
What’s another word for…?
I’ve already mentioned how I like to use Google Drive for writing the chapters of my book. I can think of three good reasons why (or four): I can access it from anywhere where I have Internet connectivity It automagically keeps earlier versions of a document It has a built-in dictionary/thesaurus function (see the Research…
Extremely useful authoring tool
Among many interesting bits and bites, the December 2012 issue of The Woolf plugged the personal writing editor and coach Pro Writing Aid. Perhaps you all know and use it already. ProWritingAid highlights elements like repetitiveness, vague wording, sentence length variation, over-dependence on adverbs, passive voice, over-complicated sentence constructions, and so much more. I tried out the free online version and soon subscribed…
Different Types of Fiction
For a change, I’m including a guest post. Thanks, Lucy Adams, for an interesting and thought-provoking article. Why do people read books? What are the reasons that they are among the most important inventions of human civilization? You know the answer, although you may not be aware of it. Today I want to talk about…
Description, Action or Dialogue?
I’ve come to a point in my story where Silvanus engages in heart-searching exchanges with his wise old mentor, Cerbonius. They don’t do much. They talk. This, I realize, can quickly become boring for the reader, who is hoping for more excitement. What’s the solution? Well: Look how others do it! At the moment, I’m (re-)reading Brian…
Beats, Tags and White Space
As an aspiring author, I’ve read several books on the art and craft of writing. They confused me. I didn’t even understand the terminology, let alone the principles they advocated. There’s nothing better than jumping in the deep end and getting feedback from more experienced authors. My hesitant attempts at posting individual chapters of my…
What’s his face?
Many aspects form a novel – plot, pace, voice, character arc, setting, backstory, etc. But a novel wouldn’t be anything without characters. And readers want to get to know the main players. Among other things, they want to discover what they look like. And that, in turn, means they want to see their faces. I’m not good…