Here's where the party is. This page is a collection of writing tips posts I've written. Have fun here. It's all about the good times!
Characters
Characters, You Say? - A breakdown of characterization
Writing as the Opposite Sex - Getting into the mind of your character
Character Flaws - Why perfect characters, aren't
What's in a Character? - Character bios and what they should include
Flipping the Switch - Good guys, bad guys, and where the lines blur
Knights in Shining Armor - Causing your hero to have a fatal flaw
Is Your Character Sexy or Beautiful? - Know the difference, use it to your advantage
Character Arcs - More on creating great characters that feel real
Bringing Truth to Fiction - All about being true to your character even when writing BS
Your Supporting Cast of Characters - Talking about minor characters and how to keep them from taking over
Complex Villains - How to keep reader empathy in check when crafting a super villain
What's in a Name - Why the names you choose matter
3D Characters - More on making rounded characters
Coffee and Writing - How to use coffee to add dimension to your characters
Female Protagonists - Why Women Love Them - How to connect with women
EnneaApp - One way you can give your characters depth by clicking a couple of buttons
Stealing Characters - Where characters come from, really
Being Emo - Emotional Triggers for Creating Rich Characters - How to give a character depth
Character Bios - Visually - How to keep up with your complex characters
Plot
How to Find an Idea - Those pesky plots! Where do they come from?
Do the Hokey Pokey - A different take on crafting a tale
Who Where Why - Reasons you're telling a story
These Boots Were Made for Walking - What a reader is looking for in a story
Monkey Wrenches - Being unpredictable
Tension - Does your story have enough of it?
Writing a Twist - How to keep a twist in your story a surprise
Beating Middle of the Book Blahs - Spice up your plot!
Slimming Down - Help your manuscript lose serious weight
Healing Plot Wounds - An O.R. for your plots
Structure for Life and Novels - How to put a book together in a solid structure
Doomsday and Prophets - Homer used them, why can't you?
Story Designs - Some common structures used in novels and how they're built
Avoiding the Backstory Infodump by Using Layers - Exactly what it says
Stealing Plots - How to come up with a new idea you can steal from life
Craft
Descriptions - How Much is too Much? - How to leave more to the imagination of your reader
Write What You Know - Advice on making your worlds more realistic
Flashbacks - How to write flashbacks, flashforwards, and inner musings - and avoid confusion
Backstory - Avoiding the information dump
Relationships - Adding tension to a love interest
Write From Life - Why you should bare it all on the page
Romancing the Slug - All about writing steamy scenes
Creating Utopia - How to keep the world-building realistic
When the Muse Steps out of the Room - Getting your groove back
Plotting, Pantsing, and Tweening - Pros and Cons of each kind of writer
Showing vs Telling - When Telling is Okay - A post about that common argument that sheds light on the rule
Choosing a Viewpoint - Pros and Cons of different viewpoints
Get Tense - All about which tense is best to write in and pros and cons of each
Painting with Words - Imagery vs Description - breaking it down
Writing What You Don't Know - A little tip about writing what you've never experienced
On Writing Scenes - When you should give the reader more and when you shouldn't
Writing Your Ending First - How using this writing method can help you when you're drained
Shying Away in Your Writing - Why you should write it; whatever it is
He Said, She Said, Who Said What? - Dialogue reality
Wearing a Heart - Toughening upThe World Around You - Reasons to base your fiction in fact
Measuring Your Novel's Pace with MS Word - A neat pacing tool you already own and how to use it
Preparing to Co-Author - Tips on making it work seamlessly
Further VS Farther, and Apostrophes with Dates - Do I need to describe this one?
A Tiny Comma Trick - One way to tell you've used a comma correctly
Excuse Me, is Your Caps Lock on? - Really, it's all about proper nouns
Synopsis VS Blurb - Which is what?
Separated Words = Different Meanings - Why it matters what you split and how to tell
Creating Feelings Workbooks - How to create a rich body of verbiage to pull from
Have You Seen a Scene Around Here? Scene Writing 101 - What a scene is and why it matters
Men VS Women - Author's Voice - How to write male POV vs female POV
13 Rules for Stronger Writing - In a list!
Cook Your Novel Low and Slow - How to slow down the pace of your book
Pick up the Pace - How to speed things up in your book
Your Opening Scene - The four most important things your first scene should do
Novel Research - How Much is too Much? - Can you delve too deeply?
Set Your Story - Talking about settings and locations (the stage)
Tips and Tricks
"Indescribable" and Why it Cannot Work for a Writer - Making a Feelings Bible
Imagery and Writing Places You've Been - More on keeping an easily accessible record for recall
Improving Your Writing With a Journal - Yeah, I'm at it again
What's in a Genre? - A post about what books fall into the different genres
Length of Novels - It Matters - Why the length of your novel is so darned important
10 Tips for Creating a Squidoo Lens - How to do it properly and avoid a lock
Collaborating on Google Drive - How you can write with other authors in real time
How Writers Can Use Google Chrome Remote Desktop - What it is and how it works
MS Word 2013 Tips and Tricks - Grammar Check Solutions - How you can make Word work for you
Talking Sci-Fi - All about that thing we love: Science Fiction
Author Souls on Paper - What I've found in books that you can use for your own
