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You may benefit from studying various story structures. There is the Hollywood Formula, which is based around the 3 Act Formula. There is also the 7 Point Formula, and others (one describes the story arc as shaped by an M, but I'm not remembering the name right now) Because the length of chapters ca...

Passing on this quarter. Had too much other stuff going on. Should have time to get things done for Q2 though.

Many bilingual authors are actually pushing back against the italicizing of foreign words such as Daniel Jose Older . Their reasoning is they don't want the foreign languages to be othered. They want it to feel natural, like it would to the speaker. Others disagree , believing that the italics help ...

I think that short stories help us with the requisite skills for novels - strong characters, tight plotting, interesting conflict, rich world building - without requiring the months or years of investment a novel needs. Many of the skills required translate to novels, if not all. This is exactly wh...

You're welcome!

I am a fan of free indirect speech, which does not use italics, but you can still use italics to convey direct thoughts. I have only seen quotes used for something said aloud, whether to themselves or another person. What is indirect free speech? Could you give me an example? It sounds intriguing. ...

I am a fan of free indirect speech, which does not use italics, but you can still use italics to convey direct thoughts. I have only seen quotes used for something said aloud, whether to themselves or another person.

Great job, AJzach! I did most of the exercises, though in week 4 I only did 2 of them, as I was visiting family. I found the chastity exercise really enlightening too. I tend to be an underwriter, so my thoughts going in to the exercise were "I'm always needing to add details. How can I cut?&qu...

Got an R. Not surprising as it was flash fiction. Off to DSF it goes!

You're welcome! I found the DREAM arc helpful too in addressing some critiques that a character's turn around was too abrupt.

I haven't focused on writing output as much as I have on time spent writing. When my kids were younger, I traded babysitting with friends, and spent my child-free time focused on writing. Now that my kids are in school, I block out a part of the day to focus on writing. Some days I get a lot of word...

I write because I can't not write. Last year, I trunked most of my stories in a depressive fit. But I couldn't quit. So I turned to fanfiction, where there was no expectations. Now I've come out of that pit with new ideas and determination. Short term, I want a pro-sale. Long term, I want to win the...

How has everyone's writing been going? So far, I've done all the exercises, though I forgot to journal last Sunday. During the dialogue exercises, I noticed that even though I was supposed to focus on a variety of different techniques, but the things I kept pondering was what differentiated differen...

From author J Scott Savage on Facebook For me, the writing/editing process has four distinct phases. 1-Getting the words on the page. This is the hardest part, but also the most fun because I don't have to worry about perfection, I just get to splash worlds and characters around and see what happens...

True.

Oh! I almost forgot. Here's an essay you CAN read for free on the web - "Let me Tell You" by Cecilia Tan which makes the same points as Robinson, though actually I think she does a better job of it.

Welcome crlisle! Don't feel bad about jumping the gun with entering your story. I know I've submitted stories before they're ready. At least here, we can always resubmit (unless we get semi-finalist or higher). Kim Stanley Robinson has an essay in Wonderbook (Sorry, I don't know where you could find...

I feel like I must be some kind of grinch. I don't even ask for the certificates (maybe if I make finalist or semi I will, definitely if I win :) ). But any certificates I've earned (Masters, Bachelors, Diploma, Certificate) are all sitting in a box mostly still in their envelopes or tubes unless t...

czing, Michael, AlexH, how are your current projects coming along, old or new? Thanks for asking. It was going well until I took a last-minute trip overseas! I should get back into the swing of things next week. I think character arcs and theme are two of my weaknesses too. I find K.M. Weiland arti...

November is here and I just finished my first exercise. Hope you do well with your writing!

Glad to have you guys aboard! Life last year kicked me hard, so I completely understand if any of us miss out on some, or a significant portion of these exercises. Still would love to hear about what is accomplished.

All right, czing and storysinger, I've got my challenge posted in the Writing Craft forum. And if anyone else wants to join me, feel free.

I posted in the Q1 thread that I was going to do a challenge in November of doing a 20-30 min writing exercise every day, and some people said they'd be interested in following along. So, this is my plan. Any and all are welcome to join in. Feel free to adapt it to whatever situation fits your needs...

Getting back reader's responses for my Q3 entry. Nice to see such a clear reason for the R - the beginning was too confusing. I can fix that.

I'd love to get a discussion going. I found discussing exercises with others helps me to see things about the writing process I didn't realize. Most of the exercises I've found are online, so that would help anyone who wanted to join. I can start a new topic once I've chosen all the ones I want to do.

That sounds like a good challenge you are taking on. There are some good writing exercises in Ursula K LeGuin's Steering the Craft. Yeah, I'll be doing a couple from there. Right now I'm eying the ones that say to write a descriptive passage without adjectives and adverbs, and to cut a piece by hal...

My next question was actually going to be about critiquing. :) I really like Mary Robinette Kowal's guide to training your internal editor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgFE2W9qICo Specifically, a writer should ask those they are critiquing to address their reactions to things, which fall into 4...

Ah yes, forgot about the email wonkiness. PM sent.

Sent you an email.

What disgruntledpeony said. I know I am bad at evaluating my own work, but my error tends to be in thinking its better than it actually is instead of the other way around. Hence my many rejections. Rather than focus on new/revising, I think my challenge is going to focus on developing specific skill...