How to put words on paper? Should you write every day, or just when you’re feeling inspired? Is there any point to tracking your word count or using specialized writing software? This week, we’re talking about productivity in writing, something that seems to be on … read more »
We’ve discussed creating tension at a big-picture level many times. However, it’s not enough to have a big-picture plan; tension must also be brought out in the narration. While the bestselling books I critique almost always have tense narration covered, manuscripts often don’t. Let’s help … read more »
One of the most common questions that comes up in writing is how to gracefully describe the point-of-view character. In limited perspective, the narration reflects what that character is thinking at some level. While it’s easy to work in description of other characters as soon … read more »
I was hoodwinked by the marketing of Winter World. It says “International Bestseller” on the cover, and without thinking about it too hard, I assumed that meant this book was a bestseller. Only later did I realize it’s probably referring to the author, A. G. … read more »
We don’t write endless text without pause. At every level, from an entire book to each individual sentence, we break our prose into chunks. Some places in a story require a break, and in other places, breaking is optional. By placing these subjective breaks, we … read more »
One big novel is great, but what if it was a bunch of tiny novels instead? Or one novel chopped into a bunch of tiny pieces? More than novels normally are, I mean. Today, we’re exploring the topic of episodic storytelling in prose: how it … read more »
I went looking for something to critique that’s not YA, and I hit the jackpot with this #1 New York Times bestseller House of Earth and Blood by Sarah Maas. She’s had plenty of bestsellers previously, and this is the first of her new Crescent … read more »
We’ve all heard how important it is for writers to “kill their darlings,” but what does that actually mean? How and when should you do it? Are there any other options? Why is this advice so common? We talk about all those questions and more … read more »
I’m interested in writing a female character who is “vain” (i.e. she knows she’s attractive and she spends a lot of effort and money maintaining that), but I want to portray it as a neutral trait or as only a mild flaw (e.g. maybe she’s … read more »
Sadly, the structures in place to teach storytelling are woefully inadequate. Books on writing are dubious at best, and classes are either unhelpful, expensive, or both. We do our best to educate new writers here at Mythcreants, but one blog can only reach so many … read more »
