Recent content by Penpilot

Here's the thing. You won't know what works for you until you try it. For me the process of writing a book changes with every project. And with each project, I learn more about what I like and need to do in order to finish a book. I also learn about what I dislike and don't need to do. You...

When it comes to writing, whenever someone states that you can't do something, 99% of the time you can tack the following to the end. "... umm... unless it's done well." Is it OK to use adverbs? No... umm... unless it's done well. Is it OK to use Trope-X? No... umm... unless it's done well...

One thing I forgot to mention, for a novel, you usually have more than one plot. There are usually at least two, often more. There's the bigger overarching plot and a smaller more personal plot. The smaller plot supports the larger plot. Depending on the size of the story, there can be more of...

To me, it just means making progress towards the goal. Sometimes that progress may seem like loosing ground, but it's all progress. In order to get from the beginning to the end, the characters have to go through certain things, learn lessons, gain skills, and/or knowledge. But it shouldn't be...

I stopped using word count as the only metric for progress a long time ago. I use brainstorming, note taking, sketching scenes out, etc., too. IMHO, if you're someone who has trouble finishing stories, maybe word count becomes more important, because some get caught up in that perpetual loop of...

When something hasn't been solidly defined, it can be anything you want it to be. It can shift to match your current mood and desires in the moment. There's an excitement to that. I've heard of many people once they start putting things down in concrete form, whether that's from writing or...

My first novel I discovery wrote pretty much all of it, and over the years I've outlined more and more. The way I see things now is, broadly speaking, there are different stages to writing, there's the brainstorm stage, the writing stage, the organization stage, and the polishing stage. The...

I think it's how ever you want to write it. I've heard people say they write it like any other draft, but with almost zero concern for consistency and knowing there will be no revisions on that draft. I've heard it described as the vomit draft, where they well...vomit out everything about the...

I've heard of lots of authors doing this. They write out the "zero draft" then throw it out and write the first draft. Some don't refer back to the zero draft because if it's really important to the story they'll remember it. To me, it seems like a form of outlining. I like to know where I'm...

Check out scene sequel format. I found it very helpful. Here's a post I made on it a while back in a different thread. https://mythicscribes.com/community/threads/scenes.25547/#post-362634

Think of likeable and unlikable as a scale. If you want the audience to like someone, you have them do likeable things. If you want the audience to dislike them, you have them do unlikable things. The more you put on one side of the scale, the more the audience will lean that way. Keep in mind...

Any time I've tried, it doesn't work. IMHO, I think there needs to be a hierarchy. There needs to be a boss, or at the very least a delineated set of responsibilities where someone has final say. I remember listening to a podcast with Tracey Hickman and Margaret Weis. They wrote the Dragonlance...

Writing stories is hard. Finishing stories is harder. Starting a story is kind of like starting a relationship. (This obviously overly simplified, but roll with me on this.) When you start, everything is new, so you're always excited to see on another. As the honeymoon phase fades, that's when...

IMHO, first think about your characters, then think about obstacles that have personal connection to them and each of their arcs. A giant rattlesnake can be scary, but it becomes something more if a giant rattlesnake destroyed your home, killed your parents, and ate your puppy as a child, and...

So I love the story of the Last Unicorn. I've always wanted to write something with a similar tone. When I was trying to choose what to write next, this was one of the things came to mind. One of the appeals to me at the time was I figured it'd be a shorter novel and something more...