First Draft Blues
By David E. Sharp I have a love/hate relationship with first drafts. Cue the lonely harmonica. I thrive on the rewrites. Once the structure is in place, I can go nuts with all the tweaks and edit in a constant effort to improve. I can’t even look at one of my existing manuscripts without tryingContinue reading “First Draft Blues”
Compelling, Balanced, and Exciting: Backstory Not Baggage
By Shelley Widhalm Shelley Widhalm is a freelance writer and editor and founder of Shell’s Ink Services in Loveland, Colo. She provides copy editing and developmental editing, as well as consultations on writing and editing. She has more than 20 years of experience in communications and holds a Master of Arts degree in English fromContinue reading “Compelling, Balanced, and Exciting: Backstory Not Baggage”
Got Salt?
By Brian Kaufman Somewhere, there is a published author who doesn’t read reviews. However, most authors are thrilled by good reviews and are despondent over bad ones. Since bad reviews are as predictable as flies at a picnic, I thought it might be helpful to look at ways to suffer a negative review.
Ode to The Cat
By Melanie Peffer Melanie is on faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is the author of the best selling Biology Everywhere: How The Science of Life Matters to Everyday Life. When not writing, Melanie enjoys playing her flute and piccolo and enjoying all that Colorado has to offer in the great outdoors withContinue reading “Ode to The Cat”
The End
By Ronda Simmons On a personal note: The time has come for me to step down from blogging for the Writing Bug. It’s been an incredible ride, and I am grateful to have had this experience. JC Lynne is a talented, funny, and kind editor. (Don’t tell her I said that.) I have learned volumesContinue reading “The End”
You Dislike Me. You Really Dislike Me!
By David E. Sharp Writing is a long journey, agreed? From the first rubbish drafts of a manuscript to the complete overhauls, the helpful but sometimes painful critiques, the line edits, the additional line edits, the queries, the rejections, the acceptance, all the way to final publication, it’s a lot of work.
Exposition Kills
By Ronda Simmons Writers spend months, even years, building the worlds where their stories take place. It’s so hard not to include every detail because let’s face it, we’re kind of proud of ourselves. We created a world!
Headshots. Not Only For Zombies.
By Brian Kaufman In my novel, Dead Beyond the Fence, headshots were a pretty big deal. The ambulatory dead kept coming unless you wallop them above the shoulders. My protagonist used a tool formerly used to open crates or pry apart boards. This prompted one kind reviewer to comment, “Kaufman is the new king of theContinue reading “Headshots. Not Only For Zombies.”
The Words Matter
By Eleanor Shelton On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress announcing the colonies’ separation from Great Britain. The Declaration was actually adopted on July 2, and a clean copy signed by the congress on August 2, 1776, but let’s not quibble about a couple of days when theContinue reading “The Words Matter”
High Stakes
By David E. Sharp Stakes are all about what’s on the line in your story. But the only thing really at stake is your reader’s attention. It’s part of our job to readers invested in our story. If we do it well, we might even keep them on the edge of their seat.
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