Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
Multiple POV means writing separate scenes from the viewpoints of different characters, staying in one character’s POV for an entire scene and not switching to another character’s POV until a new scene. Stories with multiple POVs are difficult to write. I’ve read more books that attempted this technique and failed than books where multiple POVs not …
Continue reading “5 Tests for Writing Multiple POVs”
Recently I was hired to write a video game script. I’ve never written for games, but both the producer and I thought my screenwriting skills would translate well since each medium uses dialogue as a key storytelling device. However, except for dialogue skills, I found out that game writing is pretty much the opposite of …
Continue reading “Screenplays vs Game Scripts: 5 Differences”
As I build my outline, I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes a good scene, and that led to these posts: Test That Scene – Is It Essential or Filler? and Test That Scene – Cut or Revise? But what about stringing those scenes together? Is there a test for that? Serendipitously I came …
Continue reading “Test Those Scene Connections – But, Therefore & Then”
Right now I am buried under a game script that is due today. (Note to bosses: not actual script in photo. Don’t worry!) It’s the first thing I’ve ever written that requires nodes and opcodes. I am not a computer programmer, so the learning curve is steep and thus it’s taking me longer than anticipated. …
Continue reading “Reblog: The Starving Artist Lifestyle”
A month ago I wrote a post called Test That Scene – Is It Essential or Filler? The basics of it are this: No Filler Test Question #1 – If deleted, will the reader still be able to follow the story? If yes, you’ve got filler! Question #2 – What is different by the end …
Continue reading “Test That Scene – Cut or Revise?”
If we were having coffee, I’d meet up with you in the afternoon. This is unusual since I’ve always scheduled our coffee dates in the late morning so I can spend the afternoon/evening with my WIP because that’s when I write best. But do I really? I’ve been pondering that this week as I experiment with my writing …
Continue reading “Weekend Coffee Share – On Being a Vampire-Turtle Hybrid Writer”
A work crisis, a funeral and a deadline have made this week rather chaotic for me, so it is time for a roundup post! I created the Reading for Writers 101 series because I believe reading critically is an essential component of learning writing craft. Plus the series gives me an outlet to not only …
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Writers put a lot of pressure on themselves regarding the first line of a story. I don’t know if it was always this way, but in our fast-paced world there is this expectation that writers must hook readers with just one sentence. Otherwise, they will pick up the next book on the shelf! Whether this …
Continue reading “Two Components of a Great Opening Sentence”
The following #writingtips apply to all stories, but especially short ones where every scene must be essential. Happy Short Story Month! When I plot a story, I tend to think in terms of action. This is probably due to my screenwriter training. In a screenplay all you have to work with is action and dialogue. …
Continue reading “Test That Scene – Is it Essential or Filler?”
If we were having coffee, I’d have you over to my house so I could chat and clean at the same time. I have to get ready for our biannual Grilled Cheese Party! This is also a birthday party since my boyfriend and I are both May babies. Birthdays are a great excuse to see friends, though I’m …
Continue reading “Weekend Coffee Share – Grilled Cheese & Gaming”