Do You Need a Writing Buddy? What Works and What Doesn’t
A writing buddy can be the difference between a finished draft and another abandoned one. Why it never worked for me as an introvert, how to find a good one, and the rules that make it work.
Category: Writing (Page 3)
FictionCan You Put Someone Who Wronged You in Your Novel?
Writers have always turned people who hurt them into villains. Why a fiction disclaimer won't protect you, what makes a character too recognizable, and how to borrow a real villain safely.
FictionWriting Vampires: How to Build Your Own Vampire Rules
Can a vampire show up on thermal imaging, use a smartphone or trigger an automatic sink? How to build vampire rules from an origin, with lessons from Dracula 2000 and Blade.
FictionWhat Software Do Novelists Use to Write a Book?
Most novelists write in Word, and I do too. The free alternatives, when Scrivener or NovelCrafter is worth it, whether to handwrite the first draft, and which tools format a novel for print.
Personal GrowthWhat If Your Family Doesn’t Support Your Writing?
Most writers don't get much support from family. Why relatives call it a hobby, why their feedback won't help you, and how to keep writing for the people who show up.
Artificial IntelligenceWill AI Steal My Book? Turn Off Training Before You Upload
Using AI to critique your manuscript won't get your book stolen, but most chatbots can train on what you upload unless you turn it off. Here's why I switched it off on day one, and where the real theft happens.
FictionShould You Only Use “Said” in Dialogue Tags? My Rules for Tags and Adverbs
Readers skim right past dialogue tags, so use the plain ones and don't bury anything important in them. My simple rules for said, tag variety, adverbs and action beats.
SocietyWhy Are Writing Groups So Hostile?
You'd think writers would be kind to each other. Writing groups are some of the cruelest rooms online. Why rejection, fear and status drive it, why the polite groups don't help either, and what a good group looks like.
PublishingWhat Belongs on a Copyright Page
Readers never look at it. Librarians and cataloguers do, and if the information is not there they stop reading and move on. You never find out.
MemoirsHow to Organize Decades of Memories Into a Memoir
Decades of experience only become a readable memoir with structure. How to choose an organizing principle, decide what stays, and shape raw memory into a book someone wants to read.
GhostwritingWhy Fiverr Sucks for Ghostwriting: The Buyer’s Side
You can buy a ghostwritten book on Fiverr for a few hundred dollars. The arithmetic of what that buys is not a secret and not a matter of opinion, and it explains what arrives. This is the buyer's side, written…
WritingBooks to Give a Writer
There are four books that get given to writers, and anyone who has been writing for more than a year owns all four. This is a guide to what to give instead, organized by what the person is struggling with…