I have been in a critique group for several years. The coordinator and I have stayed with other people coming and going. She is determined not to end the critique group, so I’m determined not to quit it. Before each meeting, we email each other our stories (we are not poets). So at the meeting,[…]
Category: writing techniques
Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Writing
AI software is increasingly being used in many areas of writing as more of these tools are developed and improved upon. Currently, the most effective AI software tools are for editing. And they are getting better and better. But even with a good editing AI tool, a human editor is still needed. To me, using[…]
Writing in a Diary
For me, writing in a diary is a stress relief. My diary takes less work to express myself to me than writing something for other people to understand. And, I listen to myself when I write to me. If I tell something to someone, they may not be listening or understanding. Writing in a diary[…]
Writing Needs Editing and Vice Versa
Over the years of writing and editing, then more editing and more writing, I learned to get rid of words that I wrote and just did not fit. I send them into oblivion with a push of the delete key. Or, into a parallel universe where my better alter-self turns them into the best seller[…]
How to Self Edit (my method)
I have been through many drafts of my young adult, science fiction novel High School Rocket Science (For Extraterrestrial Use Only). (Yes, I’m advertising the book.) In what I hope will be my final draft, I developed a self-editing method that seems to work for me: After printing the novel, I use a pencil to[…]
How to Write a Good Title
The title of anything is what people read first. For most writers, a title is also one of the hardest things to write. When I’m trying to come up with a title for what I wrote, I spend maybe weeks or months hoping inspiration will strike. Surprisingly, it sometimes works. But, not often enough. So,[…]
Being in a Writing Group
For almost a year, I’ve been president of a writer’s club. It’s been easy because the other board members have been an invaluable help. I’ve also been part of a critique group for several years. I encourage writers to get involved in a writer’s club and a critique group to connect with the writing community[…]
Editing Again?
I’m finishing another edit of my novel. Before I wrote the book, I had been thinking about the story for almost a year. When I finally started writing, it came out fast and easy. I liked what I wrote, until I read what I wrote. I have gone through numerous, much needed edits. While the[…]
Books on Writing
Like many writers, I read Strunk and White’s Elements of Style several times (it’s a short book). Nowadays, books on writing have more imaginative titles like Sin and Syntax, Eats Shoots and Leaves, and The Transitive Vampire. The current books with their creative themes are good because they generate interest in writing readable English. But,[…]
Small Notebooks
I always carry a small notebook and a pen with me whenever I leave the house, the place where I have a lot of pens and papers. If I take my wallet and car key, I take my notebook and pen. There are a lot of things I write in my notebook. Like how much[…]
Keeping Track of Things
This blog entry will be dull for most people. I’ll explain how I track my short stories when I send them out to magazines for publication. I have two methods – one using a spreadsheet and the other writing in the folders I keep for each story. I’ve been maintaining a spreadsheet for many years[…]