Return of the Crutch Words
The next round of editing, and I encounter the return of the Crutch Words. All of those verbal ticks, habits and signs of sloppy writing that writers fall back on, usually devoid of conscious thought. …
The next round of editing, and I encounter the return of the Crutch Words. All of those verbal ticks, habits and signs of sloppy writing that writers fall back on, usually devoid of conscious thought. …
I rediscovered the ScriptShark Critique Sheet from 2009. It’s another useful tool by which to evaluate your manuscript. …
Our writers’ group challenge for November was First Five Words: come up with the opening line of a novel in five words, going straight into ‘show’ don’t ‘tell. …
Presenting my fantasy series‘ third cover reveal: City of Vipers. Coming April 26, 2024 on Amazon in paperback and ebook.
Editing continues up to the wire for Book Three. In a bizarre twist, the closer I get to release, the more effort it requires to get it into shape to go to press.
City of Vipers sees Jo and Varla embark on a desperate wartime resistance, Mission Impossible to kill the Emperor himself. Enemies emerge at every turn and Jo’s found family is under threat on all sides.
…
A revelation about my fantasy series: I’m the author as translator. Put another way, my characters don’t speak English… …
Presenting my fantasy series‘ second cover reveal: The Seer and the Vipers. Coming April 26, 2024 on Amazon in paperback and ebook.
Can you believe I’ve been talking about this project for three years? …
Running March 23 – 26, Daniel David Wallace’s Perfect Your Process Summit 2024 is a four-day learning experience to improve your writing habits, routines, and processes. …
For me, the hardest part of writing fiction is fixing the prose that defies editing.
In my head, my prose powers forward with the energy of Hemmingway and the tight, sparse economy of George Orwell. It has the lyrical description of Hardy, the sparking dialog of Chandler, and the tight plotting of Agatha Christie. …
Presenting my fantasy series‘ first cover reveal: The Ghost and the Vipers. Coming April 26, 2024 on Amazon in paperback and ebook.
In case you wondered is this series ever going to print, here is the cover for book one. Currently in formatting and proofing, The Ghost and the Vipers will launch alongside books two and three next month on Amazon under the Scildan Press imprint. …
I’ve found multiple sources of the Story Premise that pitches the novel. Longer than a simple logline, shorter than either a plot summary or a full elevator pitch, the story premise neatly conveys the essence of the entire novel. …