If you want to captivate your readers, a good beginning is essential. Even more so, however, is the story needs to continue to hold them. When the plot meanders and wanders from place to place without much direction or motivation for the characters. When you look at each scene, consider what purpose it has for…
Read More
The expression ‘Those who can’t do, teach’ is a curious one, because if you look at the world, you’ll see that teachers aren’t particularly worse at doing things than anyone else, so perhaps the expression might be better worded as ‘nobody can do anything.’ – Lemony Snicket
Read More
If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy. – Dorothy Parker
Read More
Good description is a learned skill, one of those primary reasons you cannot succeed unless you read a lot and write a lot. It’s not just a question of how-to, you see; it’s also a question of how much to. Reading will help you answer how much, and only reams of writing will help you with the how. You can learn only by doing. – Stephen King
Read More
A lot of aspiring writers are all ready to write a novel, but they don’t know how to write sentences. – Tom Robbins
Read More
Loving your language means a command of its vocabulary beyond the level of the everyday. – John H. McWhorter
Read More
I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles. – Shannon Hale
Read More
Write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter. – Neil Gaiman
Read More
There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. – Ernest Hemingway
Read More