Tag Archives: writing aids

Ordering a (Writer’s) Retreat

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Poseidon's Scribe

Planning a writer’s retreat, are you? Already looking forward to that free weekend, or even a full week, away from the stress of work, away from the chores of home? A few days away from everything, with time to devote … Continue reading →

Posted in The writing life, Writing Aids | Tagged Parkinson's Law, time management, writer's retreat, writing, writing aids | Leave a comment

Does Blogging Help Your Writing?

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Poseidon's Scribe

If you’re thinking of starting up a blog as a way to improve the quality of your fiction writing, I’m here to tell you—blogging will have just as much effect on your golf swing. My answer is different if you … Continue reading →

Posted in The writing life, Writing Aids | Tagged Author Platform, Blogging, Hamlet, Non-fiction, readers, William Shakespeare, writing, writing aids | Leave a comment

15 Writing Virtues

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Poseidon's Scribe

Many people believe you aren’t just stuck with the way you are now, that you can better yourself by persistent act of will. I’m one of them, but let me just focus on self-help as it applies to the writing … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Conflict, Critiques, Dialogue, Hooks, Plot, Rejections, Setting, Similes and Metaphors, Style, Symbolism, What stories are about, Worldbuilding, Writing Aids | Tagged Benjamin Franklin, characters, conflict, Dialogue, George Carlin, plot, rejection, self-help, self-improvement, setting, stories, submission, writing, writing aids | Leave a comment

Motivational Objects

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Poseidon's Scribe

Often just the sight of some object can motivate writers to put butt to chair and fingers to keyboard, even when they feel like doing something else. Do you have such an object? I do. A couple of decades ago, … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspirations, The writing life | Tagged author motivation, Beethoven, Jules Verne, muse, writing, writing aids | Leave a comment

A File Full of Ideas

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Poseidon's Scribe

If you’re a writer, do you keep an “Ideas File?” You might have a different name for it, but I’m speaking of a single place where you store ideas for future stories. The philosopher Socrates opposed writing anything down, whether … Continue reading →

Posted in Ideas/Creativity, Inspirations, Writing Aids | Tagged ideas, Ideas File, Plato, Socrates, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, writing, writing aids | 2 Comments

Suffering the Slings and Arrows

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Poseidon's Scribe

Think you can take criticism well? How about when people you trust denigrate something you worked very hard on, and are proud of? Aye, there’s the rub, don’t you think? I’ve often discussed critique groups and how much I value … Continue reading →

Posted in Critiques | Tagged critique group, critiques, stories, writing, writing aids | Leave a comment

Write like Leonardo da Vinci?

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Poseidon's Scribe

True, Leonardo da Vinci was an anatomist, architect, botanist, cartographer, engineer, geologist, inventor, mathematician, musician, painter, scientist, and sculptor. Arguably he was the greatest genius of all time. But…he never wrote fiction. Still, it may be possible to adapt da … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Writing, Ideas/Creativity, Inspirations, Writing Aids | Tagged greatness, inspiration, Leonardo da Vinci, Michael J. Gelb, writing, writing aids | Leave a comment

Giving and Receiving…Critiques

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Poseidon's Scribe

‘Tis the season for giving and receiving, so I thought I’d discuss critiques of fiction manuscripts. Last time I did so, I said I’d let you know how to give and receive critiques. My experience is based solely on twenty … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Conflict, Critiques, Dialogue, Hooks, Motivation, Point of View, Protagonists, Readers, Setting, Show don't tell, Similes and Metaphors, Story structure, Symbolism, What stories are about, Writing Aids | Tagged characters, conflict, critique group, Deus ex Machina, Dialogue, hook, metaphor, Motivation, Narration, plot, Point of View, protagonist, readers, reading, setting, show don't tell, simile, story structure, Symbolism, tension, writing, writing aids | Leave a comment

Turkey City Lexicon

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Poseidon's Scribe

In any specific human endeavor involving more than one person, the people involved soon find themselves repeating the same phrases over and over. It’s inevitable they should seek some shorthand way to avoid that. So they develop jargon, specialized terminology … Continue reading →

Posted in Critiques, Editing, Show don't tell, Writing Aids | Tagged As You Know Bob, critique group, critiques, editing, science fiction, show don't tell, Turkey City Lexicon, writing aids | Leave a comment

Better Writing through Chemistry?

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Poseidon's Scribe

If you consume alcohol or mind-altering drugs, will that improve your writing? Many people think so. Supposing it’s true, it’s nice to have that short-cut to greatness available, isn’t it? Why struggle to choose the right words while sober or … Continue reading →