There are many ways in which a writer can establish his/her environment to help aid in the writing process, but there is one catalyst that stands out above the rest: music. While some would argue that absolute silence is necessary for focused writing, music provides distinct mental advantages that are impossible to come by elsewhere....
Many have speculated that Disney’s latest craze of converting popular animated classics into live action adaptations is a thinly veiled cash grab. The main reason for this belief is…it’s basically true. Nonetheless, I am a firm believer in the idea of gleaning writing tips from all manner of genres. Disney’s conversion of a popular animated...
Character vs. Plot. This seems to be the most difficult choice for fiction writers at times. Do you devote your time and energy to developing the characters, or the plot? Who’s in charge? Does character serve plot or does plot serve character? This is a dilemma for many, and I really don’t believe there is...
Onomatopoeia: 5 Writing Tips Pow! Wham! Bang! Everyone is familiar with the idea of onomatopoeia, even if they aren’t as familiar with the cumbersome word itself. Being able to use words that mean what they sound like is a useful communication tool, as well as a fun “spice” to use when writing. There are, however,...
I’ve been writing since I was about ten years old. Originally, I played by all of the rules and wrote a book as you’re “supposed to write it”, ie in chronological order going from Chapter 1 to Chapter 2 etc. Over the years however, I noticed a certain trait in my writing: rushing through...
So recently I composed an article for the website Bang2Write about the use of MacGuffins in literature. For the full article, just click the link at the bottom. The MacGuffin: What it is and How to Use It The statue from The Maltese Falcon. The grail from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. “Rosebud” from...
Sequels are a lot like microwaved leftovers: most of the time they’re never as good as the original. When writing a sequel, there are many obstacles to overcome, the most prevalent of which being the often unrealistically high expectations of the audience. From a writing perspective, one very challenging issue to deal with is the...
Picture this: you just finished your newly furnished blog, and it’s all set for you to post on your site. Even before deciding to have it published online, you already have a few of your friends and relatives giving you flattery comments for a job well done. Well, who could blame them? You did a...
For any who are not familiar with the term, “Chekhov’s gun” is a literary term referring to objects mentioned in fiction. The principle, coined by Anton Chekhov, stipulates that if an object is mentioned, it must become directly relevant to the plot. While this is a valid principle, it can sometimes lead to sloppy writing,...
We’ve all seen them. We all know them. Here are the top 8 infomercial clichés: The World of Black and White “The Black and White World”, aka pre “Tub Scrub Shazam 4000”, is a wretched, horrifying, nightmarish purgatory of dirty siding and broken dreams. The lonely world of black and white, inhabited solely by sweating,...
