Discussion Topic: Free-Writing vs. Outlining

What are your thoughts on free-writing vs. outlining? Do you like to start writing and let the story evolve as your write, or do you plan out your plot points, characters, etc. before you ever begin your story?
I would say I’m more of a free-writer. Though I may switch to outlining the next time I […]

Create Unique Words and Names When Writing Fantasy

Writer’s Corner has a good article on How to Find Interesting Words and Names for Your Fantasy Writing. The article covers the following points:

Keep a small notebook of interesting names and words
Maps are an excellent resource
Dictionaries and encyclopedias
Foreign languages
Add a glossary to your novel
Hearing the words
Enhance your readers experience

Names of cities on old maps have […]

8 Ways to Disciplined Writing, Even When You Don’t Feel Like It

Scott Ginsberg has some good advice on disciplining yourself to be a more effective writer. His article 8 (More) Ways to Discipline Yourself to Write Every Single Day – Even When You’re Not in the Mood covers the following points:
1. Shift your attitude toward writing.
2. Rearrange your definition of “writing.”
3. Pick your best medium.
4. Eradicate […]

Blogs of Interest

I’ve compiled a list of blog topics related to medieval history, historical fiction, fantasy, fiction writing, or industry news. Here’s a brief rundown:

Mark Lord dicusses Medieval Myths about Witchcraft and Sorcery
ABC will air an hourlong documentary about the woman behind the boy wizard, “J.K Rowling: A Year in the Life”
Alianore has a post about Edward […]

Fantasy Writing / Novel Cliches

Does the fantasy novel you’re working on avoid the typical writing cliches? Compare your novel against the following Web sites:

Grand List of Fantasy Cliches
Risus Fantasy Cliches
The Fantasy Cliche Meter (The Good Guys)
The Fantasy Cliche Meter (The Bad Guys)

Granted, the Web sites are not aesthetically pleasing, but it’s still fun to go through the checklist […]

The 10 Common Mistakes of Amateur Writers

“Ten Mistakes Writers Don’t See (But Can Easily Fix When They Do)”
A good article discussing the common problems amateur writers face that cause literary agents, publishers, and editors to immediately dismiss submissions. The list includes:

Repeats
Flat Writing
Empty Adverbs
Phony Dialogue
No-Good Suffixes
The “To Be” Words
Lists
Show, Don’t Tell
Awkward Phrasing
Commas

911 Writer’s Block

911 Writer’s Block: An interactive site to help you break writer’s block. Press a number for help with a particular area of writing. Exercises include: settings, characters, dramatic entrances, dialogue, commiserate, verbs, calisthenics, killing off a character, endings, and more.
*image retrieved from associatedcontent.com, credit to Writer’s Association

Writing Dialogue (excerpt from my novel included)

It seems that writing dialogue would come naturally to everyone — as naturally as speaking — but writing and speaking are two very different things. The difficulty in writing good dialogue comes with making your dialogue sound like natural speech, but avoiding all of those “uhs” and “you knows” that make up everyday, normal conversation.
There […]

When to Properly Use a Dash — or Em Dash — in Grammar

At times, you’ve probably been reading a sentence and come across a set of dashes being used to separate out a phrase or a few words from the main part of the sentence. These dashes — also known as em dashes — are often used incorrectly in writing. Many writers do not know when they […]

Writing a Battle Sequence (Novel Excerpt Included)

Two armies face off across an open field. You’ve set the scene; the battle is about to begin, but what do you do now? How do you capture the chaos and frenzy of hand-to-hand combat on paper? Do you try to gather a sweeping panorama of the battle from an omniscient narrator’s point-of-view, pulling back […]