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Tag Archives: how to write
Professional Wednesday: Trust Yourself. No, Really.
Trust your reader. This is editor speak for “trust yourself.” It is something I say often to many of the writers I edit. But what does it mean? I have had my own lesson in “trust your reader” in recent … Continue reading
Posted in Business of publishing, Character, Fantasy, Novels, Setting, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, character, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, editing, how to write, narrative, plotting, publishing, revising, Rules of Ascension, setting, Tor Books, Winds of the Forelands, world building, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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Professional Wednesday: Eliminating Excess Verbiage, Part II
Last week, I revisited an old Magical Words post I’d done about eliminating excess verbiage in our writing, putting a new spin on the discussion. As promised, I would like to continue that conversation today. Before I dive back into … Continue reading
Posted in Novels, Publishing, Short Fiction, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged adverbs, blogging, concision, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, dialogue, editing, how to write, publishing, self-editing, writing, writing advice, writing tips
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Professional Wednesday: Eliminating Excess Verbiage, Part I
As I mentioned in a recent post, I have been doing a tremendous amount of editing and revising these past several months. Between co-editing (with Edmund Schubert) the Artifice and Craft anthology for Zombies Need Brains, revising my upcoming Chalice … Continue reading
Posted in Novels, Publishing, Short Fiction, The Chalice War, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged Artifice and Craft, blogging, concision, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, Edmund R. Schubert, how to write, passive voice, publishing, The Chalice War, writing, writing advice, writing tips, Zombies Need Brains
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Professional Wednesday: When To Fight an Edit, and When To Let it Go
I know my knee-jerk response is not always my wisest response. All of us who have gone through the editorial process are familiar with the conundrum: We want to work with our editors. We want to cultivate reputations for being … Continue reading
Posted in Character, Novels, Reading, Short Fiction, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, character, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, editing, editor-writer relationship, editorial process, editors, how to write, plotting, publishing, revision process, revisions, wording, working with editors, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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Professional Wednesday: Three Ways To Help Your Short Fiction Submission, and Three Ways To Doom It
The deadline for submissions to Artifice and Craft, the anthology I’m co-editing with Edmund Schubert for Zombies Need Brains, is ten days away. December 31. As of this writing, we are closing in on 400 submissions. The anthology will have … Continue reading
Posted in Business of publishing, Character, Publishing, Short Fiction, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, editing, Edmund R. Schubert, guidelines, how to write, Joshua Palmatier, publishing, publishing business, short fiction, submission guidelines, writing, writing advice, writing business, writing life, writing tips, Zombies Need Brains
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Professional Wednesday: An Alternative to NaNoWriMo
First off, many thanks to those who offered feedback on last week’s post, in which I asked for input regarding what I might work on next. I appreciate your thoughts. The general consensus appears to be that there is no … Continue reading
Posted in Business of publishing, Novels, Publishing, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, creativity, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, editing, how to write, NaNoWriMo, publishing, revisions, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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Professional Wednesday: Finishing a Book Actually Means More Work
As I mentioned last week, I have recently finished the third book in my new contemporary Celtic urban fantasy, The Chalice Wars. This book, The Chalice Wars: Sword, will be out sometime fairly early in 2023. Book I, The Chalice … Continue reading
Posted in Belle Books, Novels, The Chalice Wars, Urban Fantasy, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged Belle Books, blogging, Celtic mythology, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, editing, how to write, novels, revisions, self-editing, The Chalice Wars, urban fantasy, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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Professional Wednesday: It’s All Connected
One more post about my teaching weekend at the Hampton Roads Writers Conference . . . . As I believe I mentioned last week, I taught four classes at the event. The topics were: point of view, character development, world … Continue reading
Posted in Character, Fantasy, Writing
Tagged blogging, character, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, Hampton Roads Writers Conference, how to write, narrative, plotting, teaching, Vernor Vinge, Vernor's Rule, world building, writing, writing advice, writing tips
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Professional Wednesday: Hampton Roads Writers Conference, and the Hardest Writing Topic to Teach (For Me)
This week I head to the Hampton Roads Writers Conference in Virginia Beach. I’ll be teaching several workshops over the three days I’m there — a two-hour master class on “Point of View and Voice,” a ninety-minute class on “Character … Continue reading
Posted in Appearances, Character, Novels, Publishing, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, business of publishing, character, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, Edmund R. Schubert, Hampton Roads Writers Conference, how to write, John Hartness, narrative arc, pacing, point of view, publishing, teaching, world building, writing, writing business, writing conferences, writing workshops
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