May 4, 2016

What to work on in the first draft...

...and what to leave out. Or, rather, what bits are worth spending your time on, and what bits aren't. Now, before you read any further, know that THIS IS WHAT WORKS FOR ME. That doesn't mean that it will work for you. So don't come to my house with pitchforks and torches demanding I return your wasted time and recompense your other emotional damages. You won't get shit. And maybe I will spray you with vodka from my window. Or something. Anyway. Since you asked, here you go. (Proceed at your own risk. I warned you.)

THE THINGS TO WORK ON IN THE FIRST DRAFT:

1. The order of things.

April 18, 2016

Why setting is important

by Ksenia Anske

DON'T FUCKING NEVER FORGET TO TELL US WHERE YOUR SHIT IS HAPPENING.

This rant is brought to you by my doing more editing and also reading more writing submissions on @ellowrites and lately setting some books aside because, well, they totally failed to give me the feeling that the story is real. I mean, I know it's a lie but I want to be fooled into thinking that it's real, and if I don't get the feeling about where the story is happening, like in an actual real place, geographically real or imagined on some planet but that still feels real enough, I don't believe a word the writer is saying and toss the book out the window.

I'm guilty of this too, don't think you're alone. Here are some tricks I use. See if you can steal some for yourself and maybe share some of yours in the comments for all of us to steal too.

1. Imagine you're describing a movie.