Learning By Example

It’s the end of the semester and I’m up to my eyeballs in grading, creating curriculum, and revising my novel, but I’ve come across some great writing tips lately that I had to share. These struck me particularly because not they’re just tips, but examples, a very important element in any lesson! Enjoy!

Bob Mayer on the difference between character based vs. action based conflict – https://writeitforward.wordpress.com/2015/03/05/writing-narrow-or-writing-broad-write-on-the-river-notes/

Rachel Starr Thomson discusses how to share the character’s background gradually – http://www.livewritethrive.com/2015/04/01/weaving-it-in-backstory-in-fiction/

Linda Bennett Pennell on what dialog tags can add or not to the story – https://smpauthors.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/dialogue-tags-to-be-or-not-to-be/

Katie O’Boyle on how to keep track of who’s doing what in a complex story – https://smpauthors.wordpress.com/2015/03/29/those-devilish-details/

Harlequin on how and when to include moments of angst in romance – http://sold.soyouthinkyoucanwrite.com/2015/04/advice-from-the-archives-beefing-up-your-black-moment/

Write Divas on how to write sex scenes that work for the story and for the reader – http://writedivas.com/divas-on-writing-lets-talk-about-sex-and-perspective/

I love examples, but sometimes you just need some general tips just to get through the process:

Chuck Wendig on things to remember in revising –
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/06/27/25-things-you-should-know-about-revising-and-rewriting/

Lessons from Stephen King on the opening and closing sentence –
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/07/why-stephen-king-spends-months-and-even-years-writing-opening-sentences/278043/

Simon P. Clark on steps to take after finishing the 1st draft –
https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/writers/advice/427/a-writers-toolkit/revision/

All good advice and things I can’t wait to return to just as soon as I hit the end of grading!