Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category
10 things I learned while writing a sequel · 25 April 2012
The experience of completing my first draft of TAKEN’s sequel has come with many ups and downs. The simplest thing I can say is this: Book Twos are strange beasts. Strange, strange beasts. My experience is not universal, but I do know a handful of writers that faced some of the same struggles (and epiphanies) [...]
Let’s talk about cliffhangers · 26 September 2011
When it comes to book series, cliffhangers are inevitable. That being said, I believe there are two very different types of cliffhangers: 1) The kind that leave you hanging, but settle the main conflict/plot before doing so 2) The kind that leave you hanging at the ultimate climax, with little or no resolution Personally, I [...]
On NOT knowing my characters, and why it works for me · 9 September 2011
Everyone says “know your characters,” but I don’t like to know my characters, at least not fully. Let me explain. I’ll start with a confession: I despise character worksheets. I think they are the worst type of pre-writing homework. I’ve tried to like them. Years ago, before I started writing my first novel, I used [...]
Drafting: my approach and general process · 24 August 2011
In a recent blog post, I said I’d be willing to answer some reader questions. Emy Shin (who is lovely, mind you. You should all go follow her on twitter) asked: How long does it take you, on average, to write the first draft of a novel? Do you revise as you go along? How [...]
Is it dystopia? A flowchart for decoding the genre · 14 July 2011
A few days ago, the lovely Maureen Johnson started a conversation on twitter about the dystopian genre and how it is defined. An #isitdystopia hashtag emerged. There were talks of flowcharts. One made the rounds, and while it was amusing and had me smiling, it made me think more critically about how I define the [...]
