Scott Westerfeld's Blog
November 25, 2009
This is my ante-penultimate Nano Tip, so you must be nearing the end of your fantabulous NaNoWriMo novel. Soon you'll need to read the whole thing over with an editorial eye, polishing every sentence for sparkling clarity.
But how to concentrate on mere clauses and word choice while your amazing story is sweeping you along in its wake? How can you focus on all those pesky details when your characters are bleeding heroically onto the page?
Three words: Read it backwards.
Reading through a novel i...
November 23, 2009
So . . . you're more than two-thirds done with NaNoWriMo, and maybe you're starting to crumple a bit. Your dialog sounds forced, your action scenes are flat, and your plot twists have all turned to spaghetti. What can you do to break out of this slump?
Here's my tip for the day: change your brain!
"Um, what now?" you may ask. Allow me to explain . . .
This tip was inspired by a recent article in the journal Brain and Cognition, about how traffic levels between the two hemispheres of your brain ...
November 21, 2009
Being a writer should change your daily life. You should scan the newspaper for story ideas, deconstruct old fairy tales in the shower, and eavesdrop shamelessly in the name of dialog development.
And being a writer should also change the way you read.
The next time you read a scene that makes your socks roll up, make yourself stop and learn.
Even if it interrupts your readerly pleasure, take a moment to wonder. How did the author just make you cry? Which elegant phrase or shameless trick...
November 19, 2009
November 17, 2009
One of your brain's jobs is to turn frequent actions into habits. If you force yourself to turn the lights off every time you leave a room, it eventually becomes automatic. If you open the fridge door every time you're in the kitchen, that too will become hardwired. You don't have to think when you tie your shoes or say thankyou; those actions are ingrained.
But what about more complex activities? Can writing be a reflex?
I am here to tell you yes.
Make writing a habit.
But writing requires...
November 16, 2009
November 15, 2009
November 13, 2009
It was only four days ago that I promised to do a multi-day post on meta-documents, but then I distracted by Passages of Disbelief, and failed to follow up.
So now it's time to double back and discuss another meta-doc I like to use: the pace chart!
Now, you may ask, what in the world is a pace chart? Basically, it's any method you use to track the ups and downs of momentum in your book, the shifts from action to conversation to tension. Like all meta-docs, a pace chart allows you to step back f...
November 11, 2009
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