Kaye Dacus's Blog, page 60
September 10, 2014
Writing Tip #6: Don’t Think. Just Write.
Before you read the rest of this post, take this quick quiz: Are You Right or Left Brained? As expected, this was my result: You Are 50% Left Brained, 50% Right Brained The long and short of it is: the left side of the brain is analytical, the right side of the brain is creative. […]
September 9, 2014
Top Ten Writing Tips #5: Story Trumps Craft
Why did we start writing in the first place? Was it so that we could get our wrists slapped and be told “no” and “don’t” and “you can’t do it that way”? So we could sit at the computer and stare at the screen and feel so inadequate and full of self-doubt that we’d never […]
September 8, 2014
Top Ten Writing Tips–Tip #4: Read five published novels in your genre for every one craft book you read.
Last week, we covered Writing Tips 1 through 3: 1. Finish your first draft. 2. Put your manuscript aside for as long as you possibly can after you finish the first draft. 3. Start something new. This week, we’ll cover #4 through #7. Writing Tip #4. Read five published novels in your genre for every […]
September 5, 2014
Fun Friday: Frozen—Yep, that’s pretty much what I thought, too.
It’s no secret—I didn’t like nor enjoy the movie Frozen. Thankfully, I don’t have kids, so one single exposure to it is all I had to put up with. One of my favorite channels on YouTube is CinemaSins because I love their “Everything Wrong With…” (I also love Screen Junkies‘ “Honest Trailers”). So it made […]
September 4, 2014
Top Ten Writing Tips–Tip #3: Start Something New
Originally posted May 13, 2010. Yesterday, I wrote about how one of the best things we can do before starting revisions is to put our finished manuscript away for a while before starting revisions. So what do you do while you’re waiting to get back to it? Writing Tip #3: Start something new. To help […]
September 3, 2014
Top Ten Writing Tips–Tip #2: I Need Distance!
Originally posted May 11, 2010 You’re probably familiar with these two adages: Familiarity breeds contempt. Absence makes the heart grow fonder In the Disney version of Robin Hood, when talking about the fact Marian hasn’t seen Robin since they were “children” and that “he’s probably forgotten all about me,” Lady Cluck says, “Absence makes the […]
September 2, 2014
Top Ten Writing Tips–Tip #1: FINISH YOUR FIRST DRAFT
Originally posted as Top Ten Writing Tips: Tip #1 on May 10, 2010. The members of Middle Tennessee Christian Writers asked if, for our May meeting last week, I could present “Kaye’s Top Ten Writing Tips” as the workshop topic. Having been forced by a blog interviewer to come up with five (thanks, Regina—I usually […]
September 1, 2014
It’s the First Monday of the Month–Time for Reading Reports! (09-14)
Happy First Monday of September, everyone. It’s Reading Report time! . Tell us what you’ve finished over the last month, what you’re currently reading, and what’s on your To Be Read stack/list. And if you’ve reviewed the books you’ve read somewhere, please include links! (To format your text, click here for an HTML cheat-sheet. If […]
August 24, 2014
The Great Exhibition Series: “The Lost Prologue”
I’ve had a bunch of people contact me to ask if there will be a third book in the Great Exhibition series. As of right now, the answer is, unfortunately, no. But here is the “lost” prologue—part of what I’d written before my contact was canceled. Click the image to bring up the full PDF […]
August 21, 2014
What I Have in Common with George R.R. Martin
I discovered today that I’m not alone in how I feel about writing a first draft vs. rewriting/editing: “I enjoy rewriting much more than I do first drafts. Rewriting, at least you have something to work with. I find writing first drafts extremely difficult.” – George R.R. Martin Read more about what the inimitable Mr. […]
