Victoria Grefer's Blog, page 5
June 28, 2014
Viewing Creative Writing Choices as a Spectrum, Rather Than “Either-Or”
When we talk about writing, there is so much discussion about “This” versus “That.” Today I wanted to get a discussion started about how faulty and how limiting that kind of thought is. Art is self-expression. Writing is art. And … Continue reading →
June 24, 2014
FOR AUTHORS: Philosophical vs Character-Driven Fiction
I’ve been reading G.K. Chesterton’s “The Ball and the Cross,” and it’s really got me thinking about philosophical fiction, and what differentiates philosophical fiction from character-driven fiction. I generally say that fiction should be character-driven. That’s certainly my personal approach … Continue reading →
June 21, 2014
AUTHORS: 2 cases to consider cutting a paragraph before fighting to make it work
Editing is ALWAYS tough, and I honestly think authors learn how to be editors– how to trim down their work–the hard way. You kind of have to. It’s the only way you can learn that kind of a skill: by … Continue reading →
June 17, 2014
Lessons about Life and Literature (well, Writing) from “Les Misérables”
There’s nothing like a favorite book to teach us how to live, how to read, and how to write. In my case, my favorite books are my favorite books because they teach me these things. Today, I admit, I was … Continue reading →
June 14, 2014
4 Reasons to Keep Going When Editing Gets Tough
Today my mind is on editing again, because I’m still editing my second edition of the Herezoth trilogy. And as much as some days I REALLY feel the itch to be writing again and feel that the autumn can’t get … Continue reading →
June 10, 2014
One Type of “Small” Edit That Makes A HUGE Difference In Your Writing
Cutting down on your word count can be a difficult task for any author, though this is a large part of editing. The very vast majority, if not all, of us have a lot of unneeded information in our novels … Continue reading →
June 7, 2014
Five Experiences Writing Fiction Gives You (That Other Things Can’t)
Today’s post is meant to celebrate the uniqueness of creative writing as a pastime and a calling. I don’t mean to imply that writing stories is better than doing other things; just that it has its own place and that … Continue reading →
June 3, 2014
Mothy Madness, Linked to Lessons In Character Development
So, I had a crazy afternoon on Sunday. Allow me to explain, and to bring it around to creative writing: My roommates and I had been seeing some moths here and there in the kitchen. We all thought, as we … Continue reading →
May 31, 2014
Three Kinds of Patterns To Find In (or Write Into) Fiction
Today’s post is all about patterns in fiction and in creative writing. And here’s why: Lately, I’ve been researching the Myers-Briggs classification I test as pretty much every time I take any Myers-Briggs test: INFJ. Turns out it’s rare (around … Continue reading →
May 27, 2014
Two Ways to Introduce Flashbacks: That Emphasize Very Different Things
Continuing my series of posts about time and fiction, I couldn’t avoid taking up a topic I’ve explored before: the flashback. When it comes to dealing with time in our stories, I think there are two majors things we have … Continue reading →
