Pamela Love's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"
Word Count
Tweets can be only 140 characters. A blog post can be any length. Is it ethical to have a blog post shorter than a tweet? Or does it cheat the reader? Is it a sign of laziness on the blogger's part?
Haiku are generally supposed to be seventeen syllables. (Yes, I know there are exceptions.) Can a blog post have fewer than that?
I'm used to writing for children's magazines which have strict word counts. Blogging is a whole new world...
Haiku are generally supposed to be seventeen syllables. (Yes, I know there are exceptions.) Can a blog post have fewer than that?
I'm used to writing for children's magazines which have strict word counts. Blogging is a whole new world...
Inspiration
Did you know that "blog" spelled backwards is "golb"? Of course, that doesn't have any significance whatsoever, but it is an example of how a writer thinks.
Writers are always on the lookout for inspiration--for a new manuscript, or for a scene or even just a line in one they're currently working on. Wordplay--reversing or finding anagrams in common terms--can lead to new plot points. Now, I don't at the moment see how "golb" could be turned into something I can work with, but the next word I transform just might.
Writers are always on the lookout for inspiration--for a new manuscript, or for a scene or even just a line in one they're currently working on. Wordplay--reversing or finding anagrams in common terms--can lead to new plot points. Now, I don't at the moment see how "golb" could be turned into something I can work with, but the next word I transform just might.
When Blogs the Writer!
As a kid, I read whatever comics I could get my hands on. Many had titles like "When Strikes the Monster!" or "When Falls the Hero!" I thought these titles were extremely sophisticated. This isn't a post about titles, though.
Instead, it's about timing. One piece of advice many authors get is to start the story as close to the start of the action as possible. Often, though, before you can have the monster show up or the lightning strike or (for that matter) the winning lottery ticket found, you need to set up the protagonist's situation so that readers care about their good or bad luck. So try foreshadowing. It might be in the book's title, or the chapter's. The protagonist is giddy with joy (before their fall) or numbed with despair (before their win.)
Something's coming at your protagonist, something potentially more devastating than a bison stampede: your plot. If the book's about a flood, you don't need to start with the dam's breaking. You can begin with a raindrop on roses. But it helps if the title is "Flood."
Instead, it's about timing. One piece of advice many authors get is to start the story as close to the start of the action as possible. Often, though, before you can have the monster show up or the lightning strike or (for that matter) the winning lottery ticket found, you need to set up the protagonist's situation so that readers care about their good or bad luck. So try foreshadowing. It might be in the book's title, or the chapter's. The protagonist is giddy with joy (before their fall) or numbed with despair (before their win.)
Something's coming at your protagonist, something potentially more devastating than a bison stampede: your plot. If the book's about a flood, you don't need to start with the dam's breaking. You can begin with a raindrop on roses. But it helps if the title is "Flood."
Works in Progress
I'm working on a novel set in and around the ocean, with the tentative title, "Salt Water".
I'm also working on a short story, as yet untitled. It has a beginning I'm pleased with, likewise the ending. Wouldn't it be great if I could figure out some logical connection between the two? Presumably an editor would think so.
Hmm. Since moving from A to B isn't working, maybe I should try writing backwards from the conclusion?
I'm also working on a short story, as yet untitled. It has a beginning I'm pleased with, likewise the ending. Wouldn't it be great if I could figure out some logical connection between the two? Presumably an editor would think so.
Hmm. Since moving from A to B isn't working, maybe I should try writing backwards from the conclusion?
