Research!
Inspiration just struck for an alternate history story which will require research. Two items in my random idea file collided. Mmm, research! Good idea file. Extra biscuit! I’m really excited by this idea, but, once again, it’s a situation without a plot....Note to Self:
It’s fine to have a programmer’s aesthetic when writing fiction. Just make sure you declare your variables and functions up at the top. 😉Getting back on the [insert mythological animal here].
I had two stories in progress when my cat got sick in December, and I hadn’t touched either of them since until today. Well, I just worked on one a little, and I really like it. It’s also 2700 words so far and I don’t think it’s even...Plan C?
This may be more like it. It’s Jay Lake’s “one story a week” rules. In short: 1) Write a story every week. 2) Finish everything you start. 3) Don’t self-critique while you’re writing. 4) Work on one thing at a time. The only thing...Plan B
Um, yeah. 9pm is apparently too late. Also, I apparently need a wordcount. There’s that wacky time when I get home, while dinner is cooking; I’d be fresher then. The Athlete’s Diary convinces me that I need to modify the Motivational Spreadsheet of...Write is the Plan the Plan is Fiction
Every day at 9pm, except Fridays because that’s Battlestar Galactica, there will be fiction. I can brainstorm, outline, edit, write first drafts, etc., but there will be fiction at 9pm, and I must spend an hour on this. The me has spoken. I considered a daily...You know what helps when I’m stuck?
Analyzing structure. It’s not something that tends to occur to me often. I’m more of a sleep-on-it, wake-up-drooling-into-my-pillow-with-the-answer kind of writer. There’s a part of my brain that I seem to access most easily if I’m not...short fiction paradox
One of my stories in progress has just gone in a totally unexpected direction. Which is when the good stuff happens, in my opinion. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that there’s no point in writing if I know how the story is going to end, but a large part of...Nifty-swifty-ness on SFWA’s site, and my calves.
This is a very useful link for the nightmare story, even if not all the items apply to the story in question. Also, I think I was writing with the wrong POV character, although I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t attempted a draft, since it took me an...Subscribe
