Essay #5 —The Scent and a Tickle: Your First 500 Words 🎶I really don’t like your point of view.I know you’ll never change.You’re ninety-nine percent an embarrassment,with just one quality. I don’t mind it when you [whistle].🎶—Eliza Doolittle, Skinny Genes (2010) Most people don’t realise that it’s not Eliza Doolittle doing the whistling in her…
In the interest of full transparency, before launching into this review, I must confess that I’m rather fond of this author. Avid readers of this site will know he’s a valued contributor to our growing series of writing-advice essays. (For brevity, I’ve used “this site” instead of “Bardic Planet.” I’ve already saved at least half…
Essay #4 — Map Your Novel. Chapter 30 of The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, by the editors of Writer’s Digest When you see the Southern Cross for the first time You understand now why you came this way. Cuz the truth you might be runnin’ from is so small But it’s as big as…
Essay #3! Rituals, Methods and Blueprints – Chapter 29 of The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing Rituals and Methods Hello again, fellow word floggers! It’s time for another essay on The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, by the editors of Writer’s Digest. Let’s hear from James Jones first, where he posts a personal tidbit in…
A true blue reader falls in love with the book they want to read. Here’s how I fell in love with The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, by the Editors of Writer’s Digest. Essay #2 – Buying the Book Hello again, my lovelies. I’ve received such a great response for posting my first Essay on…
(A self-help book published by the editors of Writer’s Digest.) “Always begin with your protagonist. Establish time and place, and announce the stakes.”— N. M. Kelby, self-help author of The Constant Art of Being a Writer “Sometimes one can overanalyze. If you preordain, you stifle yourself. Have a general idea, and let the rest come naturally,…