A well-disciplined musician will do more than run through a piece to practice. They run through scales, arpeggios, and exercises. They focus on a section that is giving them problems, and play through it different ways to help learn the notes and rhythms. Sometimes, they just tap out rhythms on their laps. It’s generally expected that musicians practice every day, sometimes for hours.
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And no, this isn’t about how to write a good opening for your novel. This isn’t about how to hook your future audience in at the first sentence. This is how to start writing once you’ve sat down at the computer with a blank word document (or other variations on other devices like phones or paper) for the first time, and decide to write a novel.
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The thing with rules is that they are usually there for a reason, but there is an exception to every rule (and an exception to that rule, too). But exceptions aren’t just random – there’s a reason why that particular exception is an exception. The exceptions are the ones that don’t violate the reason why that rule is in place.
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My mom once gave me relationship advice that I think applies here:
You need to marry someone who you both like and love, because there are going to be some days that you don’t like him (or her), and that’s when you love him. And there’s some days you won’t love him, and that’s when you remember you like him. And there’s going to be some days that you don’t like or love him, and that’s when you remember you made a commitment.
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Most likely, you’ve heard that advice before. It’s maybe the most said writing advice ever. And there are many reasons for that, and many good things that come from taking this advice. But there’s one benefit that, to me, seems to be overlooked.
Read MoreDialogue – one of the most important parts of the actual writing part.
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One of the pieces of advice often found when wandering the internet is to avoid the word “said” at all cost.
And, well… this just isn’t good advice.
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One of the areas in the fictional female character’s life that needs to be considered when trying to write, for lack of better terminology, a “strong female” is relationships.
Read MoreFlags. It’s a seemingly simple concept: a piece of cloth with a design on it that represents something. Simple, right?
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Female leads are a good thing, or at least they should be. But when handled incorrectly, they can be annoying or even a story killer. This list is what I personally think are the biggest things to avoid when writing a story with a female lead.
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