Category: Writing (Page 1 of 4)

bad review
The first bad review is a milestone to be celebrated.

Why I love my first bad review

April 26, 2019 /

The first bad review. It’s a milestone, an inevitability of putting your story, your hard work, into the world. I’d always wondered how it would make me feel, and quietly suspected it would be a terrible blow to my ego.

Shortly before publishing my first novel, State of Love & Trust, in August 2016, I was reading a lot of Brené Brown.  In one of her books (if I can remember which, I’ll update to reflect that—she has many and I’ve read them all) she wrote that in order to withstand criticism of your work, you must first separate your ego from it. That means bad reviews are about the work, not you. But also good reviews are about the work, and not you.Continue Reading Why I love my first bad review

simile
The lazy simile you need to ditch.

Ditch This Lazy Simile

December 27, 2018 /

There is one simile that mutters lazy. It’s more thoughtless than the most common of cliches. It’s so bland and pointless it has no business even calling itself a simile. It evokes less than nothing. It’s boring. Dull. Dried up like a dog turd on concrete during a drought.

It sucks the life out of whatever you’re trying to convey.

A simile should be evocative or convey a new dimension to whatever you’re describing. Trite or cliched similes are bad enough, and those should be avoided as well. But I’d argue this one simile is not only hackneyed but worse than your average cliche.

Ditch this empty simile every single time it turns up in your writing. The only time you should ever use it is as a placeholder when you’re breezing through a first draft and don’t want to pause to think of something better on the fly. But you must replace it with something stronger, richer, more colorful and more creative. Or just leave it out altogether, because it’s better to use no simile at all than this lifeless, lame, zombie-brained excuse for a simile.

Continue Reading Ditch This Lazy Simile

If your character wears Doc Martens, will you face a trademark lawsuit?

Trademarks in Fiction

September 13, 2018 /

And why you shouldn’t fear using them

First things first: I am not a trademark attorney. If you want legal advice on using trademarks, please consult a legal professional. However, if you want the point of view of someone who has managed numerous worldwide trademarks in her career in marketing, and also writes novels, read on.

Am I allowed to use trademarks in fiction? Won’t I get sued?

Across the online writers’ groups I frequent, I’ve seen this question more times than I can count. Unfortunately, questions about trademarks in fiction are inevitably followed by innocent misconceptions, wrongheaded advice, and blatant fearmongering. Continue Reading Trademarks in Fiction

3 pillars of characterization
The three pillars of characterization

Do, Say, & Think

September 10, 2018 /

The three pillars of characterization

Good characterization is a matter of discipline. Regardless of how you go about creating fictional characters, it’s their behaviors, thoughts, and actions that convey their characterization. If you tell the reader your character is a deep thinker with a goal of spiritual growth, then portray her as preening, superficial and manipulative in her actions, dialogue and thoughts, nobody is going to buy it.

Do, Say, & Think are simply a way to boil down action, dialogue and interior dialogue/narrative in a character’s point of view (POV).

I can tell you that The Dude in The Big Lebowski is “so laid back,” but nothing conveys that as well as his introduction. He shuffles in slippers and a bathrobe through a grocery store, drinks milk straight from the carton, then attempts to pay for it by check. I can tell you Walter Sobchak is temperamental, but nothing will convey that quite like him pulling a gun on a fellow bowler for letting a toe slip over the line. I can tell you Donny is a clueless nitwit, but nothing conveys it better than him piping in with the non-sequitur “I am the walrus” while The Dude and Walter try to discuss Lenin (not Lennon).Continue Reading Do, Say, & Think

thesaurusitis is stupid
How many synonyms are there for ...

Thesaurusitis

May 16, 2017 /
Monday Evening, 62°F and partly cloudy
Listening to Tame Impala—H.F.G.W. (Canyons Drunken Rage)

I’m begging you, dear writers, beware of the scourge of Thesaurusitis. Symptoms include reader head scratching, books being flung against walls, and misuse of new-to-you vocabulary words. If you’ve noticed any symptoms of Thesaurusitis, it’s essential that you set aside your thesaurus and take several giant steps away from it. I’m not saying you should burn it (well, maybe, but let’s not be too hasty).  For now, simply put it down and take some time to consider how you’re using the thesaurus, and why.

A thesaurus is a powerful tool when used properly. But abuse it and it will ruin your writing and out you as an insecure rube with a weak vocabulary and possibly an inferiority complex. Never attempt to use a thesaurus to make your writing more interesting or make yourself appear more intelligent and well read. It will do neither. A thesaurus can’t give you anything you don’t already have. But it can give your writing a rampant, itchy case of thesaurusitis.Continue Reading Thesaurusitis

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