This week, we stop by the Kill Zone where James Scott Bell warns against starting your story with a dream while John Gilstrap and Jordan Dane talk internal monologue. Over at Mythcreants, Oren Ashkenazi advises against writing prequels, but if you must, he offers a few tips.
From Writer Unboxed, Julie Carrick Dalton provides timely advice on dual timeline stories. Think you can become a writer on “talent” alone? Anne R. Allen would like to give you a rude awakening. Anne also has some strong opinions on how to begin your story in order to optimize Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature.
All that and a little more. Enjoy!
What’s the Deal on Dreams in Fiction? by James Scott Bell
Internal Monologue by John Gilstrap
5 Key Ways to Balance Internal Monologue with Pitfalls to Avoid by Jordan Dane
Chronicling a Non-Chronological Story: Writing a Dual Timeline Novel by Julie Carrick Dalton
Five Tips for Telling Prequel Stories by Oren Ashkenazi
8 Qualities that are More Important than Talent for Writing Success and The One Thing That Will Kill Book Sales Dead and 10 Ways to Avoid It by Anne R. Allen
How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson
How to Spark Your Story with an Inciting Incident by Pamela Hodges
Veteran SF and Media Tie-In Writer, Michael Jan Friedman, Would Like to Take You Into Empty Space
Thank you this very interesting and informative site.
Thanks, Emily. “About This Writing Stuff” was once a bi-weekly feature on my blog before my schedule became too hectic to keep up with it. Going forward, I hope to maintain it as a monthly feature.
Hey Phil! I’ve been tapped into The Kill Zone for a while and I love their material. Some NYT bestselling authors with great tips on the craft. Met (and drank with) John Gilstrap at a conference in 2017 (“C3,” or Creatures, Crimes and Creativity); Maberry was one of the keynotes, and one of the drinkers, along with Jeffery Deaver. I’m attending it again in 2018 in October; Keith DeCandido is a keynote! FYI, but you probably know this, Gilstrap is EXTREMELY knowledgeable about craft, publishing, marketing, and everything thriller. What a character.
Good to hear from you, Chris. Yep, I typically include at least one Kill Zone blog post in my monthly collection of articles. Been following them for a long time as well. I’ve known Keith DeCandido for about 10 years from the annual SF conventions that he and I attend (Farpoint, Shore Leave, Philcon, etc.). Haven’t met Gilstrap personally yet, but I tune into his YouTube videos once in a while and read his blog when time permits. He’s a major player certainly. As for the C3 conference, I might attend this year, but not sure yet. I’m going on a week-long Mindful Writers Retreat in October, so I might have to pass on C3 this year. My next two conventions/conferences are Farpoint (February) and the Write Stuff (March).
Weldon Burge is one of the attending authors at C3 this year. Weldon and I each had short stories published in the 2016 Rehoboth Beach anthology. I came in second place in the contest and won $250 (not too shabby). Weldon is co-owner of Smart Rhino Publications in Delaware. He invited me to submit to their upcoming paranormal anthology, A Plague of Shadows, and I was ecstatic when my story was accepted. I look forward to being published alongside Edgar Allan Poe nominees Billie Sue Mosiman and Graham Masterton and many other fantastic writers.
Hope to catch up with you at some point. Cheers!
Weldon chaired at least one panel I was on at C3 with Maberry. He was/they were both great. Loved it. Jolly good showing at Rehoboth Beach!