Tag Archives: critique

FROZEN

HOW TO GET RID OF WRITER’S FREEZE

Free Digital Photos

We have all heard of writer’s block, but what is writer’s freeze? Let me begin by expressing the difference between the two. WB is the inability (assumed or not) to write due to a lack of ideas.

Writer’s freeze is different. It’s a term that I stumbled upon in my own writing as I’ve been hacking and slashing my way through this trilogy. WF is the condition where there are plenty of ideas. But here I am, writing this third book, and I am nervous about which ideas to choose. Continue reading →

FLASHER

I FEEL YOU

WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS

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HOW TO NOT TO USE HAD ALL THE TIME

FREE DIGITAL PHOTOS

I have recently been reading a book that’s an epic saga, and it’s not Twilight. Please don’t accuse me of that. Haha!

I won’t mention the saga because I may make several references to it that may be good or bad over the next few days. Perhaps later, I’ll reveal which one it is. But I’m not into bashing people’s work. That said, this isn’t a bash, as much as it is an observation. Continue reading →

METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING

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HOW TO USE METAPHORS EFFECTIVELY

Metaphors are the other side of the comparison coin. This is any type of comparison that doesn’t use “like” or “as.”

Whenever we use a metaphor, we are fusing two nouns together, forcing one to become representative of the other. It’s remarkable, and it can hand the reader something that he would not have normally received.

Continue reading →

THE SHREDDER (NOT TMNT)

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SHOWING THE PROBLEMS WITH YESTERDAY’S SHORT FICTION

I want to take a critical approach to the short fiction piece that I wrote yesterday. This is tough because, as I stated before, we do not like to be critiqued. But I am going to critique my own writing to show how grossly flawed the short story actually is. Let’s get ready to shred!

[READ HERE AT THE BOTTOM FOR THE STORY IF YOU’D LIKE – Link to the Previous Post]
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NOT ALL VILLAINS ARE CREATED EVIL

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JUST SOME OF’EM

We are still on the issue of character, and even when we leave this issue, we will return…to this…what’s the word I’m looking for here…issue? One of the most important characters in your novel is and will be your villain.

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FREESTYLE FRIDAY

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Writing With Pictures

On Fridays, I would like to take an instruction break and do some style training per my blogrollees at Fresh Ink. This is where we take a picture and describe it. Please feel free to join in with insights. Either add to the story or start your own. Either way, let’s see that free style writing flow!

Our first test will be the image at the top of my page. Here it is again for the sake of format:

Continue reading →

PLOT H LES: Part 1

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I THINK I LEFT OUT AN ‘O’

Plot holes unfinished when not. What did you just say?? Oh, I’m sorry. Plot holes are like unfinished sentences when they are not filled in. They are like glaring, bright lights from the oncoming cars along a dark, winding country road. You can’t see where you are going, and it’s hard to focus. In essence, plot holes take you off the road…err out of the story.

We can highlight a couple. Every piece of work is up for criticism, and I cringe at the thought that one day my work will be critiqued just as harshly. Nevertheless, we begin.

In Black Swan with Natalie Portman, there’s an enormous plot hole. SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! If you don’t want to know the ending, skip down two paragraphs. In the end, Natalie Portman’s character dies from a self-inflicted stab wound. Before she dies, she dances the most amazing dance ever. But then she falls off the back of the stage and dies with the blood spilling out onto her dress. Continue reading →