The Craft of Writing Archives - Page 11 of 28

Archive for the ‘The Craft of Writing’ Category

The Pomodoro Technique

by Aidan Doyle

The Pomodoro Technique is a popular time management system that has helped improve my writing productivity. The technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo and basically involves setting a timer for 25 minutes and focusing on a single task.

Catastrophe and Transformation

by Jason S. Ridler, PhD.

WARNING: This article will not end with me being rich and famous, having a bestseller or a million-dollar movie deal, or even being able to quit my day job. Nor will it instruct you on how to hit those targets. If those are your goals, please, go elsewhere.

Guest Post: Should you be a full-time writer?

by Mary Robinette Kowal

A lot of writers have a goal of being a full time writer. I think there’s this image of your life continuing exactly as it is, except that now your job is writing. Sure, you know you won’t go into an office, but it will be so nice to have no demands on your time, except writing.

Odyssey Writing Workshop Announces Its 20th Summer Session

Each summer, writers of the fantastic come from all over the world to attend the Odyssey Writing Workshop. Odyssey is one of the most highly respected programs for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror.

Guest Post: Setting Your Goals for the New Year and Beyond

by Randy Henderson

Happy New Year!

Rather than share events from my past year, I thought I’d offer a bit of encouragement and advice to help with the coming year. While this is aimed primarily at my fellow writers, it also, I think, can be applied to life in general.

Guest Post: The Four Hidden Habit Skills

Lots of people think, “I should learn a language,” or “I’m going to start exercising soon” … but then don’t actually take action. That’s because they haven’t really committed to getting started. In our minds, we half commit to things all the time.

Painting Characters into Corners

by Nancy Fulda

If you write stories, this has probably happened to you:

The words are flowing. The plot is exciting. Your characters, faced with overwhelming odds, find themselves in the midst of a difficult and absolutely enthralling situation. It’s the Big, Dramatic Moment of your story – and you have no idea what happens next. The bad guys are too strong, the social pressures are too powerful, the pit is too deep, or your character is too broken. Try as you might, you can’t think of a single way to get your protagonist out of the current crisis.

Guest Post: I’ve made every mistake an author can make in their writing career

by Jason Sanford

This has been a tough writing year for me. I finished my first novel only to learn that at this point in my writing career it’s going to be a hard sell. I’ve struggled with short fiction, publishing only two stories this year. I’ve even wondered why I’m writing stories in the first place (which probably ties back with the issues I’ve had with the novel and short fiction). All of this caused me to step back and reflect on my writing career up to this point. And I’ve realized I’ve made just about every mistake an author can make, career-wise.

Creating Aliens

by Deborah Walker

I’ve written a fair few aliens since reading it, always thinking about that advice, but with an added aspect: stealing blatantly from Mother Nature.

How I Remain Productive While Traveling

by Jennifer Brozek When I first attended conventions or traveled for the holidays, my freelance work suffered. Not just during the event but for the few days before and after the event as well. I knew this and scheduled for it. This worked for me for a while. However, as my writing and editing project deadlines […]