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Tag: inspiration

Some Favorite Things

Some Favorite Things

Today I need to write something positive, just cuz.  So, here’s a blog post about some random ‘favorites’ of mine…with certain follow-ups. First up: Favorite Colors Yes, kindergarten is over thirty years behind me, and yet I am still going to tell you about my favorite colors.  I really, really like colors, okay?  …Which means I can’t possibly have a favorite.  But some colors I adore are: So, what’s more wonderful than gorgeous colors?  Gorgeous color-combinations.  A single, flat color…

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Just a Few Books, for ‘Research’…

Just a Few Books, for ‘Research’…

So.  Sometimes, reading other writers’ blogs, I’ll read about the sort of research another author might put into their story.  Maybe they’ll (1) talk about traveling to a relevant city (not exactly within reach for most of us), or pouring over Google maps of a relevant city (definitely sensible – sounds like a lot of work though – so, maybe a reason to avoid contemporary settings if at all possible?). Or (2) they’ll call up or interview an expert or…

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What Should My Next Story Seed Be?

What Should My Next Story Seed Be?

As I am writing this, I’m getting close to a hand-off point, when I’ll have just wrapped up one of my latest SSCS’s (the Serial Stream-of-Consciousness Stories that I work on periodically as a break from my more directed writing) and will then be needing to add a new SSCS onto my docket (I usually have three running at any given time).  That begs the question: What should I use as my seed for the next one? The story ideas…

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Story Ideas are Cheap – An Example

Story Ideas are Cheap – An Example

Okay, it’s time for another post about writing (because I like to write about writing, apparently).  This one is about story ideas! Story ideas are lots of fun and can feel really precious, but are actually pretty darned easy to come by.  This, of course, is not news.  It seems like nearly every writer’s blog I’ve read has some variation on the idea that story ideas are the easy part of writing (the actual writing is way more work!), or…

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The Combined Power of Disney’s live-action Cinderella and The Untamed

The Combined Power of Disney’s live-action Cinderella and The Untamed

So.  I super-dooper love the Chinese fantasy drama The Untamed. The show is set in an ancient kingdom both during and after a great war between the clans, where the main character, who is gifted in black magic, has created a powerful, dark artifact to vanquish his enemies and help his side win the day.  It’s 50 episodes long, but the actual war, from start to finish, comprises only about 10 of those, because who wins a war – and…

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Revision Example: Targeted, Mid-drafting

Revision Example: Targeted, Mid-drafting

Okay, I said last writing post that I like revisions. And recently I experienced a good example of the importance (for me*) of Targeted, Mid-drafting Revisions.  There are lots of kinds of revisions, and I mostly adore them all (what’s not to love about effective problem-solving?), and so I thought it would be nice to share an example of this particular kind. * Important disclaimer: I don’t want to try to give any instruction about when a writer should or…

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Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Father’s Day!

This is a Father’s Day post! because my dad is great!  I’m not very good at writing about things that are really important to me in a good way – my words get extra stilted for some reason.  But that’s not a good reason not to tell you that my dad is great, and important to me, and I’m really proud to be his daughter. A quick sketch of my father can be summed up with three activities: I think…

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