People tell me I write good dialog. Here’s what I do. I take a situation and I have two characters speak the way I would probably speak, getting down the basic back and forth on the first pass. We’ve talked about that here https://atomic-temporary-57188753.wpcomstaging.com/2015/04/26/writing-good-dialogs/ On the second pass, I add in funny lines, descriptions and […]
Writers have an inner force that compels them to put thought to paper, or in most cases, to hack away on a keyboard. Typically, and whether we know it or not, we write to a person. A muse. Learn about how I write dialog HERE When I wrote Savvy Stories, I had a kind of […]
In English, a double negative forms a positive. But in some languages, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, in no language in the world can a double positive form a negative. Yeah, right. . . Know the rules – and break them. If you benefit from this blog, share it […]
I was thinking about how embarrassing it is to have several bestselling books and yet still have such a crappy subscriber rate to my blog. Obviously I’m doing something wrong. I want to fix that so I can reach more people without relying 100% on Amazon or ads. A friend suggested just asking folks to […]
Yesterday we looked at a story a friend had written https://atomic-temporary-57188753.wpcomstaging.com/?p=784&preview=true&preview_id=784 that was good but wasn’t grabbing me, and after some analysis I figured out why. In that post, we discussed its wordiness. Today we continue with my analysis. (Occasionally I’ll share a story critique here that I think will benefit all writers. We […]
Well, it took me a while to figure it out, but I did. (Occasionally I’ll share a story critique here that I think will benefit all writers. We need examples of problems and examples of solutions so we can spot these situations in our own stories and correct them.) Learn about critique partners HERE A […]
Only two? Well, let’s start there. WHAT DO I DO ABOUT GENRE? Ignore it. Writing a story isn’t about genre. Do social media because you like it, not because it’s something you’re supposed to do That’s true of your blog, too. And mine. I’ve heard these two idioms bounced around for a long time, by […]
My most prized possessions are my pictures on my computer and a few things in the nightstand by my bed. They could fit in half a shoebox, maybe less. Probably less. My dad gave me a little music box when I was about ten years old. It was an old time radio […]
What makes you you? You can do a knee replacement, a heart transplant, a kidney transplant. With stem cells we can grow new organs. If you could download your brain and regenerate it when necessary after a stem cell regrowth surgery, and electrogenetically shut off the aging process, what would happen? If there was no […]
What was the coolest car you ever owned? I have had a lot of cool cars. How did that happen? I blame my dad. He started it by giving me a classic 1968 convertible Mustang when I was in high school. That was my first car. 1968 Mustang convertible when I was 16 Pontiac Firebird […]
DAN ALATORRE