- outline not required, know personality type and writing style, no “right” way to write
- have the story first; the plot is how you tell the story
- know how it ends
- Impulse by Frederick Ramsay
- speculate different outcomes/cause and effect
- spine art on the published book is important too
- bridge not only within book, but across books if there is a series
- know your characters like your family members
- know where you’re going. “If you can’t taste it, don’t drink it.”
- Know exactly who the characters are so they don’t do things they wouldn’t normally do.
- Trust the characters – they will write the story for you
- How do you solve problems? Your book is your problem, solve it. Write your book the way you solve problems.
- It’s okay to stop writing to think about stuff.
- Literary fiction—internal. Genre fiction—not a lot of time in the characters’ heads
- Good description can be done in a sentence or two (context will allow readers to draw inferences without needing excessive descriptions)
- The movie versions always suck because the version in your head is better
- learn how to write dialogue, no one wants to be in a character’s head for excessive period of time
- Don’t do the reader’s work for them; don’t tell them how to think and what to look for
- what kind of “bridge” do you want to build? (how to determine plot)
- Go with what you know. If you don’t know it, don’t write it, because someone will catch it. “The devil is in the details.” Get your details right or people will give you crap.
- Asking reader to suspend disbelief (in the case of fiction) doesn’t mean you can get away with unrealistic stuff
- Don’t write about stuff no one cares about (don’t overdo details). Don’t show off expertise.
- Don’t overuse adverbs and exclamation points
- Can get a lot of work done with dialogue/conversation.
- Add textures: smells, sounds etc (not by description but by settings)
- Get the story down first, then write the book (go back and add the important details)
- “Tight” writing: http://leechild.com/ (no wasted words, no useless descriptions)
- Don’t put it in if it doesn’t move the story forward
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