As a writer, have you fallen into “location” ruts? Do you find your characters in the same settings in scene after scene, like sitting in cars, chatting at the kitchen table, pounding their heads against their cubicle walls? Find out how ditching run-of-the-mill settings can punch up your scenes in my article on the RMFW […]
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How to Trim Those Filter Words from Your Writing – On the RMFW Blog
“Filter words” are sneaky words and phrases that drain the energy from your sentences, dull the tension in your scenes, and slow down your pacing by “filtering” the action through the thoughts or senses of your character. See examples of what I mean in my article on the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers blog here: “Filter […]
Writers Have Keen Observation Skills – Or So I’ve Heard
Keen observation skills. That’s pretty much an essential quality for a writer, right? We observe setting. We observe atmosphere. We observe human nature. We observe conflict and emotion and irony. But boy, I’d be lousy as a crime scene witness. Detective: “Can you describe the perpetrator?” Me: “Um. I think it was a white guy.” […]
Writing Body Language – Are Your Characters Fluent in Body Language?
In the improv comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the comedians often perform a particular sketch, called “Moving People,” where they pull two audience members on stage. Two of the comedians act out a scene while the two audience members frantically try to pose them to match the dialogue. The comedians are as helpful […]
Just-In-Time World Building – On the RMFW Blog
This week, I’m blogging on the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ blog. Hop over there to read “Just-In-Time World Building” for tips on letting your story’s world unfold as your characters encounter it.
Do Editors Really Hate Adverbs?
By Kelley Lindberg [I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because most bots are boring, but bots that argue with you about grammar are disturbingly sexy.] At some point in just about every writing workshop or conference, someone reminds someone else that adverbs (those notorious “-ly” words) are the devil’s own tools and should […]
