by Wordsmith | Aug 24, 2022 | Doug's Perspective, Doug's Stuff
An excerpt from the first draft of my latest Yale Larsson Private Investigator novel. ****************************** At the Big Bucks, we had coffee and bagels. When I told Perkowski Keith was going into the belly of the beast, he fitted a wire to my friend, and gave...
by Wordsmith | Aug 19, 2022 | A Writer's Life, Book Elements, Doug's Perspective, Doug's Stuff
When you write fiction, you need dialog. Dialog adds meat and interest to your stories. Your characters come alive when they speak. But the question is, what dialog to leave in and what dialog to leave out. Starting a conversation with, “How are you?” bores the reader...
by Wordsmith | Aug 13, 2022 | A Writer's Life, Doug's Stuff
Writers can be creatures of habit. I am a creature of habit. One thing I do every day before sitting down to write is Morning Pages, three pages of longhand stream-of-consciousness stuff. Your morning pages don’t have to make sense. They can help you plan the day and...
by Wordsmith | Aug 10, 2022 | Doug's Stuff
As an author, I get inspired by reading books in my genre. I also read books about writing. And they are written by some of my favorite authors. The following is a list of my favorites: On Writing Stephen King This is a great book, part autobiographical, the rest...
by Wordsmith | Jul 26, 2022 | A Writer's Life
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve received about writing is to rewrite something from a novel you love. It’s best to choose a work you admire that’s in your genre. After deciding which novel, you’re going to rewrite copy the first two chapters by hand. This gives...
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