Dialog Journals and Writing Good Dialog
By Peter Derk
Start a dialog journal, fix up your dialog, write better characters, and basically rule the world.
Jack of Shrugtown
I read my first Jack Reacher book, and there were so many shrugs. Jack Reacher has come to shrug and chew bubblegum, and he's all out of bubblegum.
Using Plain Language in Speculative Fiction
By Joshua Isard
Employ language that allows the audience to believe your characters believe what is happening.
The Haunting: How To Conquer The Shame Of Being A Writer
An essay about why the vocation of writing can sometimes feel shameful, and how to own that shame and then eventually conquer it.
Storyville: Putting Your Life in Your Fiction
Some helpful tips for working your life into your fiction.
As I Lay Mostly Dying
The baddest of the prose villains, that one word that, when mis-used, can single-handedly wreck an entire page of fiction for me, if not the whole piece: As.
Nuts and Bolts: Using Choruses
In:
Phrases
This verbal repetition can create a beat of bland time that lets your story breathe, or it can refresh previous plot points and trigger strong emotions. Steal this natural aspect of spoken rhetoric to enliven your prose.
Utility Phrases: When All Words Fail
In:
Phrases
What does your character say when he doesn't know what to say? Utility phrases fill a beat of bland time, possibly framing a gesture, possibly allowing the reader to recover from a shock, all the while developing characterization.