Writer. Editor at Late Edition Press. Former AP Lit teacher. NachoEditor on Peloton. (he/him) Find me at https://t.co/rYoK4WkrdN. #writingcommunity 🌈 🌊
Dec 23, 2019 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Coincidence - your readers accept that one big coincidence that's part of your story's premise. Your protagonist just happened to be at Location X when Antagonist Y did Event Z.
Okay, cool.
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That gets things rolling. That's why you have a story. But other coincidences that you MUST have to make your story work, those will annoy the hell out of your readers.
"Oh, Iron Man needs to repair his suit. The first building he checks has a fully equipped garage!"
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Nov 29, 2019 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Writing tip: Let the robot voice help you.
Most writing software programs have a text-to-speech (TTS) feature. Use that for one of your story edits. You'll catch awkward transitions, irregular pacing, odd word choices, and even some grammatical mistakes you've missed.
2/ In MS Word, it's called Read Allowed. Mac has it in system preferences. Go to accessibility to enable it. If your program doesn't have TTS, yWriter is a free download. You can read your document aloud, too, of course. I'd recommend recording it and then listening to that.
Nov 19, 2019 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
1/ I love Anne Rice's advice: go where the pain is. In her words: “Writers write about what obsesses them. I lost my mother when I was 14. My daughter died at the age of 6. I lost my faith as a Catholic. When I'm writing, the darkness is always there. I go where the pain is.”
2/ I know a lot of writers tap into their own pain, fear, and anxiety when they write. It's often their own therapy. The nuggets and gems they draw from that often end up in their characters and story arc.
Nov 16, 2019 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Writing tip from real brain science. Your brain releases wild amounts of dopamine during the anticipation of something, more than when the actual something occurs. That's why the build-up to Christmas and the unwrapping of gifts is often more satisfying than the actual gifts.
2/ How's that translate to fiction? Hitchcock was on to this long ago: “There is no terror in the bang,” he said, “only in the anticipation of it.” So, don't surprise the reader with the bomb exploding. You'll get some shock value, but you'll lose the dopamine effect.
