Category: Writing
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Research: better results through (of all things) effort
Understanding why research is both critical to developing a story and a whole lot of fun, with a little help from Star Trek.
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The End: a great place to begin your novel
Stories don’t begin at the beginning. They begin in the middle. In Plotter-Oriented writing, therefore, we start by thinking about the END.
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Understand your reader reviews better with NPS
In business we use a Net Promoter Score (NPS) to understand enthusiasm. Learn how to turn reader reviews into something actionable.
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Prototype: a surprising route to a story’s best destiny
The prototype allows you to ask yourself and a few readers “will this idea work?” It also creates an artifact to which you can return in the future.
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Lonely Girl: a prototype of air
A prototype chapter for The Poison Sky, representing the mood and world of the story. Many details are inconsistent with the current state of the work.
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Fantastic etymology: powerful words unstuck in time
In a novel, words matter. But in fantasy – where words may lack a historical etymology – do words still mean what you think they mean?
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Inspiration: wonderful and uplifting magic
In Plotter-Oriented writing, as in most forms or writing, we start with inspiration. Where does that come from? Your mileage, as they say, may vary.
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Extreme plotting! The magic of plotter-oriented writing
A philosophy for Plotter-Oriented Writing, in which I describe my extremist approach to plotting before writing, and why I think it makes sense.