Tag: craft of writing

Must writers be self-destructive and unhinged to be masters of the craft? Creativity is an elusive animal, and there is no magic formula to harness it.

If you’re feeling like your writing isn’t very good, you might be stuck in the Valley of Despair — smack in the middle of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

How great would it be to have a device to stick into the pages of your book to tell you when it's done? It’s the same for new, inexperienced writers and published authors alike: sometimes it’s hard to gauge when your manuscript is truly finished.

Borrowing lessons from sports and chess, you can find success as a writer by mastering fundamentals, optimizing your efforts, and meeting the challenges in front of you.

"Said" is usually the best solution when attributing a statement to a character, but there are times in your book or short story where a more specific qualifier would do a lot to paint a complete picture.

Negative reviews are part of life, and brushing off criticism is something all creators must know how to do — because most negative reviews don’t matter.

Reading and writing "broken" text can teach an appreciation of what works — and what doesn’t — when it comes to great writing.