Nicholas Bruner
Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Young Adult Author
Tag: writing advice
Words to leave out
Keeping to the theme of the last post, today I’m going to list some words you should leave out of your writing. After you finish a piece, go through with the word search function and see how many of the following you can remove. Note: I… Continue Reading “Words to leave out”
What to Leave Out and What to Put In
Now that I’m working on my third novel, I find that I’m willing to leave out a lot more stuff. How did a character get from one place to another? Who cares? We know they have legs, they probably walked. How did a character… Continue Reading “What to Leave Out and What to Put In”
The Importance of Not Flinching
Now we come to what I think is the most important rule of all for a writer: Don’t flinch. Everything you see and experience can be used in your writing, but you must have your eyes open to see it. Be aware of your… Continue Reading “The Importance of Not Flinching”
How to write about object location
One mistake I often used to make was over-precision in writing about the physical location of objects in a scene. Robert put his keys on the end of the countertop. He dropped his pen. It fell to the floor and rolled three feet from his shoe.The living… Continue Reading “How to write about object location”
How does writing a novel improve your writing?
Well, obviously, if you commit to write a novel, you write nearly every day for weeks or months on end. That much practice can’t hurt! As Malcolm Gladwell writes in Outliers, it takes 10,000-hours of practice to gain mastery of a skill.* Writing a novel certainly… Continue Reading “How does writing a novel improve your writing?”
What I’m Reading: Writing the Breakout Novel
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass may be just what I needed at this point in my writing development. Strunk and White’s book was immensely useful long ago, but I’m long past the basic grammar and style advice they provide. Stephen King’s On Writing… Continue Reading “What I’m Reading: Writing the Breakout Novel”
Background research required?
So I’ve been having a fairly unproductive past week or ten days in writing my current WiP. Partially due to a great number of financial and automotive problems that have required my attention, but mostly, I think, because I really wasn’t sure where the story… Continue Reading “Background research required?”
What I’m Reading: Just Write Here’s How
Children’s author Walter Dean Myers has had over 100 books published. He grew up in Harlem and his writing tends to take an inner city perspective, although he’s also written fantasy, non-fiction, and other types of books. This book is basically a description of… Continue Reading “What I’m Reading: Just Write Here’s How”
