Synopsis
Helping Writers Become Authors provides writers help in summoning inspiration, crafting solid characters, outlining and structuring novels, and polishing prose. Learn how to write a book and edit it into a story agents will buy and readers will love. (Music intro by Kevin MacLeod.)
Episodes
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Are You Confusing Readers With Poor Cause and Effect?
06/02/2011 Duration: 06minIf you can strengthen the narrative of your story by showing a logical progression of cause and effect, you'll end up with leaner prose, more honest character reactions, and more involved readers.
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Why You Should Read the Type of Stories You Write
23/01/2011 Duration: 04minStudying stories of the type you want to write is legitimately important research, and don't let anyone tell you differently.
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The Good News? Writing Never Gets Any Easier
23/01/2011 Duration: 05minRecognizing, and even appreciating, the fact that writing will always be difficult, frees us from the doubt, and even guilt, of feeling we'll never be good enough - because the truth is we won't.
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10 Steps for Getting Past the "This Stinks" Blues
16/01/2011 Duration: 05minNo story is perfect; no author is perfect. This is a sad fact that every writer has to face sooner or later.
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Are You Using "There" as a Crutch?
09/01/2011 Duration: 04minWhenever you see the word "there" used as a pronoun, you can be sure it's being used as a crutch to hold up a weak and passive sentence.
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10 Writing Resolutions You Can Fulfill
02/01/2011 Duration: 06minWhen we focus on the goals that are slightly more achievable, we're not only more likely to pull them off, but we'll also feel much better about ourselves come next year.
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7 Reasons Weather Is a Writer's Friend
26/12/2010 Duration: 05minWeather, like most description, is best delivered in small doses, interspersed with the action and dialogue, and offered only when important.
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Are Your Verbs Showing or Telling?
19/12/2010 Duration: 05minKeep your eyes open for places where you can effortlessly strengthen your scene by using verbs that show instead of tell.
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8 Reasons to Let Your Story Ripen
12/12/2010 Duration: 05minIt takes time and breathing space for us to figure out which ideas are worth committing to for the long haul.
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What Kind of Writer Are You?
05/12/2010 Duration: 05minIt's vital that each author discover for himself the methods that work best for him.
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Description: Friend or Foe?
28/11/2010 Duration: 05minAvoiding description is impossible, and attempting to avoid it does nothing but tie an author's hand.
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Why Are You Writing This Story?
14/11/2010 Duration: 05minFigure out what makes this story more worth writing than any other story, and let that reason empower you in every subsequent word you write.
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Are You Dating Your Fiction?
07/11/2010 Duration: 06minPleasing both our present and future readers can seem like an impossible task. But with a little bit of foresight and practicality, we can sidestep the most egregious pitfalls.
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Juxtaposition: The Power of the Unexpected in Fiction
31/10/2010 Duration: 05minOne of the easiest ways to add depth to a story is to introduce one of the most marvelous techniques known to writers: juxtaposition.
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Use Motion to Spice up Your Scenes
24/10/2010 Duration: 05minA character who's moving - even if he's just walking across the street - gives the reader the sense that the story is moving forward along with him.
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Love Your Characters - Or Else!
17/10/2010 Duration: 05minWhen we write from a character's POV, we must become that character - and that means that if we fail to love him, we will fail to understand him and, as a result, end up looking down our noses and sermonizing.
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Is Your Dialogue Pulling Its Weight?
10/10/2010 Duration: 07minIt's easy enough to make our characters talk to each other and even relatively easy enough to make what they say interesting to the reader. But if interesting is the only burden our dialogue is carrying, it's not doing its share.
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The Worst Writing Advice
03/10/2010 Duration: 05minSome of the worst advice ranges from downright discouragement to bits that perhaps are specific only to some of us.
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The Best Writing Advice
26/09/2010 Duration: 06minBecause writing is an art form that can largely be learned, and because it is a craft that can always be perfected, most writers learn early on to study to show themselves approved.
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Are You a Writer?
19/09/2010 Duration: 06minIt's much too easy for us - no matter where we are on the writing ladder - to feel that what we're writing isn't important enough to qualify us for a full-fledged Writer Card.