 Faith Hunter
read all posts by Faith HunterOn Monday, our own Mindy Klasky started a series on how she writes a synopsis, which I am dying to read because … uh … I have no idea how I do it. I mean, I do it, I write them, but I don’t know if I do it right. I know I must have my own way of constructing a synopsis because I have never read anyone else’s synopsis. Synopses. (shrugs) I’ve learned a lot from the other writers here at MagicalWords.net, and I am looking forward to her process.
Through MW, I have discovered one major way in which Mindy and David (and probably everyone else for that matter) do character research and planning in the pre-writing phase. They have their characters histories fully fleshed out, sometimes down to their childhood sports injuries, their pets’ names, the schools they went to (the characters, not the pets) and [...]
Continue reading Character Preparation … Stuff I Don’t Do
James R. Tuck
read all posts by James R. TuckHey hey everybody, nice to see you, glad you could come out. Drinks are in the back,be sure to tip your waitress, she works hard for the money.
I’m James R. Tuck, author of the Deacon Chalk series from Kensington, and I’m the new guy.
I’ve been here before. Faith has been ever so kind to me and allowed me to guest post here when my series launched. I’ve lurked the comments and the posts also because this place rocks. But now, NOW, they’ve given me a key and let me hang my hat.
Muwah ha ha.
Today I’m going to talk to you about story ideas. Not where you get them, if you’re a writer then you have ideas falling out of your pockets when you sit down, but where you get good ideas. You know the ideas, the ones that make you smack yourself for not thinking of [...]
Continue reading THE TWIST (new spins on old stories)
Faith Hunter
read all posts by Faith HunterI wrote something today that made me happy. Happier than I have been a long, long time. Happy enough that I found the delight in the craft that I’ve been missing. Happy enough that I am ready to get up tomorrow and write some more. And just because I am so happy with it, I want to share it with you just way it came off my fingertips. It’s missing some words, it’s got some repetition I’ll fix later, because this is the rough stuff. Writing it made me happy.
The house Bobby had picked out was freshly painted, white with purple gingerbread trim, one of many that had been recently restored. It had a new cement block foundation, making it sit high off the ground, a four room square house on a tiny lot with a picket fence. And not a hint of magics about the place. Until I [...]
Continue reading Death’s Rival — Happy Writing
Faith Hunter
read all posts by Faith HunterI am finally finishing up the Top Ten (Eleven) things one should know about one’s own book. It has been fun trying to see my own work in different and fresh ways, and I gotta tell you this. If it were not for MagicalWords, I honestly think I’d have fallen into the trap of writing to formula – all unconsciously, all innocently, but totally out of unconscious and innocent laziness. I see it in other writers’ work often. Something goes well once or twice and so they do that same thing again and again and again. Until they fail and then they have no idea why they failed, because hey, they didn’t change anything, right!?! So … it must be the market. Yeah. The market. And sometimes it is the market. But sometimes it’s us – the writers – who failed.
Because of MW I am forced to look at [...]
Continue reading Top Ten (Okay Eleven) Things You Should Know About Your Own Book, Part LAST!
 DavidBCoe
read all posts by DavidBCoeI’m home after a terrific weekend at ConCarolinas. It was wonderful as always to see Faith, Misty, Kalayna, and A.J., as well as our wonderful friends and former regular MW contributors, Edmund Schubert and Stuart Jaffe. It was also great to see so many of our devoted readers and commenters — the party Saturday night that was hosted by Mud and Laura was a highlight of the weekend. Many thanks!!
Today’s post kicks off what I expect will be two full months of Thieftaker promotion. We are now less than one month away from the July 3rd release date, and I am excited, nervous and everything in between.
Let me say right now that I know many of you are probably sick to death of hearing and reading about this book. I can hardly blame you. To be honest, I’m sick of it, too. I wish the book was out [...]
Continue reading THIEFTAKER Promo Kickoff and a Contest Giveaway!
Faith Hunter
read all posts by Faith HunterPicking up from four weeks ago, I have a new post on the top things you should know about your own book. It is simple stuff, but if your WIP is missing that vital something, that special element that sets it apart from other unpublished books on the market (or hopefully someday on the bookstore shelves) perhaps you’ll spot it here. The better we know our books, the more likely they will interest an agent or editor, and the better they will interest the reading public. Knowing our books better can make us more confident writers, and take us to the next level in our writing. And if we discover that we can’t answer a question or two, that is an area of weakness that we can address now, before an agent sees our baby.
09. Where does your story begin?
Most wannabee writers forget that the story begins the [...]
Continue reading Top Ten (Okay Eleven) Things You Should Know About Your Own Book, Part Two
Faith Hunter
read all posts by Faith HunterFaith here, with a wonderful guest. I met James—and his first book—last year, and fell in love with his character and his story concept, so much so, that I agreed to give him a blurb. Check out BLOOD AND BULLETS (Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter book one) Kicking monster ass EVERYWHERE by Kensington. Chatting with James online, I heard his story, and it was so different from what we tell our wannabee-published writers here, that I started planning when we could do a MagicalWords post together. Do NOT stop reading before you get to Q and A number 3. Just sayin’.
Since then, we tried to find time to get together at Cons, but our schedules kept getting in the way. This year will be different, and we have definite diner plans (yes, the hubby knows I go on *dates* with fascinating and gorgeous men) so I can hear the [...]
Continue reading James R. Tuck
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How To Write Magical Words
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