New column: "Awesome Combo! The 10 Keys to Writing Killer Fight Scenes"

In my new column for Writer Unboxed, I unveil everything you need to know to write fantastic fight scenes.

"To write a proper fight scene, you need to be in a fightin’ frame of mind. Queue up Guile’s Theme from Street Fighter II to set the mood. (Side note: I’m listening to Guile’s Theme as I write this column. It’s the soundtrack to everything I write. Sonic boom!)

Research

Those three months of karate you took after school in fifth grade are finally about to pay off! Learning a martial art is the culmination of years of practice, discipline, and hard work. If you had that kind of work ethic, you’d have already finished writing this book by now."

Read the whole thing here.

Your NaNoWriMo Road Map: My New Column

Check out "Your NaNoWriMo Road Map," a day-by-day guide to finishing your novel for National Novel Writing Month. Read up on some gems like these:

Day 3: The words are coming more slowly now, which is to be expected. Give yourself permission to write poorly in the name of getting words on the page. When you read it later, you just might surprise yourself with how your protagonist exhibits the mannerisms of your cat. Word count: 1,100.

Day 10: Coffee and soda and candy and cookies and whee! Word count: 3,200

Day 11: Beer and whiskey and potato chips and cigarettes and uuunnnggghhh.Nineteen words.

Day 14: Your blood is now twenty percent espresso. The pizza guy visits your house more frequently than the mailman. You’re sleeping five hours a night. These measures feel extreme, but the extra free time will seriously boost your output, right? Word count: 800 words.

Read the whole thing at Writer Unboxed.

Your NaNoWriMo Road Map

New column: "The Aspiring Writer's Dictionary"

Confused by the amount of jargon in the publishing industry? My new Hacks for Hacks column defines all the terms you need to know:

Self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) (n.): antiquated method of delivering bad news.

Self-publishing (n.): the greatest revolution in publishing since Gutenberg, overexposure to which can lead to derision from gatekeepers, intolerable smugness, and interminable arguments using talking points laden with dinosaur metaphors.

Serial (n.): a long story released in short, regular installments until the author thinks up a serviceable ending or the sales dry up, whichever occurs later.

“Show, don’t tell” (exp.): the writerly equivalent of “Have a good one.” An easy thing to say in your writers group when you haven’t read the story, it has been repeated so often and in so many contexts that no one remembers its original meaning.

You can read the whole thing over at Writer Unboxed.

The Aspiring Writer's Dic

"Most of the Stuff You Need to Know to Edit Your Manuscript" -- My new column at Writer Unboxed

Photo credit: rosmary on Flickr

Check out my latest Hacks for Hacks column at Writer Unboxed, "Most of the Stuff You Need to Know to Edit Your Manuscript," which is pretty much what it sounds like. You'll find helpful hints like these:

• "Trim the fat. Nobody wants to read a flabby manuscript. Take out unnecessary words, as well as all references to fried foods and soda.

• Murder your darlings. One of the most useful bits of writing advice, it’s a figure of speech that means that in your novel, you must kill a beloved pet, love interest, or small child. It’s hard, but I didn’t make the rules.

• While you’re at it, let some of your minor characters know you might bump off a few of them, too, if they don’t start adding more to the story. Do this out loud."

If you like it, you can read all my columns here. 

"Most of the Stuff You Need to Know to Edit Your Manuscript

New column at Writer Unboxed: "Get Over Rejection in 6 Easy Steps"

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My new column is up at Writer Unboxed, and it deals with the always timely topic of rejection. And by timely, I mean writers get a lot of rejection slips. Here's an excerpt. 

Be proactive for next time. For future submissions, remember the SASE itself is an extra chance at making a sale. Imagine a sinister editor cackling and twirling his mustache as he stuffs a Xeroxed, quarter-page, form rejection slip into your envelope. But what’s this? Waiting for him inside the envelope is a SECRET ALTERNATE ENDING that replaces your dramatic courtroom scene with a rootin’-tootin’ cowboy shoot-em-up. Only someone with your talent and skill could come up with not one, but TWO endings he doesn’t like.

Read the whole thing here.

Get Over Rejection in 6 Easy Steps

New column is up at Writer Unboxed: "You Need to Make These New Year’s Writing Resolutions"

photo by gigi_nyc

Have a look-see at my new column at Writer Unboxed: You Need to Make These New Year’s Writing Resolutions.

Celebrate National Novel Writing Month every month! Remember, remember, the month of November, when you wrote and you wrote till you dropped? If you can write a novel in a month once, there’s no scientific reason you can’t maintain that pace all year long. By the end of the year you’ll have like three entire detective series, or half of an epic fantasy series. I mean, what have you been doing December through October, eating bonbons? Get to work! (Note: This article is published on January 18, so you’re already behind).

Click the link to read the whole damn thing.

You Need to Make These New Year’s Writing Resolutions

I'll be paneling at Illogicon January 10-12

I'll be at Illogicon this weekend in Durham, NC. Come on down to the Embassy Suites Raleigh-Durham and hear me say something dumb. I'll be in some pretty interesting sessions with a bunch of smart people:

Friday, January 10

• 4 pm: The Fortunes of Small Press
• 9 pm: Lies with Words

Saturday, January 11

• 12 pm: Social Scientists' Science Fiction

Sunday, January 12

• 10 am: Advice for Fiction Writers
• 12 pm: Reading
• 1 pm: Fuck the Universal Translator!
• 4 pm: The Superhero Next Door
• 5 pm: New Trends in Speculative Fiction

Illogicon 

My new column at Writer Unboxed: "The Mostly Complete Guide to Getting Your NaNoWriMo Novel Published"

You’re halfway through National Novel Writing Month, which means you’re 35 percent finished with your novel. What better time than now to start thinking about getting it published? I’ve got all the tips you need right here in my new Hacks for Hacks column at Writer Unboxed.

You may have heard a few editors and literary agents complain about the volume of NaNoWriMo submissions–they’d like you to think they dread December the way peasants living in the shadow of Dracula’s castle fear sunset. These agents aren’t talking to YOU, my special little snowflake. Those OTHER manuscripts have two things in common: They’re junk, and they’re not YOUR manuscript. Like the dairy-fresh chocolate-chip-cookie-dough ice cream hiding behind the fourteen tubs of freezer-burned vanilla in my icebox, your brilliance will never stand out more than when it’s submitted next to these wannabes. 

The Mostly Complete Guide to Getting Your NaNoWriMo Novel Published via Writer Unboxed

"Start Your Author Blog in Five Easy Steps," my new column at Writer Unboxed

Photo credit: Beth77 on Flickr.

You'll sell millions of books if you read Start Your Author Blog in Five Easy Steps, my newest Hacks for Hacks column at Writer Unboxed. Since I know all there is to know about blogging, you'll get great advice like this:

Once you’ve written a few starter posts, it’s time to go out and meet your fellow bloggers. Blogging is like a never-ending online writing conference that focuses on the panel discussions and business cards, without all the pesky bar crawls, romantic entanglements, and face-to-face meetings with your literary idols that get in the way. Start your online networking session like this:

1. Simply find an interesting blog article about a book that you loved.

2. Carefully read the article to pick up as much wisdom as you can.

3. Go to the comments section and write, “THRILLING ADVENTURE, MY NOVEL “CHUPACABRA-CADABRA” FREE ON AMAZON! 14 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS!!!”

4. Go to Amazon and watch your sales rank skyrocket.

And that’s pretty much how networking works.

Start Your Author Blog in Five Easy Steps via Writer Unboxed