LAURENCE MACNAUGHTON

Tag: http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post

  • The Surprising Secret to Snappy Scenes

    Got a scene in your novel where a group of characters argue and discuss, but no matter how important the subject is, somehow the tension falls flat? You can fix this scene, and I’ll tell you the trick right up front: get rid of some of your characters. Why? 

  • How to Keep Readers Turning Pages: 3 Things You Must Do

    Q: I’ve got a basic plot planned out for my novel, but I’m worried about being repetitive, because the story is about doing the same thing several times (the main character has a list of people he needs to “off”). Do you know of any way to pull off a plot like that without boring…

  • The Best Writing Tool You’re Not Using

    Writing a novel on a typewriter? Hard. Finishing your novel by any means possible? Smart! Are you stuck in the middle of your novel? Do you keep going back to “fix” things in your story? Believe it or not, you might need a typewriter. 

  • Win NaNoWriMo in 10 Minutes

    Believe it or not, how you spend the next ten minutes of your writing time might determine whether you win or lose National Novel Writing Month.  I’m not kidding. There’s one single thing that you absolutely must do if want your novel to have any chance of seeing it through to “The End.”  And you…

  • Beat Writer’s Block in 6 Simple Steps

    Q:  I’m about five chapters into writing my first novel and I’ve reached a total impasse.  I flat-out don’t know where to go from here.  Everything started out so well, I had lots of story ideas and the pages were coming fast.  But now I’m stuck, and I don’t know what to do.  Should I…

  • The One Thing You Must Do to Get Published

    As a writing coach, it’s my job to help people get a little perspective on their story problems.  Recently, a client asked me to help him out with his first novel.  He’d gotten halfway through and stalled out.  I put together a laundry list of ways to fix his various story problems — and then…

  • How To Make A Disastrous Booksigning Event A Success by J.A. Konrath

    Author J.A. Konrath I happened across this writing article by J.A. Konrath recently at  Backspace, The Writer’s Place.  I remember reading it years ago, probably in Writer’s Digest somewhere.  Joe really knows his stuff when it comes to literary agents, publishers and how to write a book.  So check this out; it’s a great piece…

  • Feel the Invisible Robot Love

    These days, most of our precious writing usually ends up online, where it is relentlessly scrutinized by robots.  Not the sparky “Danger, Will Robinson, danger!” kind of robots, but invisible little computer gremlins that furrow through the internet, looking for text to gnaw on.  That way, if you go to Google and search for —…

  • Leverage: The Quickstart Job

    True to all things geekish, I give you my review of Margaret Weis Productions‘ newest role-playing game, based on the Leverage TV show.  In a nutshell: This is a fun little trial-sized game with a slick, big-budget wrapping over a savory indie center. You need not be a fan of the TV show to appreciate…

  • Depeche Mode, Pizza and the Nebula Awards

    Believe me, this has absolutely everything to do with science fiction, bestselling authors and the Nebula Awards, since all of these things undoubtedly have one thing that links them: pizza. Come on, you can’t tell me you’ve never eaten a pizza while watching Star Trek or between events at your last convention.  Right?  And I…