A friend recently recommended I read a particular book by a successful author. The back of the book contained blurbs by other authors I recognized. I dove in and found the writing good. Comfortable story telling ability. Good use of language. First...
Topics: context, motivation, Plot Mistakes, suspense, tension, Writing Mistakes

{"title":"Writing Mistake #13: Lacking Motivation","post_url":"http:\/\/gregbecerra-writing.blogspot.com\/2009\/12\/writing-mistake-13-lacking-motivation.html","feed_url":"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/GregBecerraWriting","author":"GregBecerra","date":"2009-12-18 09:23:59","summary":"A friend recently recommended I read a particular book by a successful author. The back of the book contained blurbs by other authors I recognized. I dove in and found the writing good. Comfortable story telling ability. Good use of language. First..."}

Writing front to back might be called the Jack Kerouac or D.H. Lawrence style of writing. Of Kerouac, Truman Capote once remarked that this wasn't writing, it was typing. You probably know the names Kerouac and Lawrence, so that says something there..
Topics: Jack Kerouac, plot, Truman Capote, Writing Mistakes

{"title":"Writing Mistake #12: Writing Front to Back","post_url":"http:\/\/gregbecerra-writing.blogspot.com\/2009\/11\/writing-mistake-12-writing-front-to.html","feed_url":"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/GregBecerraWriting","author":"GregBecerra","date":"2009-11-02 11:49:00","summary":"Writing front to back might be called the Jack Kerouac or D.H. Lawrence style of writing. Of Kerouac, Truman Capote once remarked that this wasn't writing, it was typing. You probably know the names Kerouac and Lawrence, so that says something there.."}

Almost 20 years ago I encountered the following in a college literature course: A woman is sitting in her old, shuttered house. She knows that she is alone in the whole world; every other thing is dead.      The doorbell rings. .
Topics: How to Write, plot, poetry, prose, short story

{"title":"How to Write #3: Your First Lie or the Basic Story","post_url":"http:\/\/gregbecerra-writing.blogspot.com\/2009\/10\/how-to-write-3-your-first-lie-or-basic.html","feed_url":"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/GregBecerraWriting","author":"GregBecerra","date":"2009-10-13 20:07:26","summary":"Almost 20 years ago I encountered the following in a college literature course: A woman is sitting in her old, shuttered house. She knows that she is alone in the whole world; every other thing is dead. "}

On a recent episode of Californication (season 3, episode 2, "The Land of Rape and Honey"), Hank Moody (David Duchovny) tells one of his writing students: "Your story was bad. It was terrible, in fact. It's like that lame Twilight...
Topics: Californication, criticism, Twilight, Writing Mistakes

{"title":"Writing Mistake #11: Can't Take Criticism","post_url":"http:\/\/gregbecerra-writing.blogspot.com\/2009\/10\/writing-mistake-11-cant-take-criticism.html","feed_url":"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/GregBecerraWriting","author":"GregBecerra","date":"2009-10-06 11:49:08","summary":"On a recent episode of Californication (season 3, episode 2, \"The Land of Rape and Honey\"), Hank Moody (David Duchovny) tells one of his writing students: \"Your story was bad. It was terrible, in fact. It's like that lame Twilight..."}

We're going to write a story, but we are surprised when we look at the paper and there is nothing on it. That won't do. We need something there. There is some dust, but it isn't doing anything. We can add a character, but it will be as...
Topics: Aristotle, beginnings, context, CTR structures, ends, How to Write, middles, plot, resolution, synopsis, tension

{"title":"How to Write #2: Starting with Plot and Types of Tension","post_url":"http:\/\/gregbecerra-writing.blogspot.com\/2009\/08\/how-to-write-2-starting-with-plot-story.html","feed_url":"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/GregBecerraWriting","author":"GregBecerra","date":"2009-08-15 22:41:56","summary":"We're going to write a story, but we are surprised when we look at the paper and there is nothing on it. That won't do. We need something there. There is some dust, but it isn't doing anything. We can add a character, but it will be as..."}