On today's Substack post, we've got an oldie but a goodie. Can the LAPD's greatest bumbling detective discover the identity of Kira from Death Note? It's Columbo VS Kira!

On today’s Substack, we’re discussing Checkhov’s Gun, what it means, and how understanding the nuances can help you become a better writer. Check it out here:

On today's Substack post, we're pitting humanity's finest versus the psychopathic little green men from the big red planet. It's XCOM VS MARS ATTACKS! Who will come out on top? Click here to find out:

Writing Tip: Explore your word program. Don't just accept your writing program as 'the place where I type things'. A lot of word programs have a lot of hidden tools and functionality that can optimize your writing experience with a little practice. But you DO have to practice with it. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: Your phone can be a great writing tool, but it can also be a major distraction. Sometimes the best thing you can do is turn the darn thing off. Or, if that's not an option, at least put it on silent or vibrate. Your choice. #WritingTips

You know, Substack has actually been a hell of a lot of fun to play around in. Being able to share long-form content without too much stress or hassle can actually be a hell of a good time. Still, sharing my writing scares the crap out of me every single time I post though.

Get hyped! My first fan-suggested matchup is going to be posted on Substack tomorrow! We’ll be pitting one of gaming’s most famous global paramilitary defenders against a fleet of hostile invaders from a dark satire cult classic. Can you guess who the contenders are? I’ll give you a hint: Ack Ack!

Writing Tip: Don't be afraid of that big-old submit button. Whether it's submitting a written piece of work to an online magazine or hitting send on an email to a potential agent, that big 'send' button can be one of the most intimidating things there is. But it's just a button. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: Allow yourself to fail. Allow yourself to write bad sentences without beating yourself up too much. Don't freeze up because you fear failure. Fail. Fail again. Then learn from them. Use those failures as armor. They will protect you from making those mistakes in the future. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: When asking for feedback from test readers, ask them to go into more detail. 'It's good' or 'it needs work' isn't very helpful. Come up with specific questions to ask them. Perhaps areas in the story you're concerned about, or a character you've been shaky on. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: Beware your elbows. Odd writing tip, I know, but make sure your elbows are comfortable and placed correctly when writing. There are a lot of important nerves in there and compressing it wrong during long writing periods can create hell in your arms. Trust me. It sucks. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: Improving your writing is going to be a long and difficult road. You won't write a masterpiece overnight. But that's okay! Stay determined and keep practicing. Improvement might be slow, but it is always constant. Every time you write, you improve just a little bit more! #WritingTips

Writing Tip: Crossword puzzles can be one of the best tools to increase your vocabulary. Not only will you learn of words you've never heard of before, the puzzle itself will train you to connect obscure words to their definition, making them more present in your head. Try it out! #WritingTips

“Dexter? Whoo boy, hell would be jealous of how many demons this guy has. And this town isn’t going to let him forget it.” Check out this latest Versus Substack post: Silent Hill VS Dexter. open.substack.com/pu...

Writing Tip: Return to the start. It can be helpful to re-read the opening of your story, even when you're tens of thousands of words ahead of it. You can see how your story has evolved, and might even come up with some tweaks that'll make your opening even better than it was before. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: Endlessly pushing yourself to get words on a page until you're too tired to write isn't going to do you any good. You might get more words down right now, but you're burning yourself out in the long term. Take regular breaks, and know when to call it for the day. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: Deciding to take a break is not the same as giving up. A lot of folks can feel that way, especially during an epic writing flow session. Taking a break when you're getting tired is a sign of wisdom, not weakness, because you are aware of your limits and work within them. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: Find a place to write just for fun. Could be online, like Substack or whatever, or it could just be a folder of short stories on your desktop. Regardless of who sees it, this should be a place where you can let loose and just enjoy writing without expectations. #WritingTip

Writing Tip: Determination is the watchword of a writer. That is the one element that separates a successful writer from one that isn't. Keep going. Keep submitting. Keep your morale up. You only fail if you stop trying. So stay determined! You got this! #WritingTip

Writing Tip: Ideas are just the first step in writing. Anyone can have an idea. The art of writing is learning the written word and all of it's intricacies so that you can convey that idea as closely as you can to how it was in your head. That takes time and practice. #WritingTip

Writing Tip: Keeping positive about your writing is HARD. Because you're pouring so much willpower into making the thing that you can often forget to keep some of that willpower to keep your spirits up. Make sure you leave some energy for yourself. Self-care. #WritingTip

On today's Substack, we're tossing earth's greatest assassin into a galaxy far, far away. It's Hitman VS Darth Vader! Check it out here! claysheldon.substack...

Writing Tip: If you want to improve your craft, I recommend that you don't use AI. It's a shortcut that stunts growth. Faster? Sure. But you won't improve by having someone else do your homework. And there is satisfaction in the effort of creating something yourself. #WritingTip

Writing Tip: As an exercise, time yourself while writing. Set a 30 minute timer and write. When it goes off, pause. Look over what you've written. Compare that work to written content you made without the timer. Were you faster? Slower? More efficient? Sloppier? Learn about yourself. #WritingTip

Writing Tip: Don't assume failure when you submit something. Sure, you'll likely have to apply a LOT to get an acceptance email, but you should try and treat every query or submission like it could be THE ONE. Don't skimp on your applications even if most of them will be rejected. #WritingTip

Writing Tip: There's no shame in advertising yourself or your work. Writers can often be introverts by nature, but that can be a serious speed bump when it comes to actually getting your work noticed. It's helpful to ease yourself into that world as comfortably as you can. #WritingTips

Ever wondered which fictional characters would win in a fight? Like Batman vs Superman or Light Yagami VS Columbo? Is there a matchup you've always wanted to see? Comment here if you want to see it! If it sounds fun, I might just write a researched Substack about it! Give it a try! #Writing

Writing Tip: This is your regularly scheduled reminder to back up your work. Have you saved your work in a separate location lately? Do you have a plan in case your current draft gets deleted in a freak coffee-spilling accident? Be like Batman. Have a plan. You'll thank yourself later. #WritingTips

XCOM (from the game Enemy Unknown) is a fictional anti-alien organization that defends earth against potential alien invasions. What fictional alien invasion force would you like to see go up against XCOM? If it's really cool, I might just write a Substack article about it! Give it a shot! #Writing

Writing Tip: Your first draft doesn't have to be perfect. Your second draft doesn't have to be perfect either. Or your final draft. It should be high quality if possible, but perfection shouldn't be what you're shooting for. That's too much to put on yourself. Just have fun with it. #WritingTips

I like to write Substack articles about writing tips and tropes and I'm opening the floodgates for suggestions. What is the one trope in writing that you find the most interesting? If it's really cool, I might just write a Substack article about it. Give it a try! #Writing

Writing Tip: Pushing yourself might seem like a good idea in the moment, but pushing too far leads to burnout. Sure, you could burn the midnight oil and write throughout the night, doubling your wordcount, but you might just burn out and stop writing. It's more efficient to take a nap. #WritingTips

Quick question for all you horror experts out there: What character would be interesting to drop into the foggy town of Silent Hill? Tell me your most interesting take. If it's really cool, I might just write a Substack article about it! Will they survive? Or will the town get them first? #Writing

Would the Scooby gang survive a trip to Silent Hill? Only one way to find out! Give this Substack a read!

On today's substack post, we're pitting some of fiction's most dangerous bald men against each other as the ICA gets a contract to take out the dark lord himself. Who would win? Come check it out!

Writing Tip: Know what you want to get out of this. What is your goal? Money and fame? Totally viable. Want to make a statement? Go nuts! Just know what that goal is. Remember it. Remind yourself of it. That's your motivation. That's what keeps you going in the tough times. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: Your writing doesn't need to be loved by everyone. Don't try and make it that way. The most important person who should enjoy your work is you. If you love what you have created, then others will enjoy your work too. Passion. It's important. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: The path to mastery is paved with horrible mistakes. Do not brush your mistakes under the rug. They are lessons to learn from. Your writing will be better due to the errors you made in the past. Be proud of the path you walked to get here, even if you stumbled. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: You're going to write dialogue that's terrible. It's inevitable. That's not a sign that you suck. Even the best writers put down a lame line or two. The trick is to revisit your dialogue later, reading it in the voice of your characters, and identifying what doesn't work. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: There is no shame in taking a break. Your brain might admonish you, tell you that you should push on. But check your fatigue level before you listen to it. We can all push ourselves too hard. And while taking too many breaks is bad too, taking no breaks at all is worse. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: There is freedom in scrapping a scene and starting over. It sucks, for sure, but sometimes you need a clean slate on a scene to get exactly the result you need. It's not some kind of admission that you failed, it's realizing you might want a second go at it (or more). #WritingTips

Writing Tip: Learn social media. Even if you're an anti-social type of person (and lets be honest, a lot of writers are) learning the ins-and-outs of social media is important to a career in this field. You don't have to be a master at it, but you should know enough to get by at least. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: Stuck? Stop banging your head against the wall. Try something different. Anything. Shake yourself loose from the routine. Go back and work on something else in the story. Give it time. Let your brain reset. Obsessing over and over won't help. But something different might. #WritingTips

On today's Substack post, we discuss the idiot ball trope, and why you should punt it into the sun. And if you're feeling generous, consider subscribing!

Writing Tip: Sometimes you need to go backwards to go forwards. Sometimes you need to go back and re-read what you've written before you can start that next scene. It's like getting a running start. Not everyone can leap into a new scene from nothing. Give it a try. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: Give yourself the time you need to get better. You're not going to improve overnight. It might take years of writing before you see a marked improvement. It might take days. Everyone improves at a different pace. But you are improving, bit by bit. Be patient and have faith. #WritingTips

Today on substack, we're pitting the world's greatest detective against the world's greatest assassin. Who will prevail when the ICA takes out a contract on drunken billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne? Check it out here! (And don't forget to subscribe if you want to see more!)

Writing Tip: Have a writing deadline you're desperate to hit? Don't panic. Don't rush. That'll just create subpar work. Keep your cool and keep focused. Less panic means you'll be a bit slower, true, but the quality will increase. It's actually more efficient in the long run. #writingtips

Writing Tip: Consistency is the mother of good writing. A writer that manages 100 words a day is better than a writer that pumps out 10k words in a single sitting, burns out, and doesn't touch their project for a year. Slow and steady wins the race. Take your time and build up to it. #WritingTips

Writing Tip: As an exercise, imagine the characters are standing in an open field and they witness a shooting star. What would they wish for in that moment? Try this for all your characters. Does the wish change throughout the course of your story? If so ask yourself why. What changed? #WritingTips