There's too many who want to be writers but don't want to write.

I suspect that many people today would find W. B. Yeat's line, "The fascination of what's difficult" simply meaningless.

Essentially, AI art is viewed as a wish-fulfillment. It isn't, of course, but the illusion is enough for a surprisingly large crowd. Its members are more to be pitied than condemned. They're like entrepreneurs who confuse the pursuit of money for satisfaction.

It's easy to fear genAI. However,the way many people reject it, there still seems a strong chance that AI art will be a passing fad or settle into a small niche market.

The trouble I have with the chosen one trope is that I suspect that, in reality, people who think they're the chosen one are usually sociopaths. #writing #fantasy

A strong poetic bend can help a novelist, so long as they don't write poetically for its own sake, and prioritize pacing. That's a heartbreaking lesson to accept, but tonight I finally did. I deleted 800 words of description, & will only use fragments. I'm in mourning. #writing

People who dismiss Stephen King miss several obvious points: a. Over 60+ novels, King's style has markedly improved. b. King has written successfully in a variety of genres. c. He has a strong sense of pacing. I doubt many of his detractors have read him. #writing

You can learn as much from a bad example as a good one.

A sign of my evolution as a writer: once, I value descriptions for their vividness. Today, I'll revise or delete them if they drag the pacing down. That's sensible. But it feels like a loss of innocence. #writing

Sob! My beautiful descriptions need to be deleted. They're too long and they drag the pace down.😭 #writing

Punctuation is the easiest way to make readers want to move on to the next chapter. End a chapter with a colon.😀 #writing

"AI Engineers" is a vainglorious exaggeration. Writing prompts does not rise to the level of any kind of engineering.

The point is to be selective about your use of adverbs. Not to never use them. Sometimes, they add the exact nuance you need. #writing

I'm always encouraged by an author's juvenalia. Reading The Watsons, it is hard to predict Pride and Prejudice or Emma. It's reassuring to know that even great authors have to learn.

One trait I will never understand is a lack of curiosity.

The Hunt for Gollum? No thanks. I know how that turns out. Unfortunately, Nobody is ever likely to get the rights to the stories of Beren and Luthien or The Children of Hurin. But perhaps that's just as well.

I have mixed feelings about Wuthering Heights. It has the passion that teenagers adore. Which is fun, even if you're older, but the psychological depth is missing.

The moment I find the perfect plot twist never gets old.

I never outline. Instead, I do a lot of free writing, throwing out ideas without judging them. I only choose between them as I write. #writing

Some writers work with a cat on their lap or a dog at their feet. I write with one or two parrots on my shoulder, who sit preening and wander off occasionally to raid their seed dishes.

Conventional thinking is the main obstacle to effective plotting. #writing

Some writers are desperate for beta readers. Any beta readers. But unless a beta reader combines a sympathy for your work wittingh a strong sense of honesty, their usefulness is limited. #writing

For me, there has always been a right time to discover writers. I was ready for the Romantic in my teens, Dickens in my early twenties, and Jane Austen just before thirty.

Speech therapy when I was five started a lifelong interest in words, both reading and writing, as well as songs with powerful lyrics.

Why type "The End"? If the end isn't obvious, something is very wrong. #writing

I find that the most efficient way for me to edit is to work on two chapters at a time: one mostly finished, to be fine-tuned by tinkering, and another still undergoing major development. This approach provides variety, & helps with continuity. #writing

There's a widespread belief that English speakers of the past were more literate than moderns. But this belief ignores the fact that time has edited out bad prose. It judges on the basis of literary magazines, not penny dreadfuls. As for personal letters, surely only the literate ones are ever saved

There's a widespread belief that English speakers of the past were more literate than moderns. But this belief ignores the fact that time has edited out bad prose. It judges on the basis of literary magazines, not penny dreadfuls. As for personal letters, surely only the literate ones are ever saved

The first thing I do in a second draft is to look for ways to streamline the plot. #writing

If you can't make each character in your fiction speak differently, the next most effective tactic is to make each line of dialogue as succinct as possible. Never mind that people rarely speak that way in real life. #writing

This evening, I unexpectedly got the first page of the next chapter. That should make me sleep well. #writing

I see a progression in the psychological novel from Austen to Dickens to Eliot and Hardy.

I wonder why I get into the rhythm and pace of my revisions most easily in the evening? #writing

I've always tried for chapters with 2500-4500 words. But a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. This draft, I'm considering a few shorter ones.

One of the hardest parts of writing fantasy has got to be writing dialogue that gives information without being an obvious info dump. An argument helps, and not making the explanations too long-winded. But progress is slow regardless. #writing

Sometimes, the best way for me to make progress on a scene is to start by roughing out the dialogue, with notes for possible actions. Since I know how each character talks, this tactic gives me the rhythm and pacing of the scene #writing

A guilty confession: I've never seen the point of mood boards. I can't escape the suspicion that they're an excuse not to write that create the illusion of progress.

Sometimes, I cannibalize passages I've already written for my immediate needs. So far, it's always worked out, but I wonder whether I'll sometimes regret such a decision #writing

The Silmarillion is like a fantasy bible. It's the collected stories of a particular people - the elves. There's a central theme, but often that's only a loose connection between the parts. Some parts are mostly self-contained, others feel out of place.

What a day! Yesterday, I added a chapter, roughed out another chapter, and had a third complimented (with minor corrections) by my critique partner. All that, and I still had time to shop online for a new laptop and watch A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Over the last six weeks, I've been experimenting with first person povs. I find that gives me a much stronger sense of character. #writing

Why is a synopsis hard to write? Probably because you haven't had much practice. #writing

If the end of a chapter should lead into the next, is it cheating to end a chapter with a colon?

Evenings have become my second writing shift. Often just notes, sometimes fragments.

Recent Things I've learned about writing: 1. Dramatize, dramatize, dramatize. 2. Outlining and pantsing aren't either-or. Both have their place. 3. Description don't need to be complete. Just give the details that matter.

The literary canon is a mixed blessing. OTOH, it weeds out trash. OTOH, it condemns some good writers, even whole genres, to obscurity.

I can't write well from outline. However free-writing before I start each draft does seem to work for me. I list possibilities, and decide between them as I write. Sometimes, I invent new possibilities as I write. #writing

It's with some amusement and some distress that I realize that my main character is starting to sound like he learned sarcasm from Phillip Marlowe. #writing

After I'm reasonably satisfied with a chapter, a period of 3-5 days follows when I add the odd sentence or paragraph. These last minute additions clarify and embellish. Many are the most effective parts of a chapter. I've learned to allow time for them to occur. #writing

The advantage of reading old books? Over time, the slop has been weeded out.