writing advice – John Lowell, author

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World Building from the First Word

Posted on July 31, 2019July 31, 2019 by John Lowell

I’m going to be giving a talk on world-building! A free Shop Talk, sponsored by Coffee House Writer’s Group.

Friday, Aug 9, 6 PM to 8 PM,
Cafe con Libros
280 Second St.
Pomona, CA 91766

Ahem:

All the best books have worlds we can fall into, settings that put us right in the there with the characters. Setting influences everything that happens, everything the characters do, and it helps the reader experience their journey. But how we do we create a captivating world? How do we build the believability and majesty into our works in a way that makes it come alive?

The simplest answer is word by word, but we’ll cover it in greater detail.

Building a world for your story is crucial, and this workshop will help you hone your skills. We’ll cover:

•The prep-work of knowing your world
•How to present your world in a way that avoids information dumps
•Using the five senses plus motion and space
•Understanding, embracing, and respecting cultural boundaries
•The different requirements for world building in science fiction, fantasy, mystery, suspense, etc.

writing advice

Emily’s Rules for Editing

Posted on April 1, 2019 by John Lowell

I just wrapped up the submission and editing process of a new anthology, which I’ll post about soon.

The editor of the anthology, E.D.E. Bell, wrote a piece for Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America on working with editors.

Rule #1: Consider all edits with an open mind

Rule #2: Only make changes you like

writing advice

How to Write

Posted on March 19, 2019 by John Lowell

With apologies to Douglas Adams:

There is an art, or rather, a knack to writing. The knack lies in learning how to bang your head against the wall and miss.

writing advice

3 Tricks to Build Suspense and Engage Your Readers

Posted on November 16, 2016November 16, 2016 by John Lowell

Giving out a link today that helped me solve a problem. It’s an article by Jeff Elkins at The Write Practice.

Three Tricks to Build Suspense and Engage Your Readers:

A Race Against the Clock
Hint at Solutions
Connect the Unconnected

Today, this article helped me figure how to get out of a corner I’d written myself into. In my case, I went with all three: I added lawyer with a court order, so the detective only has X amount of time to examine to clue before it’s taken away (those clues will hint at solutions and connect the unconnected).

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On Cutting

Posted on November 2, 2016 by John Lowell

Emma Darwin has some great advice on what to do with stories that are too long, at her blog This Itch of Writing. Hers is another fantastic place to go if you want to learn the craft and you’ve got an afternoon or a weekend to burn.

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38 Tips for NaNoWriMo

Posted on October 27, 2016 by John Lowell

Reedsy’s blog has an excellent post on accumulated NaNoWriMo tips. If you haven’t heard of NaNoWriMo, November is National Novel Writing Month, where you challenge yourself to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. Quite the challenge.

Here’s 38 Tips for Kicking NaNoWriMo in the Butt This Year.

writing advice

When it Gets Dark

Posted on October 21, 2016 by John Lowell

I have a few pieces I go to when I feel the weight of writing getting to me. It’s a tough job, to put to paper these dreams and visions, and to show them to a world that’s way too full of dreams and visions. They have so many to choose from that yours need to shine like the sun.

One is Melinda Mae, by Shel Silverstein.

Have you heard of tiny Melinda Mae,
Who ate a monstrous whale?

That’s what writing feels like sometimes. The secret is small bites, lots of chewing, and persistence.

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2 comments

Head Hopping

Posted on October 20, 2016 by John Lowell

Jami Gold, paranormal and urban fantasy author, has a great post about Head Hopping, and why it is bad. Give it a read.

If the POV is unclear or changes too frequently, the reader doesn’t form as strong of a connection to the characters.

Jami has an amazing author blog, with over 600 posts on the writing craft. Check it out when you have an afternoon to burn.

writing advice

Elmore Leonard’s Ten Rules on Writing

Posted on October 17, 2016October 17, 2016 by John Lowell

Stolen from Elmore Leonard’s website directly:

Never open a book with weather.
Avoid prologues.
Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue.
Never use an adverb to modify the verb “said” . . . he admonished gravely.
Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.
Never use the words “suddenly” or “all hell broke loose.”
Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
Don’t go into great detail describing places and things.
Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

“My most important rule is one that sums up the ten. If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.”

writing advice

Podcast: How to Critique

Posted on October 13, 2016October 13, 2016 by John Lowell

I sat down with J Bryan Jones to join his Coffee House Writer’s Group Podcast to discuss how to critique in a critique group.

It was a fantastic experience. J’s amazing and we ended up chatting for another hour afterwards on fantasy and science fiction, which could have filled another podcast easily.

(We had to stop recording for a moment because I couldn’t get Ernest Hemingway’s name to escape my brain. Super embarrassing for a writer type person. See if you can spot the cut.)

Mentioned in the Podcast:

Becky Levine’s The Writing & Crique Group Survival Guide: How to Give and Receive Feedback, Self-Edit, and Make Revisions
Noah Lukeman’s The First Five Pages
Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat