Book Editing

Most popular posts

Typewriter with some cameras around, how to write a logline for the collaborative medium

How to Write a Logline

A strong logline can determine whether anyone reads your screenplay. Learn how to craft a one-sentence pitch that highlights your...
paradox

Paradox in Writing: Revealing Truth Through Contradiction

“The way of paradoxes is the way of truth. To test reality we must see it on the tight-rope.”– Oscar...

creative writing

What is Creative Writing? How to Shape Ideas into Art

Creative writing invites writers to move beyond facts and formulas, using imagination and craft to shape ideas into compelling stories....

dramatic opening

How to Outline a Dramatic Opening

Structurally, a dramatic opening functions as a hook. Emotionally, it needs to do more than just attract attention. When an...

how to write a novel

How to Write a Novel: Step by Step

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” – W. Somerset Maugham There...

save the cat

“Save the Cat” Story Structure: A Screenwriter’s Practical Guide

One structure model designed specifically for screenwriters is Blake Snyder’s “Save the Cat!”  If you’ve been in one of my...

Conflating Characters
Blog
Alan Watt

Conflating Characters

Sometimes we’ve written characters that don’t belong in our story because their function is redundant. Conflict might arise that don’t add anything

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Own Your Work
Blog
Alan Watt

Own Your Work

Just because you might be a first-time novelist, it doesn’t mean you’re not the authority over your work. No agent, publisher, or

Read More »
The Rewrite
Blog
Alan Watt

Approaching the Rewrite

 The first draft is about diving into the unknown, invoking the muse, and writing from our right brains. The next step, the

Read More »

Recent posts

Getting Notes

Getting Notes – Ten Things to Consider

I got an email this morning from one of my students who just received a pile of notes on her...

Banishing Redundancies

Banishing Redundancies

Redundancy is not only a sign of lazy writing; it can also pull us out of the story by interrupting...

Conflating Characters

Conflating Characters

Sometimes we’ve written characters that don’t belong in our story because their function is redundant. Conflict might arise that don’t...

Own Your Work

Own Your Work

Just because you might be a first-time novelist, it doesn’t mean you’re not the authority over your work. No agent,...

The Rewrite

Approaching the Rewrite

 The first draft is about diving into the unknown, invoking the muse, and writing from our right brains. The next...