Hmm…

Category: On Writing

  • Luck of the First-Time Novelist

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    by

    harmamae
    in ,

    Conventional wisdom in the writing world says that it takes at least three published novels to establish your name in the public eye. Don’t even think about quitting your day-job until then. But then, while leisurely reading the morning newspaper, I come across the name of Shilpi Somaya Gowda, whose first novel sold 300,000 copies…

  • Death of the Em Dash?

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    by

    harmamae
    in

    Or, Why I Will Never Give Up This Bad Habit Never, never, never, I will not give up the em dash—even though I probably overuse it. Em dashes are not hyphens. They are not used to connect two words, but rather to connect two different thoughts, and they are longer than hyphens. I used one…

  • Fantasy Clichés–Avoided!

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    harmamae
    in ,

    OR, Not Another Prophecy About ‘The One!’ I just ran across this list of tired, overdone clichés in fantasy novels, and decided to post it up here. Since, after all, I didn’t get a proper post out on Thursday… I was SO surprised to see the fantasy I’ve started posting on this blog doesn’t fall into too…

  • Lights, Camera – Wait, Where’s the Script?

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    harmamae
    in

    Three Challenges when Screenwriting:   Writers like to experiment. Sometime we try new points of view (this post points out a new trend). Sometimes we try a new genre (see Soldiering Through the Writing World’s post on this). And sometimes we try something completely different – like writing a script for an online video.    That’s…

  • Copyright Woes and Weirdness

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    harmamae
    in ,

    If you write both fanfiction and original stories, you know there’s a tension between the two – as a fanfic author you want the freedom to use other people’s characters, but as an author you kind of hate the thought that someone out there could take your precious creations and do creepy things with them……

  • Same Old Story

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    harmamae
    in

    OR, Are Original Plots Over-rated? I love Bollywood movies. I’ve only watched one, but they tell me there’s all the same (Apparently these movies tell the same stories over and over – a highly cynical view, I think). But I loved the one I watched – the emotional, over-the-top, tug-at-your-heartstrings cheesiness of it all. Which…

  • Ghosts of Stories Past

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    harmamae
    in

    This should’ve gone up yesterday. I blame ten-page History papers that are due today for my forgetfulness. Ever have it that everything about a season reminds you of the story you spent all your time writing last year? It’s an odd feeling, kind of like déjà vu, that creeps over me on a regular basis.…

  • Frustration

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    harmamae
    in ,

    Frustration is… … having a zillion writing ideas in your head, but not having time to actually write them. Because you have to write a boring, derivative history paper instead. Or study for statistics. I came across the concept of dead fanfiction today – basically it’s fanfiction that never gets updated because of other life…

  • Fanfiction: For Geeks Only?

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    by

    harmamae
    in ,

    Or, What I Learned From Writing Fanfiction   So, now that I’m looking back over my looooooooong career as a fanfiction author (just kidding) and wondering whether it was a useless exercise. After all, when I look back at some of the drivel I posted on fanfiction.net, I cringe. And it’s not like I could ever…

  • In It For the Long Haul (or, Facing Writer’s Block)

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    by

    harmamae
    in ,

    “Nothing stinks like a pile of unpublished writing,” is a quote I saw online once (apparently Sylvia Plath said it). If so, then my room must reek. I’ve got shelves and shelves of the stuff, and very little published writing. On top of that, most of what’s on my shelves is unpublishable – not only…