Tag Archives: Writer

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

July 7, 2021

Posted under

Writing

Comments

2 Comments

How To Scare Someone In Four Steps

I’ve written a zonking amount of horror short stories on this site. And, though I’m by no means an extreme expert on the subject, I have worked out four steps I find most horror stories fall into and obey. You could call it the “Horror Story Structure.” It’s a rough, overarching template that allows a framework when constructing scares.

Now, this is better applied to short stories. The nature of horror in long-form, the stretched version, must allow an ebb and a flow to the proceedings. If not, you risk simply burning away the reader in a fury of violent imagery. But, if applied sensibly, and dolloped over a more character-focused progression, this can work for anything horror-related you would care to make.

So, here we go. Four steps in sequence. I call it the “EITT” method. Use it and terrify. Continue reading →

Advertisement
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 10, 2018

Posted under

Life, Writing

Comments

Leave a comment

Leaning Into The Sterotypes

I am a writer, and with that title comes all these stereotypes about the way I might dress or act. And, while some of these are accurate, some are harmful or untrue. Writers are stereotypically alcoholics, for instance, and that does not apply to me—I barely touch the stuff.

But, then, we get to the other stereotypes, the more neutral ones. The stuff that’s not harmful, and more just a product of popular culture, and, it is here, with these, that I have an interesting relationship. Because, I don’t wear tweed or carry around a paper notebook (I have a phone, after all), and I don’t constantly wear a knapsack or a fedora. But, unlike the bad stereotypes, some of these generalities I feel tempted to adopt, even if they are clichés. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

May 17, 2017

Posted under

Writing

Comments

Leave a comment

Bad Writer Habits

I meet a lot of people, a depressing amount of people, who could be writers. They have the innate understanding of a compelling construction, and possess a creative drive and an imagination beyond normal.

But, as other writers immortalized, “writers are people who write,” and these people I meet often don’t write beyond random ineffective bouts of literary flailing. And it hurts me: this loss of potential. I see the spark unused. I had that same spark, and someone else recognized it and got me going—and I wish I could do that for these people. Be a mentor or a colleague. Get the energy flowing.

But, as they move in the right direction—if they even make it past the fear of beginning—they stumble onto bad habits. Brutally bad habits. And no matter how much advice I give, how much time devoted to helping them, if they do not unlearn these habits, they won’t earn the title of serious writer. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

December 20, 2016

Posted under

Christmas Collection, Lists, Special

Comments

Leave a comment

Christmas Collection #6: Favorite Advice Article! “How To ‘Writer'”

(Originally posted January 17th, 2015)

For everyone who wants to be a writer, I present the honest answers to all of your questions:

—

What are writers?

People who write words, preferably ones that chain together to mean something.

Can I become a writer?

Yes.

Who can be a writer?

Anyone. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

June 22, 2016

Posted under

Writing

Comments

2 Comments

A Mistake New Writers Make

One would assume the way one might tell a story, or describe an idea, is the same way you would write it.

It’s such a mental leap to realize the way you tell a story is to show, by walking through the world/situation you created, that the new writers tell without realizing the error.

And really, can you blame them? Writing something good takes a shit ton of practice, and world building is a skill high on the totem pole of difficulty. So why wouldn’t they just think you can dump the way the world works on the reader’s head? It seems easy. It seems economical. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

February 17, 2016

Posted under

Special, Writing

Comments

6 Comments

Connie Cockrell: What It Means To Be A Writer

Hey guys, Brandon Scott here. Today, instead of my usual stuff, I have an awesome guest post from my friend Connie Cockrell. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

—

I’d like to thank Brandon for inviting me to post on his wonderful blog. I know he talks about writing here and I thought I’d do the same. One question I often get is “What’s it like to be an author?” I suppose the questioner thinks it’s exciting, living inside my own head, pouring words onto paper, vicariously living out my fantasies. Perhaps it is, but there’s more to it than that.

For example, I slop around the house in sweats and a quilted flannel shirt in the winter, soft cotton shorts and a t-shirt in the summer. If I don’t leave the house, I don’t get dressed. No, it’s not a pretty sight. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

October 28, 2015

Posted under

Lists, Writing

Comments

2 Comments

The Writer Fear Index: A Horrifying List Written About Horrible Things

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Panic Level: Very Low

“Ow, ow. Ugh, I should have stretched my hands more. Dammit…now I can’t finish that fight scene. This is such a stupid first world problem.” 

Writer’s Block

Panic Level: Low

“Come on! I need to write! I didn’t make my word target today. Why does this always have to happen right in the middle of a part I was looking forward to!?” Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 28, 2015

Posted under

Life, Lists, Writing

Comments

6 Comments

9 Things I’ve Learned Being A Writer/Blogger/Professional Word-Slinger (So Far)

I’ve been a writer my entire life.

I just didn’t realize it.

That was until one fateful night, when the editor and chief of Scifibloggers.com contacted me and asked if I would write for him.

I was nervous to say the least, I hadn’t seriously written anything in years. My interest was computers, and I wanted to design video games. I warned him that I wasn’t any good, and that I didn’t think it was a good idea.

He persisted, and got me to write a simple article talking about the death of the eleventh Doctor on Doctor Who (an article that was later edited and posted on this very blog) as a test to see if I was good enough for the site.

It took me an hour to write that article, and I sent it off to him. Feeling nervous as hell, I awaited his judgement.

About twenty minutes later, he hired me on the spot. Continue reading →

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 11, 2014

Posted under

News

Comments

Leave a comment

News: Truth is stranger than…friday fictions

Alright, so it turns out I can write things that are not reviews.

Well, fancy that.

Yeah so, I recently wrote a short story. It’s called “Garbage Man”.

It was an idea I had a few months back, but I guess it took till now for all of it to be sorted out in my head.

So I wrote it. Not knowing if it was any good, or even worth a damn. Continue reading →