Tag Archives: writing tip

How to Use Info Dumps

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Are you guilty of using way too many info dumps in your stories? (It’s okay—I am, too).

Put simply, an info dump is just what it sounds like: a large dump of information (or explanation) in the middle of an unfolding story. It can be a problem in the fantasy, sci-fi, and even historical fiction genres, because those require more explanations of the world than a story set in present-day in Big City, USA.

It is generally advised to not use info dumps because they can slow down the pace of a story. If the high-stakes action has to be paused for two pages while the author explains how a piece of technology works, why the wizards are using those particular magical talismans in their battle, or lay out a family tree of this nobleman’s family—then readers may get bored, or lose track of what was actually happening in the plot at that moment. As fascinating as the world of your story is, you don’t want your novel to read like a textbook.

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Self-Editing Tip: Downsizing Your Writing

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I wrote a post a few months ago about my self-editing process. I tend to make changes and edits as I write, which results in a highly polished, but slow to produce, first draft. I’ve noticed lately, however, that my writing has been progressing even slower (for multiple reasons), but one important reason is that I’ve gotten a bit bogged down in the editing and polishing as I’m writing.

I am also a very verbose writer. My current WIP (and my favorite genre) is epic fantasy, which by definition is long—but I really love words and descriptions, and sometimes I just have too many words in my manuscript. One of the things that I do when I’m self-editing as I write is look for places where I can tighten up a sentence or a paragraph. That’s also one of the biggest things I ask my editor to help with—tightening up and trimming down.

I know that many writers have the opposite problem—after their first draft, they have to go back through and add descriptions, tags, modifiers, explanations. This blog post is not for you (sorry!). This is for the folks like me who put in way too much in the way of descriptions, tags, modifiers, and explanations.

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When Creativity is a Struggle

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This past year has not been a very productive one for me, as far as producing books goes. At this time last year, I’d hoped to have the second book in The Light-Whisperers of Kalevala trilogy published, or at the very least in the final stages of editing and formatting. As it stands now, I’m still wading through the first draft. 

Book writing, and creativity in general, has been a challenge for me this year. The day after Christmas last year, my family moved my elderly father into a nursing home. His Alzheimer’s made it unsafe – for him and my mom – to care for him at home. While dealing with that transition, several other members of my family had various unrelated health challenges during the first part of the year. Then in the summer I put my house up for sale. Autumn brought more changes as my father passed away and I moved into a new place that, while safe and comfortable, wasn’t quite move-in ready and thus required some time-consuming work. Other smaller things also happened this year that were surprising drains on mental energy. 

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I May Never Be a Popular Author, But…

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Lately I’ve been coming to better understand myself as a writer, and I’m coming to terms with the likely probability that I will never be a “popular” author, or even a “best-selling” author. Yes, part of that is because I dislike marketing, but without marketing it’s hard for the public to know about you or your books. (All of that is a topic for a different blog post, but anyway…) 

The biggest part of why I’ll probably never be considered a “popular” author is because I don’t follow trends. I never have, actually. I was always “uncool” in school because my clothes, and favorite books, shows, and music, were never what was popular or trendy at the time. Sometimes I’m just late to the party with trendy things (like finally watching a popular TV show eight years after it ended). But most of the time, whatever is popular and trendy just never interests me. 

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Editing as I Write: How and Why 

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A commonly-shared writing tip is “don’t edit as you write.” I understand this advice, and for the novice writer who is trying to finish their first short story or novel, I believe it’s good advice. 

The idea is that you finish a project before you start to polish the project. Actually finishing can be tough (for both the novice and the seasoned writer), and saying “don’t edit till you’ve finished the story” is meant to keep the writer on track. This advice advocates moving forward to the point of writing “The End,” rather than spending time and mental energy on polishing the perfect first page and leaving a story incomplete. 

So yes, “don’t edit as you write” can be good advice for certain people in certain circumstances. But like a lot of writing advice, it’s not a one-size-fits-all sort of thing. I edit as I write; in my early days of writing, I quickly learned that the “just keep writing and edit later” thing wasn’t going to work for me. 

Why I Edit as I Write 

I self-edit, revise, delete, and make all sorts of changes while still writing my first draft because, quite frankly, I can’t think straight if I don’t. As I write, new ideas come to me as the plot, characters, and story world develop. (Yes, I outline before I write – sometimes in great detail. But even so, the act of writing generates new possibilities that have to be handled on the fly). 

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