Tag Archives: writing process

Writers Just Effing Write

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Cat

Here is one of the wisest things about writing process ever told me, said by Syne Mitchell during a Clarion West Friday mystery muse visit: “Try lots of things, find out what works for you, and then do that. Lots.” Brilliant. Continue reading →

Posted in daily life, Writing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Class Notes From Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Cat

We’re coming up on the end of the Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction class I teach at Bellevue College. Tonight’s the next to last session. In earlier sessions we’ve talked about the writing process, story parts and mechanics, delivering information, characters, description, and worldbuilding. A number of past blog posts have come out of those classes: 5 Things to Do in Your First 3 Paragraphs, Active Verbs, Foreshadowing and Establishing Conflict, Plotting and Re-plotting Stories, Three Strategies for Snaring the Senses, Three Things that End a Story Well, Using Random Tools Like Stumbleupon For Rewriting, and Why Titles Matter. Continue reading →

Posted in bees, Tabat, video, Writing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Another Interminable Process Post

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Cat

So I’ve finished up the writing of the first draft of a current project, which ended up about 90k words. By first draft, I mean all of the scenes are at least 75% complete, with most of them completely roughed out. The next stage of the process will follow what I did with the previous two books, which worked fine. Because I am a writer, I am fascinated with process. We all constantly wonder if we’re Getting It Right, a state which I can neither confirm nor deny. Hence this post, which anyone is welcome to skip. Continue reading →

Posted in Books, publications, Writing | Tagged , , | 4 Comments