Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. (Photo by Cindy Fazzi, March 31, 2018)
Feeling envious of the academic writer? What’s not to like about a tenure? Don’t even mention the summer breaks and the cozy office in a beautiful campus with ivy-covered brick buildings and sprawling lawns. Now that it’s out of your system, it’s time to pick up some tips from academics on how to boost your writing productivity. (more…)
Posted by cindyfazzi on April 4, 2018
https://cindyfazzi.wordpress.com/2018/04/04/six-writing-productivity-tips-from-academics/
Photo courtesy of Visual Hunt.
The first thing a reader of a novel wants to know is the main character, according to best-selling suspense author Hank Phillippi Ryan. If you’re writing a novel, she said your opening page must have these four important things. (more…)
Posted by cindyfazzi on January 24, 2018
https://cindyfazzi.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/best-selling-author-shares-4-things-your-novels-first-page-must-have/
Don’t let your supporting characters get lost in the crowd. Photo: sonstroem via Visual hunt / CC BY
Have you thought of making the supporting characters in your novel the stars of their own lives? It’s the key to developing more interesting secondary characters, according to a Penguin Random House editor. (more…)
Posted by cindyfazzi on October 18, 2017
https://cindyfazzi.wordpress.com/2017/10/18/penguin-random-house-editor-offers-tips-on-beefing-up-supporting-characters/
(Photo by Cindy Fazzi, August 2017)
As a lifelong allergy sufferer who needs regular allergy shots, I can’t help but say that attending the recently held Writer’s Digest Annual Conference was a shot in the arm for me—as important (and more fun!) as my immunotherapy. Let me share the top 10 things I learned from the event. (more…)
Posted by cindyfazzi on August 30, 2017
https://cindyfazzi.wordpress.com/2017/08/30/10-takeaways-from-the-2017-writers-digest-annual-conference/
Photo credit: popturfdotcom via VisualHunt / CC BY
Film is a universal art form. Those of us who write novels can learn a lot from the storytelling techniques of filmmakers, especially masters like Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, and François Truffaut. Their films defied Hollywood norms and yet found a global audience. (more…)
Posted by cindyfazzi on June 14, 2017
https://cindyfazzi.wordpress.com/2017/06/14/14-lessons-for-writers-from-3-classic-foreign-films/
“You are what you submit,” says a former managing editor of a literary magazine. It behooves you to submit only your best work, and yet, the submission itch—the mad rush to release one’s work to the world—is a common malady. Before you submit, make sure you’re not making these three common mistakes. (more…)
Posted by cindyfazzi on May 24, 2017
https://cindyfazzi.wordpress.com/2017/05/24/beware-the-submission-itch-and-other-common-mistakes-writers-make/
Courtesy of Simon & Schuster
I’ve been meaning to read Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22” and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” for their popularity and critical acclaim. I finally read both recently—at the same time. To be honest, they are not my favorite books, but they taught me three important lessons in writing. (more…)
Posted by cindyfazzi on May 17, 2017
https://cindyfazzi.wordpress.com/2017/05/17/3-writing-lessons-from-catch-22-and-slaughterhouse-five/
Photo credit: rosefirerising via Visual hunt / CC BY-NC-ND
Do you have trouble remembering when to use who or whom? It’s a common problem with a quick fix from a Grammar Girl video. (more…)
Posted by cindyfazzi on February 1, 2017
https://cindyfazzi.wordpress.com/2017/02/01/who-versus-whom-remember-just-one-rule/
After you’ve revised your manuscript for the nth time, the final stretch of polishing can be daunting. You’ve maxed out your writing group’s goodwill and your own editing fatigue has set in. When you reach this point, Paula Munier’s tips on “principled polishing” will help a lot. (more…)
Posted by cindyfazzi on July 8, 2016
https://cindyfazzi.wordpress.com/2016/07/08/tips-on-polishing-your-novel-from-paula-muniers-writing-with-quiet-hands/
Photo credit: Keoni Cabral via Visual Hunt /CC BY
Countless writing books, articles, and workshops tell us to avoid the deadly “info dumps” and flashbacks when writing a novel. And yet, I recently read two well-publicized literary novels, which to my dismay turned out to be info-dump fests. It took me forever to finish the first book, while I simply gave up on the second. Moral lesson: Beware of info dumps, even if you’re writing literary fiction. (more…)
Posted by cindyfazzi on April 15, 2016
https://cindyfazzi.wordpress.com/2016/04/15/beware-of-the-deadly-info-dumps-in-your-novel-3-signs-to-watch-for/
Cindy Fazzi 