Neal Holtschulte's Writing Blog
TLDR: Revision (and small scale editing) is a process of expansion/embellishment and compression/cutting. The last two weeks I've talked about the Snowflake Method, essentially addressing high level planning and revision, but suppose you have written your story, ironed out logical inconsistencies, and your characters' motivations are clear. In that case it's time for the nitty… Continue reading Expansion and Compression
TLDR: Unraveling high-level problems in a novel is a mess. I do not understand it, but will share my thoughts on the process nonetheless. Last Monday my critique group had a special meeting in which we discussed high-level writing concerns like plot and structure rather than our usual nose-in-the-dirt critique of individual scenes. I came… Continue reading Gordian Plot
TLDR: Pitch tips: Rehearse for your pitch. Prepare bold and succinct descriptions of your novel ahead of time. Practice telling others about your novel. Here are my tips and takeaways from my first experience pitching a novel. In preparation for the pitch I typed up two pages: one page of notes for myself, highlighting interesting… Continue reading Pitching A Novel
TLDR: Make space for your worthy work of writing, be a great rewriter, and start writing! (and other miscellaneous take-aways from a writing conference) This year I attended the University of New Mexico Continuing Education Writing Conference. Here are my take-aways from the conference. Jessica Strawser, Novelist and Editor-at-Large at Writer’s Digest, gave the keynote address… Continue reading Writing Conference 2019
TLDR: Zero-sum thinking is literally the path to the darkside. Come back into the light with generosity and an open mind. Zero-sum thinking is the cognitive bias that one person's gain is another's loss. It is closely tied to resource scarcity beliefs. These unconscious beliefs lie at the heart of a lot of negative self-talk… Continue reading Zero-sum versus growth and prosperity
Haste Writing 