Neal Holtschulte's Writing Blog
Two book reviews in one! Do Not Resuscitate is a near-future scifi-lite story of family conflict, life, death, relationships, and the mystery of what is in those damned coolers. It's funny and insightful and comparable to Vonnegut. Available here: https://www.amazon.com/Do-Not-Resusci... The Maiden Voyage of the Destiny Unknown is a silly scifi romp as a group… Continue reading Book Review x2: Do Not Resuscitate & Destiny Unknown
TLDR: Accepting imperfection doesn't mean abandoning the goal of perfection. I've finished step 8 of the Snowflake Method. The ending was a big challenge. I rewrote the outline of the ending multiple times, trying on different mixtures of events and characters to see what produced the most drama. After that I looked at what I… Continue reading Snowflake Method 2
TLDR: Planning a novel isn't any easier than writing one, but it might save you time in the long run. I was once a curmudgeonly writer like you. Writing is fun, I said! Creating is fun! Planning? That takes all the fun and surprise out of it. And it wasn't like I hadn't tried the… Continue reading The Snowflake Method
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
Haste Writing 