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Angela Cavanaugh

Angela Cavanaugh

Tag Archives: how to write

Writing Wednesday – Don’t Let Your Characters Just Stand There

07 Thursday May 2015

Posted by angelacavanaugh in Writing Wednesday

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

active characters, advice, how to write, passive characters, the future chronicles, the z chronicles, writing, zombies

Last WW: Deadlines

I recently wrote a story for the upcoming The Z Chronicles.  My story is titled The World After.  (and if your’e on my mailing list, you’ll have an opportunity to get a free copy of the book!)  Writing this story took more effort than any story I have written before.  Part of it was because of my character being a bystander in her own story. Continue reading →

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Writing Wednesday – Deadlines

16 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by angelacavanaugh in Writing Wednesday

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Tags

advice, author, deadline, how to write, write, writer, writing

Last WW: The All Important First Draft 

Love them or hate them, at some point, you will have a deadline.  Maybe it’ll come from a publisher, or maybe it’ll be self-imposed.  Either way, sooner or later, it’s something every writer must face.

Why we hate them:

  • Deadlines are scary.  Many writers feel like they have to be in the mood to write, that a muse takes hold of them and lets the words flow.  I know I write my best when I’m writing because there’s an idea inside of me that simply must come out.  Sometimes, however, we have to find other things to motivate us.  Deadlines are one such thing.
  • It feels awful to miss it.  In many cases, it’s not the end of the world if you miss a deadline.  If it’s a contest, yeah, you’re probably in trouble.  But in most situations, the person who gave you that deadline will be lenient.  Unless that person is yourself.  When I give myself a deadline and I blow it, I’m really angry with myself.  It sort of destroys me and I have to take a few days to recover, which often pushes me even further off course.

Why we should love them:

  • They speed things up.  It’s great to write when the inspiration takes you.  But if you only write when it does, then it could be years, if not decades, before your book is finished.
  • They’re necessary.  If you go traditional, expect a lot of deadlines.  But they’re equally important if you’re indie, and for the same reasons.  It allows you to plan for marketing and promotions.  It enables you to give your readers answers, and they are usually a hungry bunch eager for your next book to come out.  It lets you know when you need to buckle down, and when you need to crack the whip.
  • It’s professional.  Going from Writer to Author requires a lot of follow through.  If you want readers to stick with you, they have to know that they can trust you.  This means making plans, like deadlines, and delivering on them.

They’re are many more reasons why deadlines are both good and bad.  In the end, I believe that they are a good thing.  For example, I have a story due on Friday.  While I am a bit of a procrastinator, I’ve been working on it.  It’s actually already gone through two drafts, and I’m finishing the third, which is more of a rewrite than anything.  There’s a lot that I need to do on it between now and then.  But rather than spending all day tomorrow watching reruns or movies, I’ll be butt in chair and working.  Why?  Because I have a deadline to keep.

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Writing Wednesday – The All Important First Draft

09 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by angelacavanaugh in Writing Wednesday

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Tags

active protagonist, advice, first draft, first draft problems, how to, how to write, informative dialogue, revise, writer, writing

Last WW: The Tortise and the Hare

I’ve talked before about how it’s important that you complete more than one draft.  I just finished up a short story that I have for the upcoming The Z Chronicles, and learned this lesson all over again.  I thought that I had a good story that would only need minor tweaking.  I was wrong.  Turns out, all I have is bones.  There were a lot of things that needed to be changed.

Problem:  Continue reading →

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Writing Wednesday – The tortoise and the hare

26 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by angelacavanaugh in Writing Wednesday

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

advice, eye on the prize, how to write, writer, writing

Last Week’s WW: Working With Others

My fella was talking about themes the other day, and he brought up the fact that some people miss the points of some stories.  One such story he brought up was The Tortoise and the Hare.

He asked me: “what’s the point of the story?”

I immediately responded: “Slow and steady wins the race.”

He asked me to think about it.  I did, and I realized that it didn’t matter what the turtle did.  If the hare hadn’t been over confident and messed it all up, he would have won hands down.  The real meaning of that story seems to be “keep your eye on the prize.”

I think that the moral of this story can be applied to writing.  There’s a lot of people who will say write fast, throw it on Amazon, and it’ll all be fine.  That’s the magic formula.  Only, it’s not.  Troll the Kboards and you’ll find a lot of people that this isn’t working for.  Yes, writing fast is an asset.  But you can’t be over confident.  And conversely, you can’t give up.   When you write, when you publish, when you promote, you have to remember why you’re doing it.  Writing is hard.  Publishing is harder.  Keep your eye on the prize, or someone else might beat you to it.   Remember why you’re writing, or you may never even finish the race.

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Writing Wednesday – Sometimes, it just feels right.

05 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by angelacavanaugh in Writing Wednesday

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advice, how to write, instincts, writer, writing, writing advice

Last Week’s WW: Timelines

Sometimes my fella will ask me, “how do you decide what a character sounds like?”   Continue reading →

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Writing Wednesday – The Writer’s Roller Coaster

12 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by angelacavanaugh in Writing Wednesday

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author, emotions, highs, how to write, lows, roller coaster, writer, writing advice

Last Week’s WW: Making A Schedule

Here’s the way it seems to go:

-Yes!  I’ve got an idea.
-Why won’t this idea come together and make a story?
-Oh, oh, wait, there it is.  Now I know what’ll happen in my story.
-I’m going to type like the wind.  This is the best idea ever!
-I’m the worst writer ever!  No one will ever read my stories, and maybe that’s for the best because if they did they’d punch me in the face.
-I need to just put this away for awhile.
-*Reading* okay, this isn’t so bad.  I can work with this.
-*stares blankly at screen* need to clear my head, let’s play video games or watch tv.
-Why won’t the words come?
-Oh, there they are.
-Soon everyone will see my genius!
-I literally shouldn’t be allowed near a keyboard.  Seriously, someone is going to put a restraining order against me writing ever again.  And they’d be right to do so.
-Am I really going to let someone read this?
-They liked it!
-Why don’t more people like/buy it?
-Hey, I’ve got a new idea for a story.  I’m the best writer ever!
…
…
…

 

For many writers, this is how it goes.  I’m in a valley right now.  But I hope and know that soon I’ll be back on the upswing.  And I know that most writers ping pong between manic highs and self-loathing lows.

But the peaks are worth every valley.  Keep at it and work through it.

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Writing Wednesday – There isn’t always a happy ending

29 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by angelacavanaugh in Writing Wednesday

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

advice, how to, how to write, not all stories have happy endings, writing

Last Week’s WW: Finishing

And they all lived happily ever after.  Or, maybe not.  These days it seems like most books have a hero’s journey.  Or, at the very lease, a happy ending.  People like stories that make them feel good.  But that doesn’t mean that it’s the only way.

I’m currently working on a series of short stories, and I’ll be honest, I’m a little worried about them.  Why?  Because they don’t all have happy endings.  Sometimes, the protagonist fails.

Their used to be a time when tragedies were common place.  And there are a great many people who like a drama.  But most people want to have something to root for.

And that’s fine.  Give them that.  While your story doesn’t necessarily have a happy ending, there should probably be some small victories along the way.  Whether that’s the protagonist getting something they’ve always wanted, or learning some truth, or just dying happy.  If you give readers a little something, maybe they won’t hate you quiet as much for making them sad, and making your protagonist fail.

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Writing Wednesday – Finishing

22 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by angelacavanaugh in Writing Wednesday

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

can you do it, fear, finish, finishing a first draft, how to write, life, perfectionism, revise, write, writing advice

Last Week’s WW: Trying for Success

You’ve probably heard this advice before: finish your first draft.  Obviously, if you ever want to publish you need a finished project.  But if you want to be a writer, this step is important for more reasons.  And there’ll be a lot of things trying to stop you along the way.

Continue reading →

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Writing Wednesday – The Hardest Part

08 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by angelacavanaugh in Writing Wednesday

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

advice, agents, amazon, ARC readers, author, beta readers, edit, editing, edits, first draft, hard, hardest part, how to, how to write, kindle, marketing, promo, promos, publish, publishing, query, reviews, revision, self-publishing, the hardest part of writing, write, writer, writing

Last Week’s WW: For Love or Money

Some people will tell you that writing the first draft of a book is the hardest part of the process.  Others will tell you that it’s doing revisions, or waiting for your book to finally come out.  Everyone has an opinion on which part is the hardest part, but in my experience, everyone is wrong.  Continue reading →

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Writing Wednesday – Writing a large cast

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by angelacavanaugh in Writing Wednesday

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

balance, ensemble cast, how to, how to write, large cast, lessons I learned, lots of characters, multiple POV, point of view, writing

Last Week’s WW: Finding A Story In A Universe

My new novel, Otherworlders, has a large cast. I’d say there are 6 main characters, 2 secondary characters, and around 5 supporting characters. I think that I executed it well. Or so I’ve been told.

A few things that I’ve learned writing ensemble casts: Continue reading →

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