Category: On writing
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Editing short stories: my process
I’m writing more shorts now and it’s helping me get a handle on what works for me in terms of my editing process. First draft: I try to just write freely for my first draft, trying to immerse myself in the story as much as possible, and taking Terry Pratchett’s advice to Neil Gaiman –…
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Why I’m reading writing guides
I recently had two short stories rejected by publishers – two rejections each, so four rejections in total. This was my first attempt at submitting fiction, so I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. I thought my fiction was good, and I was spoiled after a success with submitting poetry. I thought I had…
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Review of Joe Moran’s ‘First you write a sentence’
This book should come with a warning label: ‘May cause paralysis from information overload’. I found a lot in this book useful, particularly for poetry which often runs in a few short sentences. But it’s unusual because it mixes together technical advice with long anecdotes about the history of writing, with no clear delineation between…
Lisa Rodrigues 