Writing and Author Life

Writing 101 - Process Part 7

With the first couple of books, the illustrator sent images in arbitrary aspect ratios (height/width). Some images were tall and narrow, som

Miles O'Neal

Mar 6, 20193 min read

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Writing 101 - Process Part 6

Ultimately it's your work, and you have to decide which suggestions to take, but make sure you understand why you accept and reject each

Miles O'Neal

Feb 27, 20193 min read

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Writing 101 - Process Part 5

I do most of my own research ... And I check on facts ... But we all have blind sides, and the more we invest in our work, the closer we get

Miles O'Neal

Feb 20, 20193 min read

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First Comic Con

I've long meant to go to a Comic Con, but always seem to find out about the close ones after the fact. I certainly didn't think my first...

Miles O'Neal

Feb 18, 20193 min read

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Writing 101 - Process Part 4

Some authors are very stringent on how they want feedback. That's fine if all your readers are professionals, or you have an infinite po

Miles O'Neal

Feb 13, 20193 min read

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Writing 101 - Process Part 3

The early reader (or beta reader) process should start when the first draft is done. You want to start lining your readers up early enough t

Miles O'Neal

Feb 6, 20194 min read

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Writing 101 - Process Part 2

First read-through: We read through just to read it as a story. Does it grab and keep our attention? Does it flow well? Is it believable? Do

Miles O'Neal

Jan 30, 20194 min read

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More Notes on Dragon Names

In a recent blog, I shared some insight behind the names of several dragons from The Dragon Lord Chronicles. Today we'll look more into...

Miles O'Neal

Jan 28, 20192 min read

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Writing 101 - Process Part 1

How you proceed depends on whether you are a plotter or pantser. Since I am a panster, I will cover that. (I may cover plotting another time

Miles O'Neal

Jan 23, 20193 min read

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How to Name Your Dragon

In an older blog, we looked at the importance of names fitting the story. In a more recent blog, I covered some ways to come up with...

Miles O'Neal

Jan 21, 20193 min read

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Dragon Lord Chronicles - Whence the Names?

In an older blog, we looked at the importance of names fitting the story. In a more recent blog, I covered some ways to come up with...

Miles O'Neal

Jan 14, 20192 min read

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Writing 101 - Turning a Short Story into a Novel Part 2

In the previous Writing 101 blog, we looked at the big picture of turning a short story into a novel. This time, we'll delve into some of...

Miles O'Neal

Jan 9, 20193 min read

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Milestones vs Goals

I'm on author Dan Koboldt's email list. His new year's eve email included the nugget below based on something Tobias Buckell (another...

Miles O'Neal

Jan 4, 20192 min read

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Writing 101 - How do I Turn My Short Story into a Novel?

Issue: "How do I turn my short story into a novel?" Solution: This depends on the short story, the novel, and how you write. If you...

Miles O'Neal

Jan 2, 20192 min read

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Writing 101 - Where Do You Get Your Ideas from (Teaching by Examples)

One thing almost every writer gets asked- both by readers, by aspiring writers, and by interviewers- is, "Where do you get your ideas...

Miles O'Neal

Dec 26, 20183 min read

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Writing 101 - He Said She Said (Teaching By Examples)

Issue: "I feel like my dialogue is just a wall of 'He said' and 'She said.' How do I change it up?" Solution: There are several layers...

Miles O'Neal

Dec 19, 20182 min read

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Golden Dawn : Word

If I don't specifically need a Foreward and an Afterword, or if whatever would be in one of those can go anywhere, I just have a Word....

Miles O'Neal

Dec 14, 20182 min read

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Writing 101 - Coming Up with Names (Teaching by Examples)

Issue: "How do I come up with names for my characters?" Solution: There are numerous ways to do this! Here are a few I've used...

Miles O'Neal

Dec 12, 20182 min read

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Writing 101 - Show vs Tell (Teaching by Examples)

Issue: "I hear a lot about 'showing vs telling.' What does that mean? Solution: Basically, telling is simply stating facts or basic...

Miles O'Neal

Dec 5, 20181 min read

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Writing 101 - First Word (Teaching by Examples)

Issue: "All of my paragraphs start with 'The', 'She' or the MC's name. HELP." Solution: Spend some time analyzing books you like. Examine...

Miles O'Neal

Nov 29, 20181 min read

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