creativity Archives - Page 13 of 31 - Home For Fiction

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“Kill Your Darlings” May Mean Well: It Is Still Awful Advice

February 13, 2023

affect, book, creativity, criticism, literature, writing

You have surely heard this advice: “Kill Your Darlings”. It might mean well, as its motivation is to help you remove unnecessary text. But there’s a crucial detail: Why on earth would “darlings”, text associated with something you like, actually be unnecessary?

To be fair, I need to make a differentiation here. “Kill Your Darlings” means one thing in nonfiction and another in fiction. The dynamics are different, for reasons we’ll see in this post. But here is the sneak preview: Because “Darlings” is associated with something you like (we’ll see more details and definitions in a while), it refers to affect. And there is quite a bit of difference between nonfiction and fiction when it comes to affect, a way of feeling.

Though I will briefly speculate on what “Kill Your Darlings” may mean in nonfiction, most of the focus of the post will be on fiction. I’ll first start with some definitions – what “darlings” are, and what “Kill Your Darlings” really means. Then, we’ll take a brief look at why killing your darlings is awful advice when it comes to fiction. Finally, as I said, I’ll end the post with a brief speculation regarding what killing your darlings involves in nonfiction.

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How to Start Writing a Novel: Tips and Examples

January 30, 2023

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

book, creativity, fiction, genre, writing

Beginner as well as more advanced fiction writers often struggle with a seemingly simple question: How do you start writing a novel?

Just to be clear, I’m not referring to the textual part – that is, narrative strategies beginning a novel; its first few paragraphs. If you’re looking for that, here are 17 ways to begin a novel.

Instead, in this post I will show you tips and examples on how to start writing a novel in the sense of how to set up the foundations. In other words, in this post I will share with you the bare minimum you need to know before you even think of typing the first word.

As I often say, many people – and that includes authors – believe that a writer just “comes up with stuff” out of nothing. That’s simply not true. Writing a novel involves a subconsciously long, complex process beginning with experiences, memories, and imagination. These come before you decide to write a book.

But suppose you already have these set; you have had experiences that have fueled your imagination.

What next?

Let’s find out!

how to start writing a novel — “Writing a novel is not as hard as you think,” said Mr Whiskers

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A False Start Versus a Failed Project

November 14, 2022

Writing

book, creativity, fiction, literature, society, writing

One of the cornerstones of becoming better is completing things. There are sadly many people who begin something full of enthusiasm, yet sooner or later abandon it because it has become too difficult. Then they start something new, only to soon quit as well. The vicious cycle then continues, and they never (or rarely) complete anything. But there are crucial differences between a false start and a failed project, and learning to recognize them is pivotal for learning how to complete things.

Indeed, as societies we don’t talk enough about quitting. We don’t talk about learning how to abandon something when you have to. We seem to live in a world teaching people how not to quit. Instead, we should learn how to do it – properly.

And so, in this post, I’ll draw on my own experiences with false starts and failed projects, to show you how we can separate them.

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