A Word in Your Eye

Writing Excuses 5.16: Critiquing Dan's First Novel

From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2010/12/19/writing-excuses-5-16-critiquing-dans-first-novel/

Key Points: Avoid discontiguities. Stomp out the cliche that all fantasy starts with a long, dry, boring description. Character before things! Punch it up and show us a character's viewpoint. Consider your genre, but put the promise of the story as early as possible. Start the story where it starts, and don't tell us all the stuff you wanted to tell us, just start it and go. You don't have to fill in everything. One telling detail beats pages of prose. Evoke plot, character, and setting. Make each sentence do multiple things. When you rewrite, make decisions. Consider your pace, and rearrange information as needed.
( Between the bindings... )
[Brandon] All right, Dan. I'm going to let you give us our writing prompt.
[Dan] Our writing prompt?
[Howard] And remember that time travelers may be reading this writing prompt for last week.
[Dan] May be reading this right now? Okay. This is... take an idiomatic expression and literalize it. So, for example, the crack of dawn... a world in which dawn actually cracks, visibly or audibly. Then describe that going on. Not as a pun, but as world building information.
( Final jokes )

Writing Excuses Season Two Episode 30: Things We've Learned in the Last Year

From http://www.writingexcuses.com/2009/05/03/writing-excuses-season-2-episode-30-the-most-important-thing-howard-learned-in-the-last-year/

Key Points: [implied, but still worthwhile: Stop and reflect on what you have learned about writing from time to time.] Knowing what form you are working in lets you fulfill more of the promises of that form and write better. Knowing your genre or goals lets you stay focused. "Sitting down and analyzing what you do reflexively is how you improve." When you are starting, just keep flapping. Then when you start to understand how you can fly, that's the time to back up and analyze it.
( The flight of the bumblebee )
[Brandon] We managed to get through one of us in a podcast, but that's not unexpected. Howard, it's been your podcast. Give us a writing prompt.
[Howard] Have an artist who is analyzing his form and discovers the refinements of his form that he needs in order to make it perfect and in so doing, unlocks magic.
[Brandon] Awesome. This has been Writing Excuses.