Category Archives: The World of Writing
Writing & Editing: Find & Eliminate Cheesy Cliches
Eliminating cheesy cliches is easier said than done. We writers are busy as bees trying to write our stories, and words cannot express how easy it is to close up shop at the end of the day and ignore the … Continue reading
Writing & Editing: Find & Eliminate Undescriptive, Empty Words
Word are a writer’s currency, and we must use them judiciously. Words that serve no real purpose except to fill space because they sound good are a waste of our word count and our readers’ time. Remember that the reader … Continue reading
Writing & Editing: Find & Eliminate Words You Overuse
All writers have our pet set of words that we use over and over again. It’s fine to write them in your first draft, but make sure you seek them out and eliminate them before you turn in your final … Continue reading
Writing & Editing: Find and Eliminate Useless Verbs
Nothing can let the air out of a great sentence like a boring, flat verb. Unfortunately, we writers tend to love boring verbs–especially the “being” verbs, and our sentences suffer for it. The best way to fix a flat sentence? … Continue reading
Writing & Editing: Find & Eliminate Stupid Words
First, I must apologize for not blogging for a while. I got bogged down both with traveling to two conventions in two weeks and with the Thanksgiving holiday. I’ve also put myself on an intense deadline to get my latest … Continue reading
Writing: Your Characters Must Earn (or Have Earned) Their Skills
If you want your reader to believe in your make-believe world and suspend disbelief, make sure to show that your characters have earned their skills, knowledge, and powers. Michael Jordan is quite possibly the world’s greatest, most skilled basketball player. … Continue reading
Writing: Use Realistic Numbers, Sizes, and Time Limits
Both mainstream and speculative writers need to make sure they do their research on numbers, spaces, sizes, and time limits. If your readers don’t trust your numbers, they won’t trust you, nor will they suspend their disbelief for you again. … Continue reading
Writing: Keeping Character Confrontation Results Realistic
If you don’t prove your character deserves to win, no amount of writing technique is going to get your readers to suspend disbelief and buy into your story. Picture a baseball field. Imagine that Roger Clemons has taken the mound. … Continue reading
Writing: Why the Laws of Thermodynamics Are Important to Your Story
Even writers of epic fantasy stories need to be grounded in a good understanding of the effects of the three laws of thermodynamics. In Back to the Future 3, Marty McFly finds himself trapped in the Wild West during the … Continue reading
Writing: How to Govern Your Make-Believe Elements
Even if you are writing speculative fiction that defies the laws of physics, you must give yourself boundaries. Otherwise, you will destroy your story. When I was growing up, I had a few favorite movies that I watched over and … Continue reading
M. B. Weston's Official Website 