Tag Archives: M. B. Weston

Writing: Using Your Characters’ Words to Develop Their Character

When I mention using words as part of character development, I’m not just talking about writing dialogue. Dialogue can progress the plot and reveal thoughts, but the words your character chooses to use reveal much more than those. Here are … Continue reading

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New Thanksgiving Video: M. B. Weston’s Corner – What Writers are Thankful For (tongue in cheek, of course)

It’s Thanksgiving, and what better way to celebrate the holiday than by sharing what we writers are most thankful for. From our gratitude to writing (which gives us an excuse to avoid people), to cliches and passive voice (which help … Continue reading

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Character Development: Using your Character’s Thoughts

When I give character development writing workshops, I discuss the five ways you can show character as express your character’s personality: Appearance Actions Words (dialect, vocabulary, etc.) Perceptions Thoughts Showing a character’s thoughts in well-timed doses can illuminate and help … Continue reading

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The Elysian Chronicles Poisonwood Trees Are Real

When the tour guide at the Queen Elizabeth Botanical Gardens told us that the manchineel tree’s sap was so toxic it would burn anyone standing under it when it rained, most people backed away. My thought: I am so putting this in my novel… And thus, the Elysian Chronicles poisonwood tree was born. Continue reading

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New Video: M. B. Weston’s Corner: Show, Don’t Tell Using Dialogue

Today we’re talking about how to Show, Don’t Tell in your writing using dialogue, and what better way to illustrate the importance of dialogue than to bring on the character Wilson from Cast Away as a special guest. In this video, I’m … Continue reading

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Chalk Paint for Geeks, Cosplayers, and YouTubers…

My next YouTube video is on “Show, Don’t Tell Using Dialogue,” and I figured I could best show dialogue’s importance by bringing in Wilson, the infamous volleyball from Castaway. The problem: Wilsons are really hard to come by… I decided … Continue reading

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New MB Weston’s Corner Video: Show, Don’t Tell Using Action!

This is part 2 of a 4 part series on Show, Don’t Tell. Today, we discuss using action to help turn scenes that only “tell” into scenes that show. Some concepts are repeated a bit from last time because I’m … Continue reading

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Writing Diary: How I Became More Productive

Time management skills have eluded me since grade school. Okay, that’s not true. Time Management and I might have been friends had I not already been involved in close relationships with Procrastination and Distraction. Throughout the years, I have tried … Continue reading

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Writing Diary: When the Story Takes Over the Writing

It never fails. In every novel or novella I have written, the story decides about four-fifths of the way through to scrap my original ending and take a hard turn somewhere else. Every. Single. Time. The next Lodestone installment was … Continue reading

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Writing: Using Clothing to Develop Character

When it comes to clothing, society wants it both ways. We say “Clothes make the man,” and pay close attention to every article of clothing the rich and famous don on Instagram. Likewise, we say “don’t judge a book by … Continue reading

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