Penstricken
Andrew Ferguson – Author
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Writing a Second Draft When You’re a Plantser
Posted on April 11, 2021 Leave a Comment
It was my wife who finally reminded me: I’m a plantser. I begin with a rough plan, but it’s only when I write and let my imagination run wild that my plan starts to grow a bit of flesh and take on a life of its own. Why was it, then, that when I came to write my second draft that I felt so compelled to have a perfect plan in place before writing anything?
Writing a Good Character Description
Posted on April 6, 2021 Leave a Comment
Remember: a character is defined what they do and say, not by their physical appearance. Therefore, use physical descriptions to bring out their key traits. First ask yourself who this character is and what important details of their life and personality you wish to convey.
Super Snappy Speed Reviews – Writing Apps for Android
Posted on April 3, 2021 Leave a Comment
As ever, the apps I have reviewed here are not necessarily apps that I particularly liked or disliked, but are simply a random selection of writers’ apps that I have tried out at one point or another. As usual, these reviews only reflect my own personal opinions and impressions, squished, squashed and squeezed into a few short sentences.
Gleaning Ideas from Other Stories
Posted on March 29, 2021 Leave a Comment
But what do you do when the Idea Tree stops putting out its juicy fruit? Easy. Glean ideas from someone else’s story.
Daydreaming: An Essential Exercise for Writers
Posted on March 27, 2021 1 Comment
Daydreaming is a habit you should definitely get back into, especially if you plan on being a story-writer.
Taking a Holiday From My Novel
Posted on March 25, 2021 Leave a Comment
I’m just getting a little fed up of the sight of my novel. And so the solution is to set aside a short time to work on other short writing projects…
5 Writing Rules I Like To Ignore
Posted on March 23, 2021 Leave a Comment
Sometimes, however, you just need to rebel and write according to your own darn rules. So what follows are my top five common story-writing rules and wise sayings which I frequently bend, break and flat-out disagree with.
Want to Add Handwritten Notes to your Scrivener Project? Try Notebloc.
Posted on March 22, 2021 Leave a Comment
Let me introduce you to Notebloc for Android and iPhone. This handy little app not only uses your smartphone’s camera to capture images, but it also automatically adjusts the colour and angle of your image(s) before easily exporting them as jpg or pdf files, making adding your handwritten notes to Scrivener a breeze.
Novelist: A Handy App for Planning Your Novel
Posted on March 18, 2021 Leave a Comment
But that’s not to say mobile apps can’t help you in your quest to write a story, especially when you’re on the go and need a simple, orderly means of gathering together all those little plot bunnies that jump into your head at the worst possible moments. For that reason, I’ve been trying out a nice little app I discovered on Google Play called Novelist by Alessandro Riperi.
50 Quotes About Writing
Posted on March 17, 2021 Leave a Comment
Well, we’ve already had fifty quotes about fiction in general so today it’s time for another fifty quotes, this time providing advice, encouragement and general reflections on the process of writing.
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