Top Ten Editing and Writing Craft Articles from Chanticleer’s Writer’s Toolbox Series to Point Your Works into the Right Direction

Writer’s Toolbox

Below are the second lot of our most popular writing craft articles in 2021! They are not in order or ranking. 

5) Putting More Character into Your Characters

“If you’re going to have a character appear in a story long enough to sell a newspaper, he’d better be real enough that you can smell his breath.” ~ Ford Madox Ford

She might has well been talking to three empty chairs…

4)  Component Layers of Successful Fiction

Elements of successful fiction layer and fold back in on each other to create resonance, nuance, subtext, and undercurrents of great storytelling.

Causality — the Physics of Writing

3. Between the Lines: Mastering the Subtle Techniques of Fiction

You see, it’s impossible to write fiction without understanding its underpinnings such as conflict, scene structure, and character development. Without this understanding , you might write two or three or four hundred pages, but you won’t end up with a story; instead you’ll produce a lot of words on a lot of pages or a haphazard pile of scenes loosely clustered around characters who never quite come to life.

Causality — the Physics of Writing

2. Language and Names in Writing Fiction

The best methods of using language to authenticate your fiction often lies in blending the familiar and new, including fresh word combinations.

Tormund Giantsbane of the Free Folk, A Song of Fire and Ice.

1. Common Fiction Errors – a Checklist    

The best fiction touches the deep layers in us. A writer achieves this effect by embedding dozens of techniques into his or her story.

Do your characters sound like this?

We hope that you have found these encore posts to be useful reminders and prompts for your work-in-progress!

And in cased you missed it, here is the link to our New Year’s Eve post with the first five articles. Click here. 

NOW for Kiffer’s Number One Tip for Writers in 2022!

RULE # 1

WRITE FAST!  EDIT SLOW! 

Don’t edit your first draft as you write it!

Writing your first draft should be a mad dash to get your story out of your brain. Don’t hinder it by worrying about each little detail. There will be time for that later. 

Try to unspool the “mind-film” in your brain before reworking every sentence. Get your story out. Let the characters introduce themselves to you. Create the Atmosphere.

There will be plenty of time to craft and hone sentences later. Meanwhile, fall in love with your story. Experience the rush and the thrill of creativity!

We wish you joy and peace in the New Year from all of us at Chanticleer! 

We hope to see you at the 2022 Chanticleer Authors Conference and the 2021 CIBA Banquet and Ceremony 

Our 10th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22) will be April 7-10, 2022, where our 2021 CIBA winners will be announced. Space is limited and seats are already filling up, so sign up today!  CAC22 and the CIBA Ceremonies will be hosted at the Hotel Bellwether in Beautiful Bellingham, Wash. Sign up and see the latest updates here!

Don’t Delay! Register Today! Seating is Limited.