The Renegade Word - Latest Comments

Re: Things You Should Be Reading This Week

Ahmed A. Khan — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 10:34:43 -0000

Thank you for mentioning "A Mosque Among the Stars" in your post. Would love to hear your opinions about the individual stories there.

Re: Hello Freewrite, My Old Friend: Jumpstart Creativity By Letting It All Out

Julie M. Rodriguez — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 01:23:34 -0000

Love it, Jene! Sometimes we forget that the simplest writing exercises can be the most helpful.

Re: Creative Nonfiction: “Lilith”

Julie M. Rodriguez — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 01:04:42 -0000

Stella, I only wish I'd been this insightful when I was in high school! Sadly it took me a couple of years after graduating to realize that I didn't have to let people who weren't supportive be a part of my life. (Sadly, it took up until this year to cut a couple of them out of my life completely.) It can be really hard to let go of people who want to drag you down, especially once you enter the world of full-time work. I think, regardless of age or experience, we could all use a little more of this attitude in our lives. :)

Re: Is a Platform Really Necessary for Fiction Writers?

Julie M. Rodriguez — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 00:58:39 -0000

You're definitely welcome! I know that just focusing on writing, revision, and getting published eats up so much time and effort -- it can seem almost impossible to add another "job" on top of all the other work you're expected to do. A platform can be a great thing, but at the end of the day, if it's distracting from your writing, you have to stop and ask yourself if it's really serving you.

Re: Creative Nonfiction: “Covering The Dead”

Julie M. Rodriguez — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 00:56:34 -0000

Elizabeth, thank you so much for submitting this important essay. It touches on so many deeply important issues: from the way journalism is being devalued in the internet age, to the question of how to respectfully write about and address stories about tragedy. There are so many deaths in the world each and every day, and so often it seems that the only side of the story we see is that of the murderer, natural disaster, or war -- not stories about the lives that were lost. Thank you for reminding us that those stories matter just as much, if not even more.

Re: Creative Nonfiction: “Living and Dying with FIV”

Julie M. Rodriguez — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 00:47:31 -0000

Thank so much for sharing your story with us, Jeff - this one really touched me because I've had this same experience. I had a pet ferret of six years who developed a heart condition and eventually died of congestive heart failure. Medications were effective for awhile (a couple of years, actually), but there was only so much that could be done. It's terrible to feel so powerless! It's been two years since I had to have him put to sleep and it definitely still haunts me. Reading about someone who's dealt with the loss of a pet in the same way definitely helps!

Re: Creative Nonfiction: “Naked”

Joyce — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 19:20:32 -0000

For Naked by Megan Doyle,
I enjoyed the raw moments inspired throughout of your travels into Africa. I am impressed by your ability to have me imagine what you went through.
Bravo.
Joyce

Re: Is a Platform Really Necessary for Fiction Writers?

Hannah — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 14:21:25 -0000

Thanks for addressing this!

Re: Reading About Scene & Structure Almost Gave Me a Nervous Breakdown

VicktheChick — Fri, 20 Jun 2014 21:24:32 -0000

Mark Twain said, "Easy reading is damned hard writing." Someone else said, "Talent is making the difficult look simple." Or something like that. Anyway. Congratulations on this blog entry I think it is very well written! As for form and structure. If you take any book or movie that made a BIG SPLASH it usually seems to me to follow the general notion that EVERY scene should in some way contribute to a CLIMAX and denoument that is believable yet surprising. What is "surprising" changes all the time. Best Wishes!

Re: 15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly (Infographic)

John Barnes — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 20:37:21 -0000

Only #s 7 and 15 are properly speaking grammar matters. The rest are usage, punctuation, or that gray area around homophones where usage shades into spelling.

Re: 4 Essential Rules of Research for Fiction Writers

John Barnes — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 20:29:31 -0000

Sound advice. I'd add that the very best research is the stuff that doesn't fit your story or theme very well -- because it forces you to write something that isn't just wish-fulfillment or standard fiction tropes, but true and different and resistant to easy reading.

Re: 22 Rules To Phenomenal Storytelling (Infographic)

stevie — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 12:11:56 -0000

I enjoy the information packed into these pictures. Thank-you for your gift.

Re: Lauren Says, “Here’s How to Punctuate Dialogue Correctly.”

Jeanna — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 21:50:26 -0000

Thanks for the suggestions and examples. A slight potential correction: From most sources that I run across, dialog interrupted by an action beat should be set off with em dashes outside of the quotation marks, not inside:
"the last time I saw you was"--Bob stroked his beard--"that time..."
This one has been driving me mad forever, but since I've been researching it, it keeps popping up in places, and the em dashes always seem to be outside.
(Hope this wasn't pesky of me!)

Re: Past, Present, and Future: Choosing a Tense and Sticking to It

Julie M. Rodriguez — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 14:43:21 -0000

Hey Leea, sorry it took me a bit to get back to you on this, I've been moving around the world (literally!). :) I think this is style decision that's up to the particular writer.

If you want it to be very clear it's a dream sequence, using italics or inserting line breaks works well. But if you have a character with trouble telling reality from fantasy, maybe you want to make it flow more seamlessly between the main narrative and the dream sequence -- if the character has trouble telling what's a dream and what's not, it makes sense to leave the reader a little confused, too. Hope this helps!

Re: 4 Steps To Writing Truly Scary Horror

Jeff — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 10:48:26 -0000

Learned a lot about spooky while writing my latest book, nonfiction ghost stories Campus Ghosts of Norman, Oklahoma: http://www.amazon.com/Campu...

Re: Past, Present, and Future: Choosing a Tense and Sticking to It

Leea — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 14:30:47 -0000

When switching tenses in a dream sequence (to the present tense), should one make clear distinctions in the structure of the text? For example by inserting line breaks or using italics?

Re: I Finally Read Stephen King’s On Writing

John Barnes — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:08:02 -0000

A thought about your struggles with books about commercial fiction by commercial fiction writers: on the commercial side, snobbism in a writer is about as acceptable as poor hygeine in a waiter, and much more detectable. Writers have to read and if they read for snobbish purposes, they'll write for them; I don't think I've ever known a fiction writer, playwright, or poet who was able to write for a purpose the writer didn't fundamentally grok&share. Many would-be writers are primarily writing for an audience of creative writing teachers and workshoppers, i.e. people for whom the significance of "being a writer" far outweighs wanting a story.

Bill Kittredge, one of my teachers in grad school, who had a National Book Award hanging among his counted coups, used to turn out a Western (under a pen name) in the first three weeks of every summer, which I understand financed some nice vacations. His secret, he claimed, was that he finished his teaching year pretty tired, and that got him into the frame of mind he'd been in while he was on a ranch in boondocks Oregon, during the winter, when it was too nasty to go anywhere and the work was hard and dirty and done by middday, so that he'd then kill the time before bed with a paperback, and what he wanted was a story. Just a story.

Till you can serve things up for the reader who wants to be entertained and taken somewhere interesting -- without feeling the eyes on the back of your head of the snarky snotbags who worry about all that character'n'langwidge stuff--you'll probably be mystified. (After that, you'll probably be unable to remember why you were worrying about their feelings anyway.)

Most of the people in writing workshops and MFA programs are like breeders of purebred cats ... it's a way to pass the time and secure a feeling of importance because it's a club that you can't join unless you can convince yourself it's important. Most of the commercial writers are people with a sporadically rewarding job helping other people pass the time; they're more like the people at the animal shelter who just want to keep Mittens out of the gas chamber and help some lonely little girl or old guy have some company. Till you like most cats, instead of the color of one particular Siamese, the majority of cat lovers will be a mystery to you.

Re: I Finally Read Stephen King’s On Writing

Jake — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 09:34:54 -0000

I'd say you need to read a little more King. I recommend Dead Zone or 11/22/63 to really expand your King horizons.

Re: 15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly (Infographic)

Kylie — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 11:33:15 -0000

This infographic is awesome. Although the "literally" bit is somewhat arguable. Since the infographic is specifically referring to online writing, I don't think "literally" merits inclusion in the Top 15 mistakes; the informal use is becoming increasingly sanctioned in informal contexts, and is even included in some dictionaries, such as Google and Merriam-Webster: http://www.mediabistro.com/...

Re: 15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly (Infographic)

Peter Apps — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 11:20:02 -0000

Every editor I've had explains the difference between its and it's. I do know - until my fingers hit the keyboard.

Re: I LOVE Norton Critical Editions

Chayan Banerjee — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 08:52:45 -0000

How is the paper quality of the Norton? Is it Glossy like Magazines. I had lately bought a Jane Eyre Norton in India but was decieved. Is the Paper quality like Penguins?

Re: Why I Chose To Write An Adventure Book About The Afterlife

Julie M. Rodriguez — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 02:33:23 -0000

It's always great to hear how fiction writers use personal tragedies and life events as inspiration for their fiction. Thanks again for sharing this post with us, C.J.!

Re: 29 Keyboard Shortcuts Every Writer Should Know

Julie M. Rodriguez — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 02:31:19 -0000

Really fantastic suggestions, Tharyn! I especially like the Scrivener-specific shortcuts, which I wasn't familiar with already. :)

Re: 5 Things Everyone “Knows” About Professional Writing — And Why They’re Dead Wrong

Julie M. Rodriguez — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 12:59:21 -0000

Thanks for the feedback. :) You're definitely right that just feeling like you're able to reach out and help people out is the best reward when it comes to writing. (Another reason I've found I like nonfiction writing!)

Re: 5 Things Everyone “Knows” About Professional Writing — And Why They’re Dead Wrong

Travelwanderings — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 12:51:57 -0000

Thank you SO MUCH for going through these myths and explaining them! I feel really encouraged by the busted-ness of the myths, and more informed as well (bonus). I'm just starting out writing, and it would be nice to improve enough to make *some* money, but my motivation is really to reach out to people and maybe help them in my own small way. :) Like you did by busting these myths for me!