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James Killick's Blog: Is craft killing your creativity?

http://jameskillick.blogspot.com/2013/04/is-craft-killing-your-creativity.html

Thoughts from writing's front line. Friday, 5 April 2013. Is craft killing your creativity? You know why you're here. You have a story to tell. A good story. The pictures in your head are vivid, the characters rich, your life-experiences unique and particular to you. No one can see the world through your eyes. Nobody can ever tell your story but you. Words are not enough. You learn about structure, pace and narrative. The importance of character, the distinction between story and plot. Craft is the means...

jameskillick.blogspot.com

James Killick's Blog: Five reasons why blogging makes you a better writer

http://jameskillick.blogspot.com/2011/07/5-reasons-why-blogging-makes-you-better.html?spref=bl

Thoughts from writing's front line. Tuesday, 5 July 2011. Five reasons why blogging makes you a better writer. Apparently there's only one reason to write a blog – to build a 'platform', which you can then convert to customers to buy your 'product'. Aside from the fact that anyone who thinks of their potential readership in those terms doesn't deserve anyone's time or money, thinking of your blog in terms of 'platform' is a little like obsessing about how to get published before you've learned to write.

jameskillick.blogspot.com

James Killick's Blog: Five things the writing experts won't tell you

http://jameskillick.blogspot.com/2011/09/five-things-writing-experts-wont-tell.html

Thoughts from writing's front line. Wednesday, 7 September 2011. Five things the writing experts won't tell you. The second draft can be shittier than the first. Following the rules can make your writing flat and formulaic. Revising can kill your originality. Story you're revising, not somebody else's. Flaws are like bad memories. You forget them and remember the good bits. If readers are swept away by the romance, the milieu or the story. You can't be taught, you have to learn. But the fact remains - yo...

jameskillick.blogspot.com

James Killick's Blog: Performing open-heart surgery on a scene

http://jameskillick.blogspot.com/2011/07/performing-open-heart-surgery-on-scene.html

Thoughts from writing's front line. Wednesday, 13 July 2011. Performing open-heart surgery on a scene. Some scenes are born easily, some are dragged kicking and screaming into the world; some are born beautiful, some as ugly as sin. So what do you do when your scene looks more like Frankenstein's monster than Adonis? The four purposes of a scene are as follows (in order of importance):. 1 To progress the story. 2 To reveal character. 3 To introduce a character. Something must have changed for the charact...

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James Killick's Blog: Four master-skills to make your writing a cut above the rest

http://jameskillick.blogspot.com/2011/01/four-master-skills-to-make-your-writing.html

Thoughts from writing's front line. Monday, 31 January 2011. Four master-skills to make your writing a cut above the rest. Everybody talks about 'showing' and 'telling', far less about 'suggesting', but it’s the things that are suggested, the subtleties that lie within the spaces in between. That will make your writing far more than the mere words you type. But for the master-technicians amongst you, here are four subtle techniques deconstructed. Foreshadowing should not be confused with foretelling &#82...

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James Killick's Blog: How to write great sex

http://jameskillick.blogspot.com/2012/09/how-to-write-great-sex.html

Thoughts from writing's front line. Saturday, 8 September 2012. How to write great sex. It's the most natural thing in the world. We like to have as much of it as possible and while sometimes disappointing when it's good it's the most amazing experience imaginable. Everybody is talking about it - so why is writing about it so hard and why are there so many bad sex scenes written? How can we write about a character's deepest desires when we can't even talk about our own. And what if mum reads it? We look ...

rcmurphy.wordpress.com

The Muse – Author R.C. Murphy

https://rcmurphy.wordpress.com/the-muse

Author R.C. Murphy. Violence, Death, and Sex Written with Style. About R.C. Murphy. My muse is named Larry. Larry is none of this. Larry’s hobbies include, but are not limited to: Visiting nudist colonies, watching girl on girl porn, and sleeping on the couch. On top of those favorites he also has a knack for waking me up in the middle of the night with a good idea. Or preventing me from sleeping altogether with yet another Good Idea. Oh, by the way, Larry is the head of the Complaint Department as well&...

jameskillick.blogspot.com

James Killick's Blog: What Theatre Can Teach about Storytelling

http://jameskillick.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-theatre-can-teach-about.html

Thoughts from writing's front line. Monday, 11 October 2010. What Theatre Can Teach about Storytelling. Imagine telling a story without narrative and without description; a story with no 'telling', no explanations of a character's speech or thoughts, why they said what they said, did what they did. No room for authorial voice, the writerly ego. No plugging the gaps in your story, or justifications for unconvincing character actions. So what's my point? In fact, I have several:. Writing for the stage teac...

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James Killick's Blog: Five ways to ruin a good story

http://jameskillick.blogspot.com/2011/05/five-ways-to-ruin-good-story.html

Thoughts from writing's front line. Tuesday, 3 May 2011. Five ways to ruin a good story. Having a good story to tell is only half the battle – you can still make a mess of it in the telling. Here are five ways of doing just that. Tell it in flashback. Save it to the end. Have the best bits happen off page/stage/screen. I used to do it as a novice writer because I was scared of dealing with the big dramatic scenes - but I've seen it done by writers paid thousands by the BBC for the privilege. So the c...