Category: Writing Process

• Four Things I Learned About Writing Novels

  Yesterday, I completed the first draft of my fourth novel. Actually, in some ways it’s hard to believe that I’ve written that many novels. It wasn’t too long ago that I had given up entirely on writing and never thought I would ever have even finished one novel. As I reflect on the writing of…

  sassevn

  September 22, 2014

  Indie Author, Writing Process

  indie writing., novel writing, writing doubts, writing process

• Writing Using Third Person Limited Point of View: I hope I chose wisely.

  I’m in the home stretch of writing my fourth novel. I’m excited about the possibilities that this novel has. It’s unique and interesting, and, believe it or not, it’s my first novel ever that I at don’t even mention Vietnam! Surprising, I know! This is very much a novel about one character’s journey in a…

  sassevn

  September 21, 2014

  Indie Author, Writing Process

  deciding which narration, first person narration, indie authors, novel writing, third person limited, third person omniscient, writing, writing process

• Revisiting an Old Script and Loving It

  Kerry Livgren, composer and musician for the 70s progressive rock group Kansas (and always one of my favorites – check out Proto-Kaw), once said that he loved the opportunity to re-record a track that he had written. In essence, anyway that it can be improved he loved to do it. Well, I made a determination…

  sassevn

  August 1, 2014

  drama, Writing Process

  composing, drama writing, editing writing, improving writing, Kansas, Kerry Livgren, musical writing

• Writing Session: Follow Your Story No Matter How Long or Short

  It felt good to get in a solid writing session on my fourth novel this afternoon. I probably tallied 2000 words as the story heads for its conclusion. It’s now upwards of 43,000 words and will comfortably cruise into the novel territory before I write its final words. But I have discovered that I’m now…

  sassevn

  July 29, 2014

  Indie Author, Writing Process

  novel length, novel writing, word count, writing, writing process

• Creative Writing: The Tried and True becomes the Tried and New

  There is nothing new under the sun. No new plots to uncover. No new experiences to be told about. Creativity is in the realm of re-hashing the common and already told into a refreshing and new take. Creativity is taking that situation and putting your unique twist on it that only you could have created.…

  sassevn

  July 24, 2014

  Writing Process

  common themes in writing, creativity, generating ideas, ideas, writing, writing ideas

• An Episode of (writing) Failure

  I like to be honest on this blog. No reason to be otherwise. I don’t like to be pretentious, though any foray into self-advertising seems to uncomfortably cling to the cliff leading into the valley of pretension. Here’s the cold hard truth. But sometimes writers fail to achieve their goals. Sometimes others deem their work…

  sassevn

  July 21, 2014

  Indie Author, Writing Process

  failing, failure, script rejection, succeeding as a writer, writer’s ego, writing, writing failure, writing rejection

• Recognition is nice, but it’s not why I do it.

  Why do writers write? No doubt there are a myriad of reasons. Some noble. Some mundane. Some exploitative. I always wanted to be a writer because I felt that being a writer would be cool. How’s that for pithy? I thought that being a writer would make people go “ooohh” and “ahhhh” which would in…

  sassevn

  July 20, 2014

  Indie Author, Writing Process

  good reviews, recognition, why writers write, writing, writing process

• Writing: On the Spot Inspiration

  Where does writing inspiration come from? I suppose every writer would answer this in different ways. I love what I call “on the spot” inspiration, when an idea suddenly strikes me out of the blue and it is seemingly unconnected with anything else I had been previously thinking. Then from that small kernel, a solid…

  sassevn

  July 19, 2014

  Writing Process

  drama, Penang, PenangPAC, RLT Players, short plays, theatre, underground railroad, writing block, writing inspiration, writing process, writing techniques

• Remembering What I Wrote

  Did you ever forget what you have written? Did you ever re-read your writing and wonder where that certain phrase came from? Did you ever amaze yourself and say, ‘I wrote that’? About six months back I had written about 40,000 words of my next novel. Over the past few months I had probably only…

  sassevn

  July 15, 2014

  Writing Process

  character study, novel writing, read before writing, rereading own works, third person limited narration, writing procedures

• When writing, I don’t want to sound smart. I want to sound real.

  I was reading some reviews written by some readers of a particular novelist whom I am not familiar with. The readers were noting some of the rather bizarre metaphors that the author was using and said that if you liked the sound of these then you will like this person’s writing. The metaphors themselves seemed…

  sassevn

  July 5, 2014

  Indie Author, Writing Process

  approaches to writing, authenticity in writing, writing, writing metaphors