Opinions

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Why Every Serious Writer Should Hate (Most) AI Services

I saw another one today. An advertisement, geared toward writers, for AI-based content generation. There was a time when I hated these services just because they were so astoundingly bad. Flow and grammar were awful....
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Why Every Writer Needs to Draw Their Books

Generally speaking, writers aren’t known for being visual artists. Their whole deal is crafting something beautiful with words, not with color or line or visual perspective, so they often do not draw. But if you’re...
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Yes, Opinion Writing Is Real Writing with Real Value. Here’s Why

Let me start by saying I don’t lose the irony that this entire post is opinion writing. With that out of the way (phew!), I’ve been trying to spend more time interacting with writing groups...
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Should You Write in Multiple Genres?

A while back, I had the opportunity to attend the Northwestern Christian Writers Conference (virtually, thanks to COVID-19). In one of the panels, another writer asked a relatively innocent question: Is it okay to write...

5 Things Writers Should Never Say

Image via Canva Writers are supposed to be great with words. But there are a few phrases I sometimes hear from those in the profession that, in total honesty, drive me up the wall. These...
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Writer’s Block Doesn’t Exist. Here’s Why

You know how it goes. You sit down at your laptop or with a notebook, ready to write. Only you don’t. The page stays blank. Nothing happens. For most of my writing career, I’ve called...
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J.K. Rowling and Stephen King Have A Feud. Here’s What It Teaches Us as Writers

Business photo created by rawpixel.com – www.freepik.com A while back, J.K. Rowling made waves (again) for her stance on transgender people. This time, she was responding to a tweet by Stephen King, who expressed his...
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Scripts in Writing Are Dangerous. Here’s Why

Lately, I’ve been listening to a ton of podcasts. Although they cover a host of different topics, they almost all start the same way if there’s a guest: “Thanks for being on the show.” “Thanks...

Short Writing Deadlines Can Boost Your Quality and Confidence. Here’s How

Image by Wanda Thibodeaux via Canva If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, then you already know that I’m a huge advocate of not forcing writing if you’re just not feeling it. Forced...

Protagonist and Antagonist: Why Morally Gray Is Good

Image by Alexas_Fotos via Canva In traditional writing, there’s often a clear protagonist and antagonist. The protagonist is the character (or idea) that represents everything good and right. The antagonist is the character (or idea)...