Writer Hannah Lee Kidder has shared some practical advice that goes against conventional wisdom. These aren't your typical "write every day" platitudes. They're techniques writers can use to get unstuck and stay productive.These tips are about working with your brain instead of against it. Stop trying to be perfect on the first pass, use practical tricks to stay productive, and give yourself permission to write badly so you can actually finish something. Check out Kidder's video here. - YouTube www.youtube.com Change Your Character's Name Temporarily If you're struggling with a character you either love too much or hate too much, try swapping their name with someone real. Kidder uses her friend Sam's name when she needs to write a character more fairly, since it helps her imagine better traits for them. The opposite works too—use a name that annoys you to add flaws to an overly perfect character. Just remember to find-and-replace before you submit. Creating believable characters involves giving them emotional depth and complexity, which gets harder when you're too close to see them clearly. Get some distance and ground them in reality for a new perspective. Cut the Last Thing You Wrote Most writers don't know when to stop talking. Kidder's is to look at the last line or scene you wrote and ask if cutting it makes the piece stronger. It might. Writers tend to make their point and then keep going, weakening the impact. When editor John Matthew Fox worked on 51 manuscripts in one year,...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Tuesday, 7 October