Category Archives: Writing

How to be a writer: how much feedback?

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Who should you ask for feedback on your story or novel? Some of them should be fellow writers, so you can be sure they’ll take a critical eye. Some of them should be your target audience, so you can be … Continue reading →

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I’m doing Camp NaNoWriMo next month

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

National Novel Writing Month is becoming a bigger and bigger deal every year, with over 300,000 writers writing 3 billion words last November. But for people in academia, like me, November is one of the worst months of the year … Continue reading →

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How to be a writer: getting feedback

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

So you wrote something. Great! Maybe it’s a short story. Maybe it’s a novel. Maybe it’s an epic 300,000-word tome (although if it is, you might have some issues). It’s always good when you can finish a project, but now … Continue reading →

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Quality control, part 3: the arts

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

This is final post in my series on quality control. Click the links to see part 1 and part 2. The Internet gives everyone a voice. It either has become or is becoming our library, our newspaper, our encyclopedia, our … Continue reading →

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Fun with word counts

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Quick, which one of these books has more words in it? Have a guess? The book on the left has 516 pages, which at about 330 words per page means it probably has about 170,000 words, give or take. That’s … Continue reading →

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250 words per day: the dark side

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

I wrote before about the Magic Spreadsheet, which is the only thing that has ever really gotten me to write daily. I’m happy to report that I am at 51 days and counting, but it’s been getting harder, and the … Continue reading →

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The Magic Spreadsheet, or, Self-discipline = 250 words per day

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

One of the hardest parts of being a writer is finding enough time to write. Writers are busy people, with any number of things like day jobs, classes, families, and always being within arm’s reach of the Internet on their … Continue reading →

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Some advice about writing advice

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

If you want to be a writer, you must write. But on everything else, it’s not so black and white. Whether around the Internet or in a real life writing group, writers will offer you plenty of advice, much of … Continue reading →

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How to be a writer in 1 easy step

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

I know that at least some of the readers of this blog are also writers, and perhaps some of you want to start writing and aren’t quite sure where to start. Well, you’re in luck, because I am about to … Continue reading →

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NaNoWriMo wrap-up

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Alex R. Howe

It’s December 1, and National Novel Writing Month is over for 2012. According to the NaNo website, an estimated 300,000 writers officially took part this year, with 38,373 winning the event by reaching the goal of 50,000 words, and a … Continue reading →

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