Creating a Fictional Newspaper Blog

Blacktip Times logoMany of us have seen instances where authors take their fictional characters beyond the books that spawned them: interviews with a character, blog postings by them, Facebook pages, Q&A sessions with readers. Recently, however, I came across something that was new to me. Tim Jackson, author of Mangrove Underground, has created a newspaper blog for Blacktip Island, the location where his book is set. Tim describes the site like this:

South of Imagination and east of Flor de Caña lies Blacktip Island, the setting for Tim W. Jackson’s forthcoming second novel, Blacktip Island, and for his many short stories. The Blacktip Times is a weekly record of news and events in the island’s small community of dreamers, reprobates and ne’er-do-wells.

Seeing this as a rather unique spin-off of a book, I decided to interview Tim and find out the behind-the-scenes story. Continue reading “Creating a Fictional Newspaper Blog”

Nasty Little Filter Words

bad filter words embroidery-496003_640It’s easy to fall into bad habits with our writing — lazy prose we’ve become so accustomed to that we don’t even notice it, even during the editing process. I had fallen into a really bad habit without even realizing it, and it wasn’t until I read an article on filter words that I had my lightbulb moment.

Filter words, those little words we throw into our text without noticing; those are the words that pull the reader out of your story. They’re unnecessary, yet writers use them all the time.

So, what are filter words? Continue reading “Nasty Little Filter Words”

Is Scribophile For You?

writing a bookI’m lucky to live in an area where you can’t throw a Kindle without hitting a writer. Not that I recommend you do that; it makes them cranky and it hurts the Kindle. But it does offer the opportunity to find a face-to-face critique group. If you reside off the beaten path or if the circumstances of your life don’t permit easy travel, gathering a roomful of writers can be more challenging. Social media can provide you with an online writing community, but this doesn’t work for everyone. You might want to keep your social media separate from your actual writing process. Rather than go without fresh eyes on your work, it could be worthwhile to try an online critiquing site like Scribophile.com. Continue reading “Is Scribophile For You?”