Basics of writing – Page 2 – Write Well, Write To Sell

Master the basics of writing (so you won’t look like a total amateur)

12/28/2020 Write Well, Write To Sell 337 Views 0 Comments basics of writing, fiction writing, good writing techniques, important tips on wiritng basics, rick taubold

From Rick: As readers of this blog know, periodically I like to step up on my soapbox. Before I do, I’d like to categorize the manuscripts I am called upon to read in my various capacities. As editors of an

Basics of writing Novel writing

Writing tips from the pros

12/14/2020 Write Well, Write To Sell 360 Views 0 Comments editing tips, good writing techniques, rick taubold, writing tips from pros

From Rick: Back in May of 2019, I did a post called “Tips from the experts” wherein I pulled out what I considered the best advice and provided a link to the full article I quoted from. Here’s the link

Basics of writing Story Details

The writer’s responsibilities to inform readers

11/16/2020 Write Well, Write To Sell 341 Views 0 Comments good writing techniques, novel writing, properly informing your reader, rick taubold

From Rick: I apologize for not having posted here for two weeks. Last Monday my computer blew out its power supply. No files were lost, but I wasn’t able to access the post for last week in time. All is

Basics of writing How to write a story Novel writing

Story flaws: Finding and fixing them—PART 2

10/26/2020 Write Well, Write To Sell 306 Views 0 Comments bad writing habits, fiction writing, finding and fixing story flaws, good writing techniques, rick taubold, story flaws

From Rick: In PART-1, I talked about three major flaws a story can have: (1) The story fails to engage the reader (2) The characters fail to engage the reader (3) The story takes too long to become interesting (or

Basics of writing How to write a story

Story flaws: Finding and fixing them—PART 1

10/19/202010/26/2020 Write Well, Write To Sell 317 Views 0 Comments bad writing habits, finding and fixing story flaws, good writing techniques, novel writing, rick taubold, story flaws

From Rick: What’s wrong with your story? Why are magazine editors rejecting your short stories? Are your novels getting mixed reviews (or no reviews)? In a series of two posts I’m going to offer some suggestions for things you can

Basics of writing Formatting Novel writing

Using scene breaks properly

09/07/2020 Write Well, Write To Sell 446 Views 0 Comments good writing techniques, novel writing, rick taubold, scene breaks

From Rick: From time to time I receive questions about scenes and scene breaks. We’ve all heard the term “scene” used, but we don’t often hear it defined. Here’s one concise definition I found online: “A scene is a section

Basics of writing Grammar

Passive writing and passive voice

08/04/2020 Write Well, Write To Sell 426 Views 0 Comments good writing techniques, passive writing, rick taubold

From Rick: Last time I answered a question about whether the word “had” fell on the list of words we should avoid overusing in our writing, words like: really, just, actually, very, in fact, looked, seemed, looked like, there (as

Basics of writing Verb tenses

Proper use and overuse of “had” in writing

07/27/202008/17/2020 Write Well, Write To Sell 742 Views 2 Comments bad writing advice, good writing techniques, novel writing, overuse of "had"

From Rick: Recently, a member of my local writers group mentioned having seen several articles that “had” was one of those words writers should avoid using. That got my attention. In my thirty-some years of writing experience, I have never

Basics of writing How to write a story Novel writing Point of view

Tips for writing a scene

06/22/2020 Write Well, Write To Sell 581 Views 1 Comment rick taubold, writing scenes

From Rick: You’ll find many articles on the internet and whole books devoted to advice on how to write a scene. I’m not going to pretend to know everything nor claim that I know better. What I want to do

Basics of writing Point of view

Character thoughts: When to italicize them

06/15/2020 Write Well, Write To Sell 379 Views 0 Comments character thoughts, direct thoughts, good writing techniques, indirect dhoughts, italicizing direct thoughts, rick taubold

From Rick: In my June 1, 2020 post I talked about how to deal with character thoughts, specifically inner (direct) thoughts. I also talked about indirect thoughts. In a novel I’m currently editing, I noticed some places where the author