Bruce Byfield

The point of interesting facts isn't to impress readers. It's the potential for interesting plot-points and perspectives. #writing

The need to massively revise a chapter is both disheartening and full of excitement at the same time. So much work, so many possibilities! #writing

After weeks of revision, spinning straw into gold looks simple. #writing

Technical writing taught me to prioritize conciseness, clarity & precision, & to choose to choose a level of diction suitable to the audience.

It did not teach me plotting, pacing, characterization, or atmosphere.

Still, it gave me a foundation on which to learn fiction.
#writing

Paul Edwin Zimmer used to say that writers like the one you mention were "queer for cloth"

One reason to research is that it can help with details of your description and add realism. For example, instead of a black raven, you might specify a rave with patches of brown feathers. #writing

I often emphasize that a character's backstory is not a character sheet for a role-playing game. In role-playing, a character's back story is separate from the plot, because a player creates the back story, the DM the plot. Fiction, though, requires a closer connection.

It pays to research details in your novel. If you don't, someday someone will write to say you're wrong. #writing

I often emphasize that a character's backstory is not a character sheet for a roleplaying game. In roleplaying, a character's back story is separate from the plot, because a player creates the back story, the DM the plot. Effective fiction, though, requires a closer connection.

I also went and smelled a bar of cedar-scented smoke.

I also went and smelled a bar of cedar-scented smoke. 😀

Revision has made me a perfectionist. Acting on a stray thought as I waited in the dentist's chair, I spent 20 minutes researching the smell of burning cedar & comparing the results to my memories. #writing

All for 65 words.

I try to bring each chapter close to its final form before I move on the next one. Yet obviously, my judgment isn't consistent.

Editing has so many ups and downs. One chapter takes a day to revise, then the next one takes 3 weeks, and
needs to be entirely rewritten. #writing

"Show, don't tell" applies especially to info dumps.

This is a conclusion that I constantly rediscover. Following it forces me to be creative. Worrying about pacing keeps the result concise. #writing

I suppose it's possible in theory to improve as a writer without reading. But if so, you put yourself at a huge disadvantage. #writing

When writing a description of a person, place, or thing, don't try to be thorough or objective. Instead, ask yourself:
1. What do you want readers to know?
2. What's the impression readers should get?
3. What metaphor fits?
4. What word summarizes? What features suggest it?
#writing

My latest typo: "housecalls" for "housecarls"

I find that drafting gets progressively more complicated. I often want to refer back to earlier drafts, and unless I'm careful with file names, it can be easy to confuse them.

I find free writing more useful than an outline. Instead of determining what *will* happen, I jot down some of what *could* happen. I only decide what will happen as I write, and sometimes my choices are not ones I jotted down initially. #writing

It's much more difficult to write clearly and concisely that with an obscure vocabulary and elaborate syntax. If you don't believe me, try it some time. #writing

I accidentally overwrote this afternoon's work, so I spent the evening recreating it. 😂 Fortunately, I recalled most of what I initially wrote. #writing

I blame my preference on early toilet training. 😀

Sylvia Plath said she enjoyed prose because it allowed to write about everyday things like toothbrushes. I like fantasy because it allows me to write about forgotten things like fire starters and hypercausts.

I can't understand how some writers can make a note for revision in another draft when they discover a plot-hole. When I find one, the flaw nags me, and I have no peace until I correct it. #writing

If you can't think of a speech pattern for a character, have them speak concisely and as little as possible. That's second best, but minimizes the damage. And maybe you'll discover a speech pattern for the character in the next draft. #writing

Are agents fair when they judge by the first 5 pages? Yes and no.

Yes, because experienced eyes can often make accurate predictions of the rest

No, because those predictions can sometimes be wrong.

However, what a 5 page sample is always good for is quickly clearing out an agent's inbox.

I have a definite hierarchy of preference and efficiency for the most common parts of speech:

1. verbs
2. nouns
3. adverbs
4. adjectives

Most agents base their decisions on the first 50 pages. Many decide on as little as 5. Belatedly, I'm going back and revising those pages, because I've learned a lot since I wrote them. #writing

I realized today that the advice to writers of"murder your darlings" is another way of saying "beware of sunken costs." #writing