Find the tension

When writing fiction, I have a problem where I write scenes and they go (in my judgment) nowhere. This is bad for two reasons: It's boring to read and so I'm going to have to cut a lot, but more importantly, it's boring to

Outlining the "On Writing" part of On Writing

I want to outline the sections from the third part of On Writing, the one called "On Writing." This is the part that's specific to fiction. I'll give brief summaries of each section and page numbers for the starts. The list: 1. Read a

"Always flat and unfeatured to begin with"

When I try to write a story with no inspiration and no notes, the characters come out flat. There's little to go on to move things forward in an interesting direction. Apparently this is how things start even for Stephen King. From On Writing, page 164: The situation

Paragraphs as the smallest living unit of prose

In On Writing (pages 134 and 135), Stephen King writes: I would argue that the paragraph, not the sentence, is the basic unit of  writing—the place where coherence begins and words stand a chance of becoming more than mere words. If the moment of quickening is to come, it

Inspiration

Inspiration is a funny thing. I read Worm and loved it. I could talk about different qualities that I loved. When it comes to am I inspired by this, there are a few different senses you could mean: 1. It made me feel strong emotions — yes. 2. I liked it