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Character Creation – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is Dead…As a Writer,...
(Writer’s Note – Article owing 2 of 4) The President of Venezuela passed today. He has long been the subject of curiosity in the United States because he was sort of a likeable communist who claimed...
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Freelancing – A Pain in the A*& But Sometimes Worth it
(Writer’s Note –Article owing 3 of 4) Ok, I’ll come out of the closet…I’m a novelist and I freelance. There, I did it. Wasn’t as painful as I thought it was going to be. Let’s be honest, without...
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10 of the Best Things You Can do for Your Writing
(Writer’s Note- Article owing 4 or 4…whoo hoo) Your writing…if you are a writer, you love it. And you hate it…and you love it…and you hate it…let’s be honest…being a writer is one of the hardest things...
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The Big Question….Okay, How About a Bunch of Little Questions
I get fellow writers who write and ask me questions all the time. I try and answer every one of them that I receive on the blog but, I also get asked questions in other forums that never make it to the...
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Cut it Out! Word Counts and How to Keep Them from Running Amuck
The dreaded word count…it haunts you. When you are writing a novel you do your best to hit that right number for the publisher, when you’re writing magazine articles you can often find yourself looking...
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He Said and Then She Said and Then He said but Then She Said…
Writer’s Note – Reset Sunday will be back this week so watch for it…. This is one of the problems most writers face within the first couple of manuscripts they produce…the “he said/she said” problem....
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Use Your Past…That’s What it’s There for….
Sometimes we have to see things through new eyes. We have to take a giant step back and ask ourselves, what am I doing and why am I doing it? Then, once we have answered those questions, we need to...
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I Can Do It! I Can Do It! I Can Do It! (Well Maybe I Can Do It)
Self-doubt…it is the kryptonite of the writer. It is our garlic, it is our silver bullet, and it is our road block on the highway to getting published. It sucks. For me personally self-doubt can stop...
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Article 1
My regular website is updated and there is a second writing blog called Random Thoughts that you may find interesting. Take a look at http://jaifarris.com/
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Kickstarting My New Project
I am finishing a 70,000 word thriller that will tell the story of a young couple who discover that the horror of their family past has been passed on to them along with the family home. The story...
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Community – Whether it’s Zombies or Writers…It’s Important
Recently I was reminded of the importance of community. I have been having a tough time with my writing and like many of our kind (writers) I was suffering in silence….alone. I was sitting (often in...
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Are We Teching Ourselves Out of Creativity?
They have invaded every aspect of our lives just like Ray Bradbury suggested they would. Computers determine everything from climate control inside our homes and cars to how long I need to cook my food...
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What Choo Talkin About Willis?
I have a friend who thinks that he is really good at mimicking other accents. His french accent sounds Italian, his Canadian sounds Hispanic and his “London” accent is a hodgepodge of Scottish, Irish...
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Help Me with an Experiment!
Don’t forget to support my Kickstarter Project! I began it because readers kept asking me if it was a good idea…I guess we will find out…. Donate here…...
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I’ll Have a Latte and a Side of People Watching
This morning I had a meeting set for 10 a.m. at the Barnes and Noble nearby. As I sat waiting for the guy I was supposed to meet I got the chance to sit and watch the comings and goings of the patrons...
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Reset Sunday- Pick Up A Darn Book Please….
It’s been a while since I have written a Reset Sunday…my apologies; I’m back at it now. For today’s Reset column I wanted to mention a thing or two about how Sundays are the perfect “reading day”. You...
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The Write Time to Edit
A lot of you have been asking me lately how I feel about the editing process. I would like to say that editing is a pure joy, a semblance of bliss within the writing process…but I’d be lying. For most...
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Nobody Scares Me Like I Scare Me
Fear is a staple for most writers. Because we live such a self-sustained existence we don’t get the encouragement, pats on the back or supportive talks that other people get when it comes to their...
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Sometimes Common Sense isn’t so Common
Writers are not supposed to be stupid people. We are usually fairly intelligent and very well read…at least that’s what we want people to believe. Oddly, although most of us are fairly intelligent and...
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Make it a Challenge to Not Limit Yourself to what you Enjoy
Now many of you are looking at the headline of this column and asking…huh? Let me explain… Many of us read writers that we like. I enjoy Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Kelly Armstrong. (Yes there is a...
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