Writing & Reading Goals 2020: Quarter-Pole Check-In
Posted by David Duhr in 
Discussion questions: One-quarter of the way through 2020, are you one-quarter of the way toward achieving your 2020 writing and reading goals? If you left yours in the comments of this New Year’s post, take a minute to revisit and assess. If you didn’t, feel free to talk more generally. Are you happy with your writing so far this year, quantity and/or quality? Have you changed your approach in any way? Should you? Let’s talk about it in the comments. read more
Opening Your Fiction With Dialogue
Discussion questions: As a reader, do you like when the first line of a novel or short story is dialogue? Why or why not? Do any particularly good examples jump out at you? Have you ever used that tactic in your own fiction? Feel free to copy/paste examples in the comments. read more
Writing Is Rewriting Is Rewriting Is Rewriting
Discussion questions: What is your approach to rewriting and revision? Do you buy into the whole “Ninety percent of writing is rewriting” thing? Why or why not? Do you have a good example of a passage from your own work that you’ve changed so much, it barely resembles the original? If so, copy/paste the various versions in the comments below, and detail, if you’d like, its evolution. read more
Multiple Books & Writing Projects
Discussion questions: Do you ever work on multiple writing projects at once? What are your strategies for keeping them separate, from letting one affect the other? How often do you read multiple books at once, and same question: How are you able to keep them separate? read more
Try to Be Funny, Don’t Suck
Discussion questions: George Saunders’ recent Paris Review interview left me with a lot to think about, and maybe it can do the same for you. I’ve stolen from it and listed them below. Do any of them speak to you and make you think about your own writing? In what ways? Let’s talk about it in the comments. read more
The Furniture of Your Mind
Discussion questions: Who are some writers that shape your life, shape how you move through the world and “the particular angles of [your] seeing”? What books have “become part of the furniture” of your mind? read more
Your 2020 Writing Goals
Discussion questions: What are your writing goals for 2020? Your reading goals? How will you achieve them? Do you plan to make any changes in your writing approach this coming year? Let’s talk about it in the comments. read more
Your Favorite O’Nan of the Year
Discussion questions: Tell me about your favorite 2019 reading experiences. Does a particular book stand out as the best you read this year? Or if not the best, your favorite? Do any reading moments come to mind, where you weren’t necessarily reading your favorite book of the year but still had a memorable experience? Let’s talk about your year in reading in the comments below. And if you’re looking forward to any particular book(s) in 2020, I wanna hear about that, too. read more
Your Favorite Writing Moments of 2019
Discussion questions: Tell me about your favorite 2019 writing experience. Did you have any memorable breakthroughs where your story, or even your entire book, came together? Or a moment where you realized you were creating the best writing you’re capable of? Is there a particular writing session that stands out as the most successful and/or most enjoyable? Did you receive any surprising feedback that made your day, week, month, or year? read more
Your Winter Writing Approach & Goals
Discussion questions: What are your writing goals this winter, and/or for the rest of 2019? How does your writing approach change when the snow flies and the wind blows and the sun starts going down at &^(*&^# lunchtime? If you’re susceptible to the winters blues, how do you avoid the winter writing blues? read more
Your Internal Critic at Its Worst
Discussion questions: What is the worst thing your internal critic tells you? That one most abusive piece of negative self-talk, the one he/she knows will make you want to give up and never write again? Let us know in the comments.
Your Inspirational Writing Quote
Discussion questions: If a struggling writer sought a list of inspirational writing quotes and you were on that list, what would be your quote? And in what way(s) does your quote shed light on your approach to your own work? Is there a favorite inspirational writing quote you turn to, or try to keep in mind, when you’re struggling? Let us know in the comments. read more
- It’s getting dark out there https://t.co/vrL5WBS9LI