Tag: Writing & Editing
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Writer’s Shop Talk: On the Swift Passage of Time…and the Finer Points of Revising
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Blogging, Books, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Florida, Life in Miami….Again, Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 – October 2024), On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftLate Morning, Wednesday, February 26, 2025, Miami, Florida “I don’t write a quick draft and then revise; instead, I work slowly page by page, revising and polishing.” – Dean Koontz Hey there, Dear Reader, It’s a gorgeous late winter day here in South Florida on the last Hump Day of February 2025. As I sit…
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Writer’s Shop Talk: What’s in My Novelist’s Toolkit?
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Book Reviews, Books, Copilot AI, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, OpenAI (Bing Chatbot), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Writing a First Novel, Writing as a CraftOne of the coolest things about being a writer in 2025 is the amazing array of technological tools available to help create, analyze, revise, and improve literary projects. Some, like Microsoft Word, are time-tested classics that I’ve used since the late 1990s. However, I do think the app could use some tweaks by folks who…
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Overcoming Writer’s Block: A Day in the Life of a Struggling Novelist
Late Morning, Thursday, February 20, 2025, Miami, Florida Writer’s Log, Stardate 0225.20: To put it succinctly, yesterday’s afternoon writing session was a bust. Despite my best efforts to sit down and churn out something for my novel’s 25th chapter – I aimed to write Scene Three but would have happily settled for a solid outline…
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Writer’s Shop Talk: Chapter 25 Sparks to Life in ‘Reunion: Coda’—Penning the Climax with Precision
Late Morning, Thursday, February 13, 2025, Miami, Florida Hi, everyone. Guess what? Yesterday, I penned the first scene for the 25th chapter of Reunion: Coda. It’s not a marathon scene—just 531 words, a bit more than those college essays from back in the day. You know, the ones I cranked out 40 years ago. But…
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Writer’s Shop Talk: Discussing the End of Chapter 24 of Reunion: Coda in the Chill of a Miami Morning
Mid-Morning, Thursday, February 6, 2025, Miami, Florida “After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” ― Philip Pullman It’s a bit past 6:30 on a chilly – by Florida standards, at any rate – morning here in Miami. It’s still dark outside, and the temperature is a “brisk” 69°F…
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Writer’s Shop Talk: When Creativity Takes a Break – The Power of Revisions
Late Morning, Friday, January 31, 2025, Miami, Florida As a writer, producing my best work is both my passion and my process. I often take my sweet time with writing, whether it’s a blog post like this one or diving into my current project, Reunion: Coda. My quirky method involves editing as I go, rather…
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Writer’s Shop Talk: Reunion: A Fragrant Journey Through Time
What is your protagonist’s main trigger (a plot device which causes flashbacks, insightful internal dialogue, etc.)? Is it a certain smell, certain song? When I wrote the first draft of Reunion: A Story in the fall of 1998, I didn’t have any “how to write fiction” books nor a textbook from my creative writing course…
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Writing Wisdom from a Jedi: Mastering Your Novel with a Clear Mind and Steady Hand
Early Afternoon, Wednesday, January 15, 2025, Miami, Florida Random Thoughts About Writing Writing a novel is akin to training as a Jedi Knight. As Yoda wisely advises Luke Skywalker, “A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind.” Both pursuits require patience, dedication, focus, a tranquil environment, and unwavering discipline. Though, I must…
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Foggy Fridays and Novel Triumphs: A New Year’s Blogging Adventure
Late Morning, Friday, January 3, 2025, Miami, Florida Hi, everyone. First, I’m a bit surprised that it’s Friday already. Oh, I knew intellectually that the weekend was imminent because I always date my blog posts when I write them, but “knowing” something is different from “perceiving” it. Since New Year fell on Wednesday (and New…
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The Journey of a Storyteller: Embracing Challenges in Writing
Midday/Early Afternoon, Friday, November 22, 2024, Miami, Florida “Write without pay until somebody offers to pay.” ― Mark Twain I am, first and foremost, a storyteller. Crafting and sharing a good tale – whether presented as a blog post, a short story, a novella, a poem, a screenplay, or (since I’ve been working on one…
