M. Thomas @mthomaswriting - Tumblr Blog

Watch Bad Movies, Read Bad Books

Sometimes, it’s a challenge to stick it out through a particular piece of work, whether that’s a movie, book, episode of TV, webseries, graphic novel — the list goes on and on. I used to feel obligated to finish every book I started, regardless of how I felt about it. I’ve gotten better about abandoning books recently, but there’s also something to be said for intentionally consuming a “bad”…

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I'm Back! Where I've Been & What's Next

I’m Back! Where I’ve Been & What’s Next

I know, it’s been a while. Truth be told, I don’t have an excuse for my absence from blogging except that life got in the way, like it so often does. I moved, my family moved, I had weeks on weeks of house problems, I’ve been working a lot — and on top of it all, I’ve still been writing. But now that I’m settled, I’m ready to start putting down my observations and advice again. I’m also ready to…

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fountainfinity

things people do in real world dialogue:

• laugh at their own jokes

• don’t finish/say complete sentences

• interrupt a line of thought with a sudden new one

• say ‘uh’ between words when unsure

• accidentally blend multiple words together, and may start the sentence over again

• repeat filler words such as ‘like’ ‘literally’ ‘really’ ‘anyways’ and ‘i think’

• begin and/or end sentences with phrases such as ‘eh’ and ‘you know’, and may make those phrases into question form to get another’s input

• repeat words/phrases when in an excited state

• words fizzle out upon realizing no one is listening

• repeat themselves when others don’t understand what they’re saying, as well as to get their point across

• reply nonverbally such as hand gestures, facial expressions, random noises, movement, and even silence

#Writing #Dialogue

Why Do We Do This to Ourselves?

Writers love writing, right? Ideas come to us, and we get inspired to write them down and share them with others. Sometimes, it’s all we think about — the latest novel or short story or poem percolating deep in the mind while life happens around us. Getting swept up in writing is a shared trait among all writers. But another shared trait I’ve noticed is not so productive or helpful:…

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Free-Write Friday: The Other Side

Free-Write Friday is a blog series featuring a prompt designed to work the creative muscles. Posted with minimal edits. Feel free to use the prompt yourself: Rewrite a fictional villain in a way that makes them seem reasonable. I never had the chance to tell my side. Everyone immediately sided with her — and why? They don’t even know her. Some little girl, showing up out of nowhere, ruining my…

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Details, Details

I’m trying something new. Right now, I’m in the process of outlining my next novel. It’s something I’m really looking forward to writing, and I’m planning on using a slightly different style and POV than my usual preferences. It will be an experiment in a lot of ways, and the outline is no different. As I’ve explained before, I need an outline to write. It just helps me know where I’m going and…

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Working Writer Wednesday: When Writing Is Your Day Job

As far as I’m concerned, any job where you can write, edit, or read is pretty much the best job on earth. And when you get to do it every day as your full-time gig, yeah, it’s a dream come true. But sometimes, when you spend your day crafting sentences or staring at pages of text that need revisions, it’s the last thing you want to do on your own time, even if it’s for a personal project that…

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Photo Evidence of an Early Writer

Remember that very first thing I ever wrote? Yeah, I found it: The story is just as stellar as the artwork, trust me. Do you still have any of your early writing?

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Free-Write Friday: A Story Told in Sounds

Free-Write Friday is a blog series featuring a prompt designed to work the creative muscles. Posted with minimal edits. Feel free to use the prompt yourself! Glass shatters. High heels click across the floor. Door opens. SLAMS. Silence, for one glorious moment, hanging on just long enough, until — A baby’s wail, starting low and then rising until it reaches a shriek. Footsteps accompanied by a…

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explore-blog

Neil Gaiman on why we read, the power of cautionary questions, and how speculative storytelling enlarges our humanity

Writing Fights & Talking to Yourself

Conflict always adds interest. Sure, a story where everyone gets along might be easy to write, but it’s boring to read. When characters disagree, when they argue and fight — that’s when things get interesting. But that’s also when things get a little tougher to write. In a moment of high stakes and high emotions like a fight between two characters, you want to make sure there is dramatic tension.…

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Working Writer Wednesday: Why You Shouldn't Edit Yourself

Working Writer Wednesday: Why You Shouldn’t Edit Yourself

I’m a writer. I’m also an editor. It would stand to reason, then, that I could kill two birds with one stone, combine my skill sets, and edit my own writing. This isn’t the best idea, and here’s why: It’s easy to overlook the problems with your own work. You created it, after all. You’re bound to be proud of it — and you should be. But you’re also going to be attached to certain aspects, plot…

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One Year Later: 5 Things I Learned About Myself Since Graduation

And what a year it's been...

Exactly one year ago today, I walked across a stage, shook hands, and breathed a sigh of relief. Since then, I’ve written one and a half novels, started three new jobs and left one, and began the process of living on my own. I’ve also learned a lot. I love the phrase “a year of great discovery,” and this year certainly was one of those. If I tried to list every thing I learned about myself since…

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Free-Write Friday: "It Only Smells Like This at Night."

Free-Write Friday: “It Only Smells Like This at Night.”

Free-Write Friday is a new blog series featuring a prompt designed to work the creative muscles. Posted with minimal edits. Feel free to use the prompt yourself! “It only smells like this at night.” B glanced over at A, eyes narrowed. “Like what?” His response was barely more than a grunt. “You know, fresh. Alive. Kind of dirty, but in a good way?” He ran a hand over the blades of grass,…

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Introducing Weekly Prompts!

As much as I want this blog to be about my journey as a writer, I also want it to serve a couple of other purposes. First, I want to share my experiences and knowledge so other writers can benefit from what I’ve learned. Second, I want to hone my craft and keep pushing myself to try new things with my writing. That’s where the idea for my upcoming weekly prompts came from. Every other week, I…

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I Came Up With Beetlejuice: And Every Other Idea That Was Already Taken

I remember sitting in my screenwriting class, considering ideas for a short film script. One started to solidify, and I may have even jotted some notes down. The jist was this: A young man passes away and starts to haunt his home as a ghost. Word gets out, and day after day, his house is filled with ghost hunters trying to communicate with him to no avail. Then, one day, a little girl visits the…

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