by Melinda Snodgrass | Jan 15, 2023 | About Writing, The Craft of Writing
I’ve always been a writer who outlines. I got a lot better at it once I worked in Hollywood and learned how to “break a story”. For an in-depth look at how that works check out my blog post called How I Plot. Point being, I’m a bit of a dinosaur, I like to outline the way I was taught in LaLa Land using either a white board and different colored pens or a cork board 4×6 cards and different colored pens. However, many of the programs I use have added plotting...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Jun 10, 2021 | The Craft of Writing, TV & Movies
I watched the first episode of Disney and Marvel’s new TV series Loki last night, and I loved it. It continues the really exciting trend of innovative and daring shows on this streaming network. Also, I have a giant crush on Tom Hiddleston and on Loki. Honestly, I’m a bit schizophrenic in my crushes when it comes to Marvel. Favorite Avenger — Captain America, but for a fun and undoubtably crazy time on a date — Loki. But enough of my fantasy romances. I was musing about...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Apr 28, 2021 | About Writing, The Craft of Writing
I mentioned on Twitter that I was getting ready to outline or break two new novels, and a follower asked if I could describe my process. It ended up being a really looong Tweet thread so I thought I would pull it all together here for folks who might not be on Twitter. I always outlined from the time I first started writing, I think it was a function of having been a lawyer and knowing that a brief has to take a judge or a jury to a certain conclusion so structure is important. I’m also...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Jul 10, 2020 | About Writing, The Craft of Writing, Wild Cards
I was scrolling through Twitter this morning and came across a gif of a group of cows jumping over the white line on a road. And it reminded me of a funny Roger Zelazny/Wild Cards story. Also how Roger was freaking brilliant and one of the finest writers ever to grace the field of science fiction and fantasy. Anyway, we were working a particular volume — Down and Dirty — where Roger’s iconic character Croyd Crenson aka The Sleeper has awakened with a horrible new power...
by Melinda Snodgrass | May 1, 2018 | The Craft of Writing
Sunday I completed a scene in The Currency of War and realized that there was a lightness in my chest and that sense that I’d just taken a sip of champagne. I always get that feeling when a project tips over and I’m into the end game. Before this point it always feels like I’m climbing a very steep hill as I put in place all the pieces, make certain that every character’s motivations are clear and believable. And then I’m like a downhill skier gaining speed...
by Melinda Snodgrass | Oct 26, 2017 | The Craft of Writing
I am a naif in the ways of Amazon so today a good friend, Sage Walker, was guiding me through how to look up Amazon rankings, etc. As you all know I don’t read reviews. If they are positive you get a swelled head. If they are bad it just makes you feel shitty and helpless because at that point your book is published and there’s not a damn thing you can do to fix whatever the reviewer (or random person on Amazon or Goodreads) thought was wrong with the book. But as I was discovering where to...
