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Category: Fiction Writing
 

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About Me

Fiction writer, coffee addict, cat owner...doesn't every "about me" say that, usually with a cutesy photo? I don't do cutesy. So I'll add to the list: I'm short, stubborn, very unfashionable, clumsy (typing this with a wounded wrist, always have bruises), opinionated, and a humanist. BS degree in Journalism '83, certificate in technical writing, addicted to reading, can't boil water without setting off the smoke alarm, non-skinny, politically active (and annoyingly loud about it). Love comfort, hate camping, wouldn't want to live in a world where chocolate and caramel hadn't been invented.
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Category: Fiction Writing

Great vs. Good Writing

Great vs. Good Writing

Tamra Heathershaw-Hart September 16, 2019 Fiction Writing / WritersLeave a comment

I’m 1.5 chapters into Illona Andrews’ book Iron and Magic and I’m already finding it to be 10 times better than the cozy mystery I’m half-way through. The characters are stronger and because of that the world feels more real (and the Andrews’ book is a fantasy while the cozy …

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It’s a Draft!

It’s a Draft!

Tamra Heathershaw-Hart July 3, 2019 Featured / Fiction Writing / PersonalLeave a comment

It’s been more than a week and I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I finished an actual draft of a book. 70,000+ words — some of them well written, and some thrown blindly at the page in hopes that the round 2 edit can actually …

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Copyright, Stolen Work, and Angry Authors

Copyright, Stolen Work, and Angry Authors

Tamra Heathershaw-Hart March 1, 2019 Fiction Writing / Reading / WritersLeave a comment

If you keep up with Writer Twitter (the area of twitter posts dominated by #amwriting and similar hashtags) you know about the latest upset about a Kindle author who plagiarized a whole group of romance writers, and used ghost writers to whack the stolen passages into a single (bad) book. …

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Author Life Month

Author Life Month

Tamra Heathershaw-Hart January 28, 2019 Fiction Writing / Planning/OrganizingLeave a comment

There’s a February challenge over on Twitter that I’m going to try to do. And I may just try to post here as well (depending on time constraints). It’s called the Author Life Month. I’m not getting writing done (at all) so I’m going to see if this inspires me. …

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Forgotten Flash Fiction story

Forgotten Flash Fiction story

Tamra Heathershaw-Hart June 20, 2017 Fiction WritingLeave a comment

A Flash Fiction challenge was offered on June 2 by the TerribleMinds blog (filled with the entertaining wordspewings of author Chuck Wendig) and it tickled my fancy, so I wrote something then and there. And then immediately forgot I wrote it until I stumbled over it yesterday (June 18), long …

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My Contest Entry: James Patterson Masterclass

My Contest Entry: James Patterson Masterclass

Tamra Heathershaw-Hart April 7, 2017 Fiction WritingLeave a comment

I was given the James Patterson writing Masterclass for Christmas, and enjoyed the class. Part of the class involved a contest to become a co-writer on a James Patterson book, and a lot of people took a stab at it — including me! Since the 10 semi-finalists have been announced …

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Worldbuilding and naming

Worldbuilding and naming

Tamra Heathershaw-Hart March 16, 2017 Fiction WritingLeave a comment

There was an interesting discussion in one of my Facebook writing groups today, about whether a fantasy novel needs to call a horse a horse or come up with all new beasts and names. The original poster wanted to know if it was OK to use Earth animals rather than …

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2016 NaNoWriMo: concept development and worldbuilding

2016 NaNoWriMo: concept development and worldbuilding

Tamra Heathershaw-Hart November 10, 2016 Fiction WritingLeave a comment

Another interesting bit of conceptual development from the NaNo worldbuilding forum. 1. What is valued most in your Society? (Money, Family, Love, etc.) Tesh (my main character) isn’t sure what her people value since she’s lost her memory; as the story progresses she realizes she values independence and knowledge. The …

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2016 Nanowrimo plot post

2016 Nanowrimo plot post

Tamra Heathershaw-Hart November 10, 2016 Fiction WritingLeave a comment

This year I stumbled on thread on the NaNo forums where you were challenged to write your plot like a Pixar plot summary. The Pixar pitch goes like this: 1. Once upon a time there was … 2. Every day … 3. One day … 4. Because of that … …

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