BEWARE OF FALSE DICHOTOMIES
A quote often misattributed to Aristotle (long story) says, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Jun 3, 20201 min read
WRITING-PROMPT WEDNESDAY: OOPS
One of my poor roommates is preparing for her nursing-school finals. I'm half listening to the videos she's watching, and one of them...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Jun 2, 20202 min read
ANOTHER WAY TO USE THE PEOPLE CODE
In yesterday's email, we talked about using the test in The People Code to get to know our main characters better. I've also found that...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
Jun 1, 20204 min read
WHAT COLORS ARE YOUR CHARACTERS?
I've mentioned The People Code in these posts before, but I don't think I've explained much about how we can use it to flesh out...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 29, 20203 min read
TRIGGER WARNINGS: YEA OR NAY?
It's funny how your opinions can change. A few years ago, I wholeheartedly believed that trigger warnings on content did more harm than...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 28, 20203 min read
"SHOW ME A HERO, AND I'LL WRITE YOU A TRAGEDY"
The other day, I was listening to "No Good Deed" from the musical Wicked. Every time I hear it, it strikes me again that this is exactly...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 27, 20203 min read
WRITING-PROMPT WEDNESDAY: COVID-19 AND A WEDDING
Yesterday's email got me thinking about how some experiences transform the rest of a person's life. Maybe losing a job leads the person...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 26, 20206 min read
WHAT WRITERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LOWER-LEG INJURIES
Not my foot, but similar to what mine looked like after surgery In the writing world, I occasionally see articles such as "What Writers...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 25, 20203 min read
NOT AGAIN!
Earlier today, I was updating the Google Doc that hosts my current Star Wars Roleplaying Game campaign. We're down to two active players...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 22, 20201 min read
BESTSELLING TAKES TIME
I stumbled across this helpful article in one of the Facebook groups I belong to. Enjoy and happy Friday! https://www.bookscharming.com/2...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 21, 20202 min read
4 TIPS FOR BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
Today is my sister and brother-in-law's fourth wedding anniversary. So naturally, relationships are on my mind today. Someone told me...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 20, 20202 min read
WRITING-PROMPT WEDNESDAY: A FAKE BOOK AND A REAL QUESTION
A few nights ago, I was watching Secrets of the Dead again. This time, it was an episode called "Galileo's Moon," which—pardon the...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 19, 20203 min read
THE "RULE OF FOUR" FOR WRITERS
I believe I've mentioned in previous posts that I used to be a history teacher. It didn't take me long to definitively realize that...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 18, 20203 min read
FEAR IS OKAY
On Saturday, I went hiking at North Table Mountain Park near Golden, about thirty minutes from Denver. Apparently I need to update my...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 15, 20202 min read
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE
Last night, I was listening to Cupid's "Cupid Shuffle," and it got me thinking about dances in general. I grew up in Iowa, and my church...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 14, 20202 min read
REVERSE! REVERSE!
I had an interesting experience a few years ago that taught me a lot about writing for an audience that may be hostile to what you're...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 13, 20202 min read
WRITING-PROMPT WEDNESDAY: #NATUREFAIL
Remember the total solar eclipse that happened in August 2017? It's proof that great ideas can come from weird places. When I first heard...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 12, 20203 min read
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Last night, I was watching an episode of PBS's documentary series Secrets of the Dead called "The Hunt for Nazi Scientists." This episode...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 8, 20203 min read
NO SCREEN? NO PROBLEM!
As writers, we do a lot of work on computers. Even if we start by writing things out by hand, we end up using Microsoft Word, Scrivener,...
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Candice Bellows, The Story Engineer
May 7, 20203 min read
"AN EDITOR WHO LIVED IN DENVER . . ."
I just realized that almost nothing rhymes with Denver (#poetprobs), so let me try again: My city must not catch on fire. We're already...
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