Category: Mistakes

>I can’t help feel that Bickham is a bit rigid in the way he states this rule. On the other hand, until a writer…

> Don’t Forget Stimulus and Response. Things happen for a reason. People act for a reason. If they do something its because there was…

>Don’t have things happen for no reason. This one resonates with me because coincidence, especially, disturbs a fictional experience. “In real life, coincidence happens…

> Don’t Duck Trouble. More good advice, and it bears some resemblance to advice I heard once from Charles Baxter: Make a Scene. By…

> Don’t Write About Wimps. I learned this one the hard way. My whole novel was about this passive guy–he even had a passive…

> Don’t Use Real People in Your Story. Fair enough. Real people are boring: “Good characters have to be constructed, not copied from actuality.”…

> Don’t Describe Sunsets. By which Bickham is saying that too much pure description gets in the way of story, which should always be…

> Bickham is getting serious with this one. What he calls “warming up the engines” I have also called “throat clearing.” I believe it…

>I think it’s safe to say I agree with this one–miracles are pretty unusual in the fiction writing business. Bickham says, “The writing of…

>This one is debatable. I believe readers find a display of expertise to be convincing, adding to the author’s credibility. But there has to…