Tag Archives: Development

Keeping a Development Journal

Posted on December 17, 2014 by J. Sevick

A lot of writing advice suggests keeping some kind of journal. I’ve always romanticized the idea of keeping a diary… and never been able to stick with it for more than a day. And while I do keep a small … Continue reading →

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Saving Ideas

Posted on September 8, 2014 by J. Sevick

Sometimes you’ll have an idea, and you’ll try to develop it, and it just won’t come together. Maybe it’s not the right idea for you. Maybe it’s not the right idea for you right now. Or maybe you’re just not … Continue reading →

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Three Ways to Evaluate an Idea

Posted on August 12, 2014 by J. Sevick

With my first major project heading into revision, I can’t help but think about what I’ll write after. I know, I know, focus on one thing at a time—but the idea of actually publishing my current project, while thrilling, also … Continue reading →

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Summary Outlines

Posted on June 24, 2014 by J. Sevick

Between the idea and the draft, there’s the constant struggle between the need to plan and the desire to just start writing—depending on what sort of writer you are, of course. If you’re someone who simply cannot know what’s going … Continue reading →

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Using the Elevator Pitch to Craft Your Story

Posted on June 16, 2014 by J. Sevick

You may never be so lucky (or unlucky, depending on your anxiety levels) as to pitch an agent your book in an elevator. The idea of the pitch is generally boiled down to a one-sentence summary meant to entice them … Continue reading →

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Getting Feedback on Your Idea

Posted on June 13, 2014 by J. Sevick

I went for a walk with my dad last night, and the conversation turned to writing—mainly as a, “You’re getting old; what are you going to do with your life?” sort of thing. But as I mentioned my one-month challenge, … Continue reading →

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Building a Character from Scratch

Posted on June 11, 2014 by J. Sevick

As you develop your idea into a story, you might need to work through vague plot elements and story structure, and in doing so, you’ll fill the roles required with vague “placeholder” characters. At some point, you’ll look at your … Continue reading →

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Making Strides

Posted on June 9, 2014 by J. Sevick

The first step for any writer-to-be is to find the idea. Depending on the desired length and complexity of the project at hand, that can be its own epic struggle. But whether it hits you like a lightning bolt or … Continue reading →

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Episode Development

Posted on May 22, 2014 by J. Sevick

In a college class on Fantasy Literature I read a collection of Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard (The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian). I was struck by the idea that these separate short stories telling the various … Continue reading →

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Developing Ideas: Further Development

Posted on April 24, 2014 by J. Sevick

So I wrote a few posts ago about “Trust vs. Development,” and I said how I was trying to develop less before starting to write. But in my last post on “The Collapse,” I realized that one source of the … Continue reading →

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