More Writing Advice…
How to Write Without Fear
When you’re stuck, writing is torture. This will show you how to overcome your writing fears… and conquer Writer’s Block.
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How to Craft Distinct Character Voices
Do all your characters sound the same?You are losing readers. Read this to make all your dialogue rapid-fire and intense.
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Welcome to My Writing Blog!
Hey there, I’m P. S. Hoffman.
This is my blog, where I share writing techniques and other fiction-improving content.
I mostly write science fiction and fantasy, but my reading tastes range far and wide. So please, talk to me about anything writing related.
And feel free to comment on any article you read, because it helps me figure out what to write about next!
Don’t forget to subscribe for some (very infrequent) email updates.
More Recent Articles…
4 Reasons You Should be Taking Risks with your Fiction
Sage advice from a literary agent. If you're beginning a new project (I know I am!), then take a look at this. It might change your approach.
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Too Many Names? A Tip for Cleaning Up Your Writing
“The Word of Wigaldir calls you!” “Eternal life in Enga’s arms.” “Fear not, sinners. Lether the Blessed will bring us to salvation!” Like the mating calls of jungle birds, voices sailed over our heads, clamoring for our attention. Bristling with energy and humid with...
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Strike with Lightning – Using Turning Points to Engage Your Readers
Twelve days in the desert, and I did not know how much farther I had to go. My horses were dead, my waterskins were empty, and my legs shook with every step. The string of mountains I had been following were dwindling, but I found refuge from the sun’s gaze in a...
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First, You Must Climb Down – Facing Your Unknowns
I was safe, and I was suffocating. Grass and mud stuck to my legs, and the wet dirt squelched under my sandals. I was on a hill, and all I could do was look, turning from one direction to the next, terrified of making the wrong move. If I move, I will slip. I will...
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Love and Sex and Poetry – What’s Your Favorite?
“If my Valentine you won't be, I'll hang myself on your Christmas tree.” -Ernest Hemingway Today, millions of people will be in love. Today, millions of people will be in tears. And today, millions of people probably won't care that it's Valentine's Day. But I care. I...
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Half the Battle (Short Fiction: 150 Words)
It's not Friday, it's not a hundred words or less, but following rules was never really my strong suit. Here is my piece for last week's 'Friday Fictioneers' prompt over at Rochelle's blog. Maybe this week I'll try to be on time. B and C were tied together at the...
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How Strangers Can Inspire Your Characters
If you are a writer, then you are a whole thesaurus of other things too.You are an artist, an architect, a dreamer, a tactician, a politician, an anthropologist, a historian, the list continues. Today, none of these roles are your concern, because today, you are...
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Like Sharks in a Harbor (Flash Fiction)
Woong counted no less than four alarms when he poked his head into the observation deck. He could pick apart each one: proximity, emergency, something blocking the cargo doors. But the last one, a sort of angry beeping that sounded important had the sound of...
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What Motivates Your Character (and Is It Enough)?
You have reasons for coming here (you want to learn more about writing, to communicate as one author to another, or maybe you were baited by that tantalizing title). I have a reason for writing this post (to inform you, to give you a place to discuss, and to ensnare...
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Fear of Writing
My name is P.S. Hoffman and I’m afraid of writing. It’s a subtle thing, a small thing that’s hard to notice, but it’s always there. In between every word, there is a pause, a tick where I’m not sure if I can do it, I’m not sure if I can write the next. I’m afraid I...
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Do Writers Talk to Each Other?
Most of the people I’m connected with on the internet are writers: Best-selling novelists, bloggers with heavy clout, and budding new writers.Sometimes I wonder, do the authors and bloggers I follow on twitter know each other? I mean, really know each other. Do they...
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Posting on Wikipedia? + Character Building Excercise
I read this article from The New Yorker. In it, Author Philip Roth (The Human Stain) writes an open letter to Wikipedia about the silliness that can ensue when you try to change a page on Wikipedia. You see, there was an error on The Human Stain's Wikipedia page, one...
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You Can’t Please Everyone: How to Write about Sensitive Topics
This post was written in tandem with my fellow blogger, Samah. Go read Samah’s blog for an illuminating glance into the diverse lives of Scarved Muslim Women. I’m going to say a word, and you’re going to feel a quake of emotion; I don’t know if it you’ll have a...
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How are YOU preparing for NaNoWriMo?
November is coming! (Already? Dammit!). I'm working with some other social media websites, and I wrote something on Storify about how to prepare for NaNoWriMo: https://storify.com/pshoffman/na-no-wri-mo-and-why-you-should Told you it was a short post! How are YOU...
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10,000 Words a DAY?! (or How to Use Science to Write More, Better)
The most Novembery of all months is bearing down on us, and soon everyone around the world will be getting to work on novels they've been putting off for far too long. Authors will be completing first drafts of novels in November, because who wants to go outside in...
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Books Too Difficult? Why You Should Read Them Anyway!
I read this article and my brain flopped out of my gaping mouth. The article picks apart some recent statements by bestselling novelist Nick Hornby, and his suggestion that readers should not force themselves to read difficult books. Hornby says, "Novels should be...
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How Much Do You Sell For?
This article in The New York Times bemoans the issues of being a writer; namely, not being paid. The author, Tim Kreider, addresses the frequency of people asking him to write for free. Sickening, isn't it? Kreider ends his tirade by pleading with all writers to...
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Writers, are you having trouble with productivity? Read this.
WAKE UP. Every day you don't write, another innocent story dies. How could you, you heartless monster. Who knows how much is lost because you put off writing. Again. The number one problem with writers is that we're lazy, and we'll never get anything done unless we...
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The High Mountain (Flash Fiction: 154 Words)
They lived in the shade of the High Mountain, which made it easier for her. When she came, they were lined up in the streets, heads bowed for their daily prayer. Hundreds of shadows slid down the mountain as her fleet eclipsed the Sun, and the worshipers looked up....
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5 Blogs for Writers (Bonus: Danger?)
I’m going to do something dangerous at the end of this post. This is an experiment, and I’m desperately hoping I don’t break something. But first, a list! These are some of the best writing blogs out there that are not on WordPress. You probably aren’t on this list,...
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How to Make Your Writing Smell Better
Fog settled over the village and I thought the houses looked like they were huddling together in the cold. One house stood apart from the others, a tilting mess with off-colored smoke pouring out of the chimney. A sign with the word Alchem- etched in fading white...
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7 Useful Writers You Should Follow on Twitter
I tried it, I dipped my toes into Twitter. And it was like dipping my toes into acid. Somehow, I just knew it wasn't my thing. But after all the flesh melted off of my bones, and I lost the ability to feel anything, I found something I liked. And then, something else....
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