# Sticky  "The Writer's Circle" - Discussion Index



## Commissar Ploss

Hello and welcome to the *Writer's Circle* Index page. Here you will find an up-to-date listing of all *Writer's Circle* discussions. Each post on this thread is will provide you with a link and a brief summary of the current weeks discussion topic. 

*Please refrain from posting comments here in this thread, as this is simply an indexed listing to point you in the direction of the actual discussion threads. Comments can be made (and are highly encouraged!) in the individual threads themselves, however, as this is the idea behind the Writer's Circle discussions.*

Each week, the new discussion topic will be posted in its own independent thread. Then, this thread will be updated accordingly, with a link to that thread and a brief summary of its contents. 

The Writer's Circle was created to help aspiring authors (and equally veteran authors) gain insight and information on topics regarding the writing process, as well as provide tips and tricks that can be used to help your writing stand out in the eyes of today's readers. 

*The Writer's Circle*: Where every issue is a new discussion on writing, the written word and even tips and tricks to help make your writing stand out!

Please enjoy!

Commissar Ploss
--
Remember, please refrain from posting comments in this thread as this is simply an indexed listing of the Writer's Circle discussions. Follow the links provided below in each post. The individual threads will be a better place for comments regarding the topics for each week. Thanks! :drinks:


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Week #1 - Writer's Block*

The Writer's Circle – Week #1 [Writer's Block]​
Week #1 - Writer's Block

Summary:
This first discussion of the *Writer's Circle* brings to the table an "affliction" that all of us, whether in name or in theory, have experienced at some time or another. Writer's Block. The object of this discussion is a letter to the editor of _The Writer_ magazine. Written by Andrew Davis, it addresses, in his opinion, the misuse of the term 'Writer's Block.' 

In addition to the quoted article, I have added my opinion on the 'Writer's Block' debate and provided some tricks to bring yourself back from it. How do you feel about "Writer's Block?" Is it something that exists? Does it affect you? What are some techniques you use to overcome it?

Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​--

write on, 

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Week #2 - Watch Your Pace*

The Writer's Circle - Week #2 [Watch your Pace]​
Week #2 - Watch Your Pace

Summary: 
Week #2 of the Writer's Circle brings us to the topic of pace. The pacing of your story is one of the most critically important aspects of the whole writing process. The article quoted in this weeks discussion was written by Deborah Chester. In it, it highlights the importance of balancing the multiple aspects of your story to keep the reader engaged and interested. Chester explains and describes the differences between Narrative Summary, Dramatic Action, Dialogue, Description, and Factual Exposition. Deborah Chester also states, "When you understand these various modes of discourse and their effects on pacing, you can use them singly or combine them for improved story flow and varied rhythm."

Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​--

write on, 

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Week #3 - The Big 'BANG' Approach*

The Writer's Circle - Week #3 [The Big 'BANG' Approach]​
Week #3 - The Big 'BANG' Approach

Summary:
Week #3 of the Writer's Circle is called "The Big 'BANG' Approach." It is the title of an article written by Jill Dearman for _The Writer_ magazine. It describes the use of her self-created acronym, "BANG." BANG stands for Begin, Arrange, Nurture, and (let it) Go. This is a step-by-step article that, as the by-line states, is comprised of “4 steps to take you from idea to completion on every writing project.” 

Along with this article there is a 'WORKOUT' section for everyone to benefit from as well. It talks about the acronym BANG.

Included as well are my own questions for the discussion as well as a description as to how i do certain things in regards to this article.

Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​--

write on,

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*The Writer's Circle – Week #4 [To Plot or Not]*​
Week #4 - To Plot or Not

Summary:
Welcome to Week #4 of the Writer's Circle! WooT! This week we are going to be focusing on plot. In light of the upcoming Heresy Online Fiction Contest 2009, I've bounced some ideas off of Shogun_Nate this time to see what could really be of use for you all this week. We both decided that a thread with a good explanation of what plot is, and how to use it would be best topic for this week. This weeks article is called “To Plot or Not” by Chuck Leddy. It comes from the August 2008 issue of “The Writer” magazine. It talks about the age old debate on whether or not you should outline your stories. Please enjoy it. After the article will be my discussion questions and explanations of different plot types and how to utilize them.

Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​
--

write on,

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Week #5 - Game On!*

*The Writer's Circle – Week #5 [Game On!]*​

Week #5 - Game On!

Summary:
Hi everyone! Due to the holiday weekend (Independence Day) I just had, and the subsequent consumption of too many, although yummy, alcoholic beverages, this post had to be delayed by a day. I just didn't get a chance to work on it the past weekend. But, I have redeemed myself, for here is Week #5 of the Writer's Circle! It is an article on a topic that I'm sure many of you, including myself, are interested in. This article is by Carolyn Handler Miller, a writer/author/developer/collaborator who has worked on the storyline/background/dialogue/etc of over four dozen video games and other new media projects. She has written this article to help point aspiring video game writers in the right direction. Have you ever wanted to write the story behind the next great video game? Mayhaps you have been dreaming and scheming it all up in your head and your looking for some way to get your thoughts realized? This article will hopefully give you some ideas as to how you can achieve such things. Please enjoy! At the end of the article there will be a resources section with websites, books, organizations, conferences, and other things for you to peruse. Cheers!

Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​
--

write on,

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Week #6 - Grammar, oh Grammar*

*The Writer's Circle – Week #6 [Grammar, oh Grammar]*​

Week #6 - Grammar, oh Grammar

Summary:
Hi everyone! Welcome to Week #6 of the Writer's Circle. This week we will be discussing the topic of 'grammar'. Yes, interesting, I know...but still necessary. This weeks article is by John McIntyre. He is the assistant managing editor for the copy desk of _The Baltimore Sun_ and a past president of the American Copy Editors Society. This article was featured in the “Off the Cuff” section of the September 2008 issue of “The Writer” magazine. It features quotes by established authors/linguists/dictionary writers on the topic of grammar in the English language. There is also an included list of books that the author put together to help those interested in reading up on correct English usage and grammar techniques. Please enjoy! My discussion questions will be at the bottom of the post, after the article. Cheers!

Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​
--

write on,

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Week #7 - Know Your Characters*

*The Writer's Circle – Week #7 [Know Your Characters]*​

The Writer's Circle – Week #7 [Know Your Characters]

Summary:
Hello everyone and welcome to Week #7 of the Writer's Circle! This week features an article by Lisa Shearin called: “Dueling With Words, Really get to know your characters.” It deals with character development. To what depth should you develop your characters? Does a more developed character make the story easier to write? She gives her opinions on both in this article. My discussion questions will follow the the article and deal with the same topic! Please enjoy! Oh, and one more thing. I will be moving the Writer's Circle post dates from Monday to Tuesday to better accommodate my schedule. My weekends are being spent more and more on other projects and it has frequently delayed the Monday postings of the Writer's Circle. Hopefully moving the Writer's Circle posts to Tuesday will help me keep a more regular deadline schedule. So from now on I will be posting The Writer's Circle dicussions on Tuesday at 10:00am US Central Standard Time (my time). You will probably need to do the math to figure the difference if you are not in this time zone...sorry. I hope you continue to enjoy reading and participating in the Writer's Circle discussions just as much as I enjoy writing them! Thanks again!

Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​
--

write on,

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Week #8 - Pushing Genres*

*The Writer's Circle – Week #8 [Pushing Genres]*​

The Writer's Circle – Week #8 [Pushing Genres]

Summary: 
Hi everyone and welcome to Week #8 of the Writer's Circle. This week I found an article from the 'Take Note' section of the March 2009 issue of “The Writer” magazine. The headline is “Authors push genre boundaries” and it covers how some authors move from the genres they are established in to write other types of novels. However, their successes are not always as great as the original genre they started with. Written by Chuck Leddy, this article may be something for those of you who are thinking of applying your skills to a different genre.

Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​
--

write on,

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Week #9 - Software On The Cheap*

*The Writer's Circle – Week #9 [Software On The Cheap]*​

The Writer's Circle – Week #9 [Software On The Cheap]

Summary: 
Hello everyone! And thanks for stopping by for Week #9 of the Writer's Circle “Software On The Cheap.” If you've ever been interested in writing software to help you write your stories, this is the article you should read. What would you expect to pay for writing software that comes with an exorbitant amount of features, an easy user interface, and are available for use on many different OS's. I'm gonna guess you'd pay quite a bit, if you bought from the box. But what if I told you that you can get all of the software you would ever need, cheaper than you would pay at a major chain store, on the Interwebs for a really good price? What if they were free?

Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​
--

write on,

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Week #10 - Tips on Openings*

*The Writer's Circle – Week #10 [Tips on Openings]*​

The Writer's Circle – Week #10 [Tips on Openings]

Summary:
Welcome everyone to week #10 of the Writer's Circle. Today I have a very short “article” for you all called, “Quick and dirty tricks for writing an opening that captivates.” Written by Jessica Page Morrell, it is an excerpt from her book, “Thanks, but This Isn't for Us: A (Sort Of) Compassionate Guide to Why Your Writing is Being Rejected.” Lets get started shall we!

Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​
--

write on,

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Week #11 - Your Writer's Tool-kit*

*The Writer's Circle – Week #11 (Your Writer's Tool-kit)*​

The Writer's Circle – Week #11 (Your Writer's Tool-kit)

Summary:
Hello everyone and welcome to Week #11 of The Writer's Circle. Now that you have the software you need to get started writing that magnum opus of yours, your going to need something to write it with. Lets say you're on vacation to the Swiss Alps and all of a sudden, inspiration strikes! But alas the software you just downloaded from Week #9 is only on your home desktop computer...sad... You could have avoided this. I know what you're thinking, “If I would have brought my laptop along, this wouldn't have happened.” But what if you didn't want to lug your big, gaming laptop all the way to the top of Everest. I don't blame you. What if there was a smaller, more portable kind of device that did all of the same things as your bulky super hi-tech gaming rig at home? That is what we are going to talk about today. Lets talk about Netbooks. I'm sure you've heard of them by now. They are those nifty little ultra-portable mini-laptops that people have been raving about. You've seen them in commercials, hell, even phone companies are giving them away with internet bundles now. Have you ever thought of using one as your portable writing desk? An article I found this week in the April 2009 issue of the Writer magazine points out the bonuses of having a Netbook. Written by Dan Sarluca, it will be topic of discussion for this week.


Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​
--

write on,

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Week #12 - Learn to Lie*

*The Writer's Circle – Week #12 [Learn to lie]*​

The Writer's Circle – Week #12 [Learn to lie]

Summary:
Hello everyone, and welcome to Week #12 of the Writer's Circle! This week we have an article by Mark Winegardner called “Learn to lie, An exercise in concrete detail puts you to work untangling a 'mangled' story opening.” It talks about an authors ability to convince the reader that what is on the page is how things are. How using significant detail can help your readers engage more and participate in the story. Lets get started shall we!

Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​
--

write on,

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Week #13 - Make your readers stick around*

*The Writer's Circle – Week #13 [Make your readers stick around]*​

The Writer's Circle – Week #13 [Make your readers stick around]

Summary: 
First I want to apologize for the lack of Writer's Circle posts these past two weeks. I've just gotten back from a surprise trip to Hawaii that my GF sprung on me(not that I mind, it was Hawaii after all! lol). But I know some of you have been wondering where is was, what with the sudden break from schedule and everything. Sorry to keep you all waiting, but I really NEEDED that vacation. Even being in Hawaii I couldn't escape my work. I got calls almost daily about my game writing and upcoming meetings with designers and such, and barely had a chance to relax, but whatever, the weather was nice and the women even nicer (I hope my GF doesn't read these >_>) lol Even after all of that, I'm back where I started; sitting at my desk, listening to my old Styx albums and making up for lost time. Seems I'm always making up for lost time. Anyways, lets get started.

Hello everyone! Welcome to an new, albeit late, week of the Writer's Circle. Week #13 brings you an article by John Edward Ames called “Make your readers stick around.” It talks about what to do after you've written that wonderfully engaging beginning and want to follow it up with something equally interesting. How do you keep your readers engaged? Lets read on and find out! We've got an extra big article this week to help keep your minds stimulated! WooT! Stimulation!


Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​
--

write on,

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Issue #14 - Through a Character's Eyes*

*The Writer's Circle – Issue #14 [Through a Character's Eyes]*​

The Writer's Circle – Issue #14 [Through a Character's Eyes]

Summary: 
Welcome to Issue #14 of the Writer's Circle! Its been about a week or two since the last one, and its not that i've gotten lazy, its just that i've found a lot on my plate as of late... I'm going to be changing these discussions from 'weeks' to 'issues' so that is why this one says “The Writer's Circle – Issue #14 [Through a Character's Eyes].” Its getting harder to pull articles out of magazines lately as it seems i've run out of good ones to pull. I've basically run out of articles, so now i'll be pulling excerpts from books with an occasional article or two here and there, therefore I anticipate it will take me a bit longer. But with the new format, comes more ranting from me! Sorry, but this way it gives me more things to talk about. Instead of commenting about the article, the subjects will include the excerpts and then a musing from myself on the subject. On a separate note, as your newly appointed fiction moderator, I urge you ALL to send me feedback/ideas/improvements/comments/general rants concerning the fiction subforum here at Heresy, I'm looking for things to spice up the section a little, including contest ideas and other such things. Something to jumpstart us, and get the creative juices flowing. Just send the aforementioned ideas in a PM to me and i'll look them over. OK, so, this weeks topic is about developing your characters. Specifically the perspective of which your characters speak from, i.e., their point of view. I'm pulling an excerpt from a book called “Seize the Story” by Victoria Hanley. She's an interesting writer who has written such works as, “The Seer and the Sword,” “The Healer's Keep,” “The Light of the Oracle,” and other stories. This book, is a non-fiction 'handbook' on writing that brings up many good points about all kinds of topics pertaining to writing. So, lets begin...



Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​
--

write on,

Commissar Ploss


----------



## Commissar Ploss

*Issue #15 - 11 Rules for Writing Short Science Fiction (working title)*

*The Writer's Circle – Issue #15[11 Rules for Writing Short Science Fiction]*​

The Writer's Circle – Issue #15 [11 Rules for Writing Short Science Fiction] 

Summary: 
Hello again everyone! Its been too long since the last issue of the Writer's Circle. Mostly my fault, but what can I say...:wasntme: My bumper sticker on my car says it all. “I had a life, but my job ate it!” Anyways, I thought I'd make up for lost time with this post. I've pulled an article from the September 2009 Issue of _The Writer_ magazine that I have found particularly helpful with my science fiction writing. Its called “11 Rules for writing short science fiction.” First I've posted all eleven rules as written in the article. Following the article, you can find my take on how we can tailor the eleven rules to writing 40k fan fiction. Please enjoy, and please comment on anything that you see fit.



Click the green link at the top of the post to be directed to the discussion.​

--

write on,

Commissar Ploss


----------



## ckcrawford

What the hell happens to this stuff! It disappeared ever before the purge. Jesus


----------

