Author: Ozzy
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The Writer’s Home
You don’t need a dedicated writing room to be a writer. You don’t need vintage bookshelves or a leather chair or a view of the sea. But you do need somewhere that tells you—this is where the words live. It might be a desk in the corner of your bedroom. A spot at the dining…
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Style and Structure Are the Essence
“Style and structure are the essence of a book; great ideas are hogwash.” – Vladimir Nabokov
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There’s No Such Thing as a Wasted Draft
I’ve got entire folders full of unfinished stories. Scenes that trail off. Characters who never made it past chapter three. Worlds built and then left behind. Ideas that sparked brightly and then just… faded. I have a trilogy, the first ‘real’ writing I ever started – a full draft of book one, outlines for books…
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Writing Advice is Not a Rulebook
Not every tip you read is meant for you. Some writers outline. Others don’t. Some write for a single, rigorously guarded hour every day. Others write in headlong, eight-hour long marathon sessions, then do nothing for a week or two. Some edit as they go. Others draft messy and clean it up later. The only…
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Job #1: Tell the Story
It’s easy to get lost in the details. The structure. The pacing. The world-building. The themes. The voice. The rhythm of your prose. The way the light hits the side of the coffee cup in chapter two. All of that matters. Eventually. But your first responsibility—the one thing you have to do before any of…
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Your First Draft Is Not Your Book
The first draft’s job is to get the story out of you. It’s not a book, not yet, but it’s the start of what your book will be.
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A Writing Coach Is Not an Editor
There are different flavours of editor, but they all have that one thing in common—their work starts when the drafting is done.
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The Hobbyist vs. The Professional
Hobbyists do it for love, and there’s no shame in that. Professionals show up and do the work. They treat writing like it’s a job.