Write With Ozzy

Category: Writing

  • Involve (all) the Senses

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    Ozzy
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    Your readers live in their bodies, just like your characters do. If you want your story to feel real, you need to give us more than just what we can see. The creak of floorboards. The prickle of sweat. The tang of salt in the air. The feel of fabric under fingertips. The stinging burn…

  • The Confidence Game

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    Ozzy
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    There’s a tricky balance we all face as writers: the tension between self-belief and the desire for validation. At its best, writing is an act of confidence—saying, this matters enough to write down. That confidence is fragile and can crack early, especially if you share too soon or ask for opinions before you’ve even figured…

  • How Do I…

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    Ozzy
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    I’ve seen a lot of “How do I…” questions lately. “How do I make this feel more emotional?” “How do I write a compelling villain?” “How do I make my prose less clunky?” “How do I fix the pacing in my middle chapters?” And the truth is—none of these have a one-line answer. Not really.…

  • Inversion

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    Ozzy
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    Empathy is about stepping into someone else’s shoes. Inversion is about reversing the whole damn frame. Not just, “What is this character feeling?” But: “What if they’re right, and my protagonist is wrong?” “What if this story goes the other way?” It’s a question I ask myself all the time. Inversion is one of the sharpest…

  • Your Idea Isn’t Worth Anything (Until You Tell the Story)

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    Ozzy
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    This topic arises frequently in writing communities, especially among those just starting out. “I have this amazing idea. Do you think it’s good?” “Would you read a story where…?” “Is this too cliché?” And, my personal favourite: “Has this been done before?” (Answer: Probably. But not like you’d do it) Here’s the truth: Your idea…

  • Write It Down… So It Can Grow

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    Ozzy
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    Ideas are funny things. They feel big when they first arrive—loud, full of potential, impossible to ignore. But if you don’t give them somewhere to go, they start to shrink. They blur at the edges. Fade under the weight of daily life. Or worse, they grow too loud in your mind—too perfect to risk ruining by writing…

  • Writing When You’re Not Writing

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    Ozzy
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    Your brain doesn’t stop just because your fingers aren’t on the keyboard.

  • Leave Yourself a Trail

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    Ozzy
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    Scrolling back and fixing things interrupts flow. Here’s how to avoid it.

  • The Myth of the Lightning Bolt

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    Ozzy
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    Where Ideas Really Come From Writers love to talk about “the moment it hit me”—that flash of inspiration, that perfect idea arriving out of nowhere like a lightning bolt straight to the brain. It’s a good story. It’s cinematic. But it’s not the truth. At least, not the whole truth. Because in my experience, most…

  • I Have an Idea. How Do I Start Turning That into a Book?

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    Ozzy
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    Your idea might not be a novel yet, but it’s where every novel begins. Something sparked. Something took hold. That’s worth something. But now you’re standing at the edge of a long road, and you’re not sure how to take the first step. So let’s talk about it.