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Books by D.J. Butler
Monthly Archives: April 2011
Another Witchy Eye Chapter Heading: Fake Scripture
And God spake, and said, Shall we not give unto Man a companion? And God said, Yea. And God made for Man a companion, of starlight and river rock and foam of the sea. And God named her Wisdom, for … Continue reading
Posted in Writing Sample
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Writing Group Advice: Be a Child!
You have to be teachable. If you aren’t, you’re wasting your time in a writing group. My policy with respect to input I get from the Story Monkeys (and from all sources, really, but especially from the Story Monkeys) is … Continue reading
Posted in How to Write, Story Monkeys
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Structure: Popular Song
We continue to look at structure in forms of writing other than novels. Today: the pop song. You can analyze the parts of a popular song lyric in various ways. The three principal pieces that can be assembled into such … Continue reading
Posted in How to Write, Song, Writing Sample
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Writing Group Advice: Be a Woman!
Sharing your writing, especially creative writing, with other people and asking for comments is sort of like taking your clothes off and asking for a critique. There are probably some people for whom such activity sounds inviting, but most of … Continue reading
Posted in How to Write, Story Monkeys
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Structure: Twelve Bar Blues
In our continuing series looking at structure in writing (we’ll get to novels, but I want to persuade you that this is important by showing you various non-novel structures first), here’s a short one. The twelve bar blues (which is … Continue reading
Posted in How to Write, Song
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Writing Group Advice: Be a Man!
I think one of the secrets to the critiquing power of the Story Monkeys is the sheer uninhibited manliness of our interaction. Watch a group of men interact, especially about something manly, like sports. They talk trash, they poke fun, … Continue reading
Posted in How to Write, Story Monkeys
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More Ballads, and Filking Solomon Kane!
For your edification and entertainment, further examples of balladry. Remember, a ballad is a narrative told in a series of identical verses. “Mathy Groves” has been recorded various times; it’s one of the famed Child Ballads, which you can buy … Continue reading
Posted in How to Write, Song, Writing Sample
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Structure: Ballads
Structure is vitally important in any piece of writing. Structure is the road your readers walk on to get them where you want them to go and the signposts indicating what you want them to notice; without it, they’re lost. … Continue reading
Posted in How to Write, Song, Writing Sample
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Your Breath’s as Hard as Kerosene
This is “Pancho and Lefty” by the incomparable Townes Van Zandt, here recorded by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. You can see Townes himself playing one of the federales in the video. There’s a lot to say about this terrific … Continue reading
Posted in How to Write, Song
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Publisher’s Marketplace
Here’s a website I’ve found tremendously useful and to which I have subscribed. At its heart is a collection of self-reported data about announced book and other literary rights deals. Most of the announcements identify the players, title and genre, … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Tools
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