by Marie Valentine | Last updated Sep 8, 2018
The literary definition of fiction Fiction is a narrative told in prose form about events not true to life. Many books include disclaimers that the work is made up solely by the author’s imagination, and any similarities the tale bears to real events are...
by Marie Valentine | Last updated Dec 16, 2020
Marie Valentine Time and place are key pillars of your story structure. Without them, tales fall into fragments. Neglect setting at your own risk. Readers who don’t know where they are get frustrated, fast. You need to put the players someplace, otherwise the...
by Marie Valentine | Last updated Dec 16, 2020
Despite readers’ presumed desires to suspend disbelief, try to keep some rational sense of reality cohering your storyline. “Not true! No way that could happen. Sorry, I’m not buying it.” If these phrases cannot be squelched in your mind when...
by Marie Valentine | Last updated Dec 16, 2020
Place your characters in an environment and let them be. Sometimes writers are pace driven and have a story they simply need to get out. Often their characters are floating in space, meeting midair without a notion of physical dimension. Time and place have been...
by Marie Valentine | Last updated Dec 16, 2020
Making sure your characters’ language makes an impact Imagine an agent looking for the next big thing. She sits down with her coffee and red pen and flips open a fresh manuscript to the following interaction: The phone rang. “Hello,” answered Don....
